Keith M. Finley Hammond, Louisiana Baseball and the Civil War share a common core. In 1863 Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. Some of them became soldiers, but they were led by white officers. Later, in baseball, blacks were prevented from playing the game with whites until 1947, when Branch Rickey, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, enlisted Jackie Robinson for his team. It is now 51 years later, and the game's leadership remains white.
Blacks still hold no real power.