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The Maryland Curiosity Bureau

What’s Baltimore’s Negro Leagues baseball history?

Ray Banks, co-founder of the Hubert V. Simmons Museum of Negro Leagues Baseball, in front of an exhibit with jerseys from the Black Sox and the Elite Giants (photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR)
Ray Banks, co-founder of the Hubert V. Simmons Museum of Negro Leagues Baseball, in front of an exhibit with jerseys from the Black Sox and the Elite Giants (photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR)

Listener Andrew Cosentino wanted to know more about Baltimore’s chapter of Negro Leagues baseball history, so we caught up with Ray Banks of the Hubert V Simmons Museum of Negro Leagues Baseball, to learn about the Baltimore Elite Giants and The Baltimore Black Sox. And sportswriter Charlie Vascellaro helps us track down a historic ballfield in Druid Hill Park where some of the earliest games were played.

Sportswriter Charlie Vascellaro tracked down this historic Negro Leagues ball field at Druid Hill Park (photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR)
Sportswriter Charlie Vascellaro tracked down this historic Negro Leagues ball field at Druid Hill Park (photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR)

Aaron creates and produces original radio programs and podcasts for WYPR. His current project is The Maryland Curiosity Bureau. Aaron's neighborhood documentary series, Out of the Blocks, earned the 2018 national Edward R Murrow Award. His past work includes the long-running weekly cultural program, The Signal, and the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings series, Tapestry of the Times. Aaron's stories have aired nationally on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered.