Barrier Breakers at the San Diego Public Library

Last week, I made the drive down to San Diego to see my Angels play the Padres. But before I got to Petco Park, I spent some time across the street at the San Diego Public Library’s Central Branch, checking out a new traveling exhibit from The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

Barrier Breakers has been open at San Diego Public Library from April 15 and will run through May 31. The exhibit provides biographical and statistical information on black players who broke the color barriers of their teams, as well as some information about the barriers they faced, including the MacPhail Memorandum, written by Larry MacPhail, a managing partner of the Yankees, as to why he believed integration would be bad for the game.

The exhibit featured names I was familiar with like Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, and Ernie Banks, but there was also information on players I was less familiar with like Tom Alston, Dave Hoskins, and Artie Wilson, giving each player who broke his team’s color barrier a spotlight, with a dedicated panel of information, photos, and a replica jersey on display.

The exhibit was certainly interesting, though without actual artifacts, I would say that you don’t necessarily have to go out of your way to see it in person. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum has done a great job of putting together a digital exhibit that has pretty much all of the same information available for you to peruse at your leisure. However, if the exhibit is traveling to your area or if you want to get the kids away from their screens for a bit, Breaking Barriers is certainly a great way to spend an hour learning about an important part of baseball history.

If you catch the exhibit while it is still in San Diego, you can also rustle through the Sullivan Family Baseball Research Center which is located right next to the Negro Leagues exhibit on the eighth floor of the library.