From the producers of the hit documentary Summer of Soul!
The League celebrates the dynamic journey of Negro League baseball’s triumphs and challenges through the first half of the twentieth century. The story is told through previously unearthed archival footage and never-before-seen interviews with legendary players like Satchel Paige and Buck O’Neil — whose early careers paved the way for the Jackie Robinson era — as well as celebrated Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Hank Aaron who started out in the Negro Leagues. From entrepreneurial titans Cumberland Posey and Gus Greenlee, whose intense rivalry fueled the rise of two of the best baseball teams ever to play the game, to Effa Manley, the activist owner of the Newark Eagles and the only woman ever admitted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, The League explores Black baseball as an economic and social pillar of Black communities and a stage for some of the greatest athletes to ever play the game, while also examining the unintended consequences of integration.
At its most engrossing, the film vibrantly sketches out the historical roots of the Negro baseball leagues.
Slant Magazine
It not only proves fascinating itself but makes one want to see nearly every one of its episodes dramatized — after all, it’s been a long time since 1976’s The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings.
Hollywood Reporter
| Genre |
DocumentarySports
|
| Runtime | 103 minutes |
| Rated | PG |
| Directed By | Sam Pollard |
| Starring | Lovell Gates, Jakkar Thompson, Berry Williams Jr. |
| Language | English |
| Country |
USA
|
