More important, Pollard offers off-the-field context, because “The League” isn’t just about baseball. Pollard reintroduces some of the game’s legendary figures, like Rube Foster (an innovator as a pitcher and as a businessman), Josh Gibson (a slugger with home run numbers comparable to the best in MLB), Satchel Paige (an incomparable ace with a big personality) and Effa Manley (an activist and entrepreneur who helped steer Black baseball through its most successful era in the 1930s and ‘40s). “The League” is more of a primer for general audiences. Most of those prior history lessons have, however, been aimed at baseball fans. Since the integration of MLB led to the inevitable end to a once-vital American institution, the story of the Negro leagues has been told and retold. The best? Black ballplayers formed their own leagues, and over the decades developed a rich culture and a thrilling style of play, distinct from what the white pros had. The worst? In the late 19th century, when organized professional baseball began to stabilize into what it is now Major League Baseball, a so-called “gentlemen’s agreement” excluded Black athletes from participating. Sam Pollard’s impassioned, informative documentary “The League” covers some of the best and worst times in baseball history - mirroring some of the best and worst times in American history.
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