As the Negro Leagues celebrates its centenary, a look at how Denver was integral in erasing baseball`s color line
(WorldNews Sport)

In 1934, Negro Leagues great Oliver “The Ghost” Marcelle, a Denver resident, lobbied the sports editor of The Denver Post to let the Kansas City Monarchs play in the newspaper’s annual semi-pro tournament. Granted his request, the competition became the first major integrated baseball tournament in the United States, with the Monarchs advancing to the championship game before losing 2-1 to the predominantly white House of David team, which had contracted out legendary Black pitcher Satchel Paige. The rest is a story of how Denver — with a long history of Black semi-pro baseball and Negro League greats such as Paige barnstorming throughout the state —...