Hank Aaron, Derek Jeter and others tip cap to Negro League legends

Baseball legends and other notable figures commemorated the Negro League

This year, the MLB is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the very first season of the Negro National League.

The Negro League was founded in 1920 as a way for African-American players to have an opportunity to play baseball since they were not allowed to play in the MLB until 1947 when Jackie Robinson took the diamond for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Many teams have individually honored their cities’ respective Negro League team, including the Phillies who placed cut outs of former players from the NNL’s Philadelphia Stars in the stands. And each season, every MLB team pays tribute to their cities’ Negro League team by wearing its uniform during a game.

But one of the best tributes came in the form of a video from the league that included many baseball legends paying tribute to the Negro League and the players who set the stage for integrated baseball.

The video includes icons such as Hank Aaron and Bo Jackson 

Within this two-minute video, there are tributes from a lot of important figures, including Derek Jeter, but one of the most notable is former Braves legend Hank Aaron.

Aaron started out his career in the Negro League in 1952 with the Indianapolis Clowns, where he played for three months before being signed to the Braves. And in the video, Aaron said that he is “forever grateful” for the Negro League.

The video also includes appearances from the past three U.S. Presidents with Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.

And one other appearance that is right up there with Aaron, is the family of Jackie Robinson, who played with the Kansas City Monarchs before breaking the MLB’s color barrier.

Since baseball has been integrated for more than 70 years, many forget about the importance of the Negro League and the great players who never got a chance to play at the highest level simply because of the color of their skin. It’s encouraging to see the entire MLB celebrating this milestone.