“This is a contribution to the baseball and good people that St. Louis is known for,” Guyton-Harvey said.
ST. LOUIS — A developer hopes to highlight St. Louis’ connection to the Negro Leagues by building a Negro Leagues museum in north St. Louis.
When most St. Louis baseball fans think, their thoughts usually begin with the Cardinals and end with the Browns, but baseball historian Ed Wheatley said they tend to forget two teams that helped shape the game.
“The Negro Leagues were very special in St. Louis,” Wheatley said.
The St. Louis Giants, and later the St. Louis Stars, featured some of the best players in the Negro Leagues.
“They won three championships in the 1920s with a lot of great players,” Wheatley said, “I remember Cool Papa Bell, Mule Sutter and Willie Sutter.”
After Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947, Bill DeWitt Sr. signed two players of color to play for the St. Louis Browns.
“Willard Brown and Hank Thompson were the third and fourth players to cross the white line in the major leagues, but people don’t remember that,” Wheatley said.
Guyton Harvey wants to bring back a piece of history to the Jeff VanderLoo neighborhood by building a Negro Leagues museum in an abandoned building on Spring Street.
“This location is near Sportsman’s Park,” Guyton-Harvey said.
But if the city of St. Louis passes the 15-year tax abatement contained in City Council Bill 211, the site could house more than just a baseball field, adding 40 senior housing units and retail space.
“This will be transformative for a great community,” Harvey said.
“If a museum is built in the area, it’s not just leaving a mark on the site,” Wheatley said, “it’s the contribution that the Negro Leagues made to the African-American community in north St. Louis.”
“This is a contribution to the baseball and good people that St. Louis is known for,” Harvey said.
Committee Bill 211 provides tax relief.
Developers say they need to move forward with construction of a Negro Leagues satellite campus that passed the commission in March.
But it’s unclear if or when the St. Louis City Council plans to begin further discussions on the project.
