Negro Leagues
Forced out of organized baseball and with nowhere else to go, blacks began forming their own teams and leagues. Without any real organizations, black baseball teams were forced to travel around the country barnstorming semipro white baseball teams and playing against other Negro League teams. They also played in Mexican and Latin American leagues. Sometimes, major league teams would also play off-season games against Negro League teams. Often, the major league teams would be seriously tested by the supposedly inferior Negroes. Major league teams also lost their share of games to all-black teams. The life of a Negro League team was anything but easy. Teams would often play multiple games in multiple cities on the same day. Money was short, food was expensive, and players often stayed in low-grade motels. Often, teams would spend all night riding on an old, beat-up bus, play baseball all day, then get back in the bus and drive some more. However, life was not miserable for the Negro League players either. "Every town we went to was like being on vacation," recalled Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, a pitcher who played in the Negro Leagues for 36 years. However, despite enjoying their baseball careers, salaries of players in the Negro Leagues were nothing compared to salaries of players in the major league. Josh Gibson, the "great man of the Negro Leagues" made about $1,000 dollars a month, which was good money compared to the average American's salary of 80 dollars a week. However, Gibson's salary paled in comparison to that of Babe Ruth's. The legendary slugger was making $80,000 dollars a year, which was more than the President.