WHITE SOX PRESENT THIRD ANNUAL ‘DOUBLE DUTY CLASSIC’ High School Showcase Honors Negro Leagues East-West Game Played At Old Comiskey Park
Ken Williams to Speak With Players During Pregame Forum and U.S. Postal Service to Unveil Negro Leagues Commemorative Stamps Prior to Game
CHICAGO – On Wednesday, June 30, the Chicago White Sox will host the third annual Double Duty Classic – an event celebrating the history and tradition of Negro League baseball in Chicago and promoting the next generation of inner-city baseball players. This summer marks 77 years since the first Negro Leagues East-West All-Star Game was played at Old Comiskey Park in Chicago.
Prior to the Double Duty Classic, a special private forum will be held at U.S. Cellular Field’s Conference & Learning Center, beginning at 10 a.m., and will feature a question-and-answer session with White Sox general manager/senior vice president Ken Williams, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Greg Baker and award-winning journalist Scoop Jackson. Williams, Baker and Jackson will address and answer questions from the high school athletes participating in the Double Duty Classic. A number of former Negro Leaguers and experts on the Negro Leagues also are scheduled to attend the game and forum.
The night before the game, on June 29, the White Sox will host Double Duty Classic players at the DuSable Museum of African-American History on Chicago’s South Side for a special dinner and discussion with Baker and Sean Gibson, the great grandson of Hall of Fame Negro Leagues legend Josh Gibson and president of the Josh Gibson Foundation. Each player participating in the game will receive a copy of “We Are The Ship – The Story of the Negro Leagues” by Kadir Nelson, as a gift for playing in the Double Duty Classic.
“The Double Duty Classic pays tribute to the legacy of those who worked diligently and sacrificed greatly so that players of all races could enjoy the game of baseball,” said Ken Williams. “The White Sox hope to share that legacy with baseball’s next generation through this special event, and make certain that today’s athletes understand the traditions they represent as they develop as players and, much more importantly, as people.”
The game, which will be played at U.S. Cellular Field, begins at 1:05 p.m. and will feature the top high school players from across the country (Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin). The White Sox Amateur City Elite (ACE) high school travel team will represent the city of Chicago in the All-Star showcase. Players will wear uniforms honoring the Negro Leagues’ East-West All-Star teams. Each team will carry a roster of players from both the ACE team and players from across the country. Prior to the start of the game, former Negro League player with the Chicago American Giants Thomas “High Pocket” Turner will throw the Classic’s ceremonial first pitch.
Negro Leagues Stamp Unveiling
In honor of the Negro Leagues, the U.S. Postal Service will issue two 44-cent stamps in July to pay tribute to the all-black professional baseball leagues that operated from 1920 to about 1960. The stamps will feature a scene painted by Kadir Nelson, which will include Andrew “Rube” Foster, who organized the Negro National Leagues in Chicago in 1920. It was the first long-lasting professional league for African American players. The stamps will be unveiled prior to the start of the Double Duty Classic.
“The U.S. Postal Service is pleased to once again recognize legendary figures in American history as part of our Commemorative Stamp series,” said Gloria Tyson, Chicago District Manager/Postmaster, U. S. Postal Service. “The Negro Leagues drew some of the most remarkable athletes to ever play the sport of baseball, including Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. They galvanized African-American communities across the country, challenged racist notions of athletic superiority, and ultimately sparked the integration of American sports.”
Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe was born on July 7, 1902 in Mobile, Ala. and played for the Chicago American Giants of the Negro Leagues. At the age of 41, Radcliffe earned MVP honors for his performance during the 1943 season with the American Giants. Nicknamed “Double Duty” because he once pitched the first game of a doubleheader and caught the second, Radcliffe was one of the most dynamic players in the Negro Leagues and all of baseball. Beginning in 2002, until the year of his death in Chicago in 2005, Radcliffe threw a ceremonial first pitch each season prior to a White Sox game.
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For additional information, contact Lou Hernandez, White Sox public relations, at (312) 674-5304 or LHernandez@chisox.com. Please do not publish or broadcast this phone number or email address.
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