Flotsam and Jetsam: The Role of MLB Integration in the Wreckage of the Negro Leagues

Author

Nastasia Pollas, CUNY Graduate CenterFollow

Date of Degree

9-2025

Document Type

Master's Capstone Project

Degree Name

Master of Science

Program

Data Analysis & Visualization

Advisor

Timothy Shortell

Committee Members

Matthew K. Gold

Subject Categories

Race and Ethnicity | Sports Studies

Keywords

baseball, integration, structuration

Abstract

“We are the ship, all else the sea.” Adapted from a Frederick Douglass speech, this quote by Rube Foster became the slogan of the Negro Leagues, illustrating the resolve and determination to prosper alone during a time of segregation. Setting aside long-standing rivalry and strife, Black baseball teams united under a shared vision of forming the first professional Black baseball league.

This paper examines how Giddens' structuration theory, connecting social structures with individual actions, can explain both the development and success of the league under segregation and its eventual demise during integration.

Comments

Online component: https://550tealeaves.github.io/baseball-AA/index.html

Recommended Citation

Pollas, Nastasia, "Flotsam and Jetsam: The Role of MLB Integration in the Wreckage of the Negro Leagues" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6481