MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers are celebrating their annual Negro League game this Sunday at Am Fam Field. Let's meet the guy who's going to be throwing out the first pitch.
Former TMJ4 Photojournalist Clayborn Benson is the Founder and Executive Director of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society Museum. Being recruited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch definitely brings a smile to his face.
"I'm excited, excited! I've always wanted to be able to do this. This is a moment of reflection and joy and recognition. You know I'm having the time of my life right now," said Benson.
As we stood at the Borchert Field Marker at Rose Park, Clayborn shared a little history about the field where the Negro League Milwaukee Bears once played.
"It used to be farther over to where the expressway is today, over on 8th Street. When the Bears were there that one year that they played, you could see people coming up as far as Chicago to see the games in their beautiful dresses, clothing, their furs and their nice cars!" explained Benson.
The Milwaukee Bears played at Borchert Field for one year in 1923, as well as the minor league Milwaukee Brewers.
TMJ4's Andrea Williams met with Former Negro League Player Dennis Biddle who played with the Chicago American Giants in 1953.
"Baseball has been my life since early childhood, I love the game, it's something that never leaves you," smiled Biddle.
Mr. Biddle who established Yesterday's Negro League Baseball Players, LLC is being recognized for his advocacy for surviving players, his preservation of Negro League history, and helping initiate the Brewers Annual Negro League game.
"Well I look back over the life of Mr. Sherwood Brewer, his motto was if we stuck together as one, we could be a force to reckon with. He was the backbone of the organization," Biddle says.
With the help of former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, Dennis Biddle was able to help many surviving Negro League players receive a pension and medical, and just this past year, the Major League Baseball Players Association went one step further.
Watch: Celebrating the men who broke down barriers in the Negro Leagues.
"Think it was June, June 28 when (the current) Commissioner announced that any player that played less than 4 years are now qualified for the Major League pension. That was what I had advocated for, for over 30 years," said Biddle.
The Major League also recently absorbed the available Negro League stats into the official historical record. Senior VP of Communications Tyler Barnes explained why all of this is so important.
"We have a responsibility to look to the past, realize what the Negro Leagues mean to baseball, and how the barrier was broken, and how important that was to our culture," said Barnes.
The Brewers are providing the Breaking Barriers traveling museum for all to see—on loan from the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City.
At 89, Mr. Biddle has written the book "Secrets of the Negro League and is working on his second book. He'll also be a part of the passing the bat ceremony during pre-game.
"I have a feeling that I accomplished something that I started 30 years ago, wow!"
It was been a pleasure to be in the presence of a living legend, and I am so grateful.
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