The League

The League

103 mins | Documentary | June 12, 2023

Told through the personal experience of notable Negro League umpire Bob Motley, the pic explores Black baseball as a stage for some of the world’s best athletes, an economic and social pillar of Black communities, and the unintended consequences of MLB integration. The rise and fall of the Negro Leagues follows the arc of race history in the United States. Featuring interviews from Negro League players like Buck O’Neil and Hall of Fame Inductees Monte Irvin, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron, The League celebrates some of the 20th century’s best athletes and entrepreneurs while grappling with America’s difficult march toward equality, including a discussion on the dissolution of the Negro League, which led to the downturn of hundreds of Black-owned businesses.

The League

103 mins | Documentary | June 12, 2023

The League
Told through the personal experience of notable Negro League umpire Bob Motley, the pic explores Black baseball as a stage for some of the world’s best athletes, an economic and social pillar of Black communities, and the unintended consequences of MLB integration. The rise and fall of the Negro Leagues follows the arc of race history in the United States. Featuring interviews from Negro League players like Buck O’Neil and Hall of Fame Inductees Monte Irvin, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron, The League celebrates some of the 20th century’s best athletes and entrepreneurs while grappling with America’s difficult march toward equality, including a discussion on the dissolution of the Negro League, which led to the downturn of hundreds of Black-owned businesses.
IMDb rating 7.5
Producers 2929 Productions, RadicalMedia, Play/Action Pictures, Two One Five Entertainment, YABBA Biri Productions
Original title The League
Directors Sam Pollard
Writers Bob Motley, Byron Motley

Cast

Lovell Gates

as Satchell Paige

Jakkar Thompson

as Ruben Foster

Clayton B. Stevens

as C.I. Taylor