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Negro League baseball and the Milwaukee Bears

Baseball players lined up.
Courtesy of Borchertfield.com
/
UWM
The Milwaukee Bears formed in 1923 but lasted only one year, in part because less than half a percent of the city’s population was Black.

A century ago, a Negro League baseball team called Milwaukee home. With the Major League Baseball lockout leaving the start of spring training this month in doubt, Brewers fans can take this opportunity to look back at the Milwaukee Bears.

On this episode of Curious Campus, we talk with Ken Bartelt, a UWM doctoral student in history, about his work looking at the Negro Leagues in Milwaukee. He’s joined by Neal Pease, a retired UWM professor of history who taught a course on baseball and American history. Pease inspired Bartelt to use his interest in baseball to look at how history influences contemporary issues.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee produces the <i>UWM Chancellor’s Report</i> and <i>Curious Campus</i>, a show about science, discovery and culture.