Baseball Hall of Fame Announces Negro Leagues All-Star Tribute Game

The National Baseball Hall of Fame announced today that it will stage an exhibition game next year to honor the spirit of the Negro Leagues’ East-West All-Star Game, which was an annual fixture of Black baseball from 1933 through 1962. (You can learn more about that game here.)

The exhibition, called the Hall of Fame East-West Classic: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues All-Star Game, will be played at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, N.Y., on May 25, 2024 (that’s the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, and one day before Uni Watch’s 25th universary!). As for the participants, here’s what’s been announced so far, although I’m sure there will be more developments over the next several months:

• Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Ozzie Smith will manage and coach the two teams.
• Former MLB players CC Sabathia and Chris Young (the outfielder, not the pitcher) will serve as honorary captains.
• Former MLB players who’ve committed to playing include Josh Barfield, Tim Beckham, Ian Desmond, Prince Fielder, Dexter Fowler, Curtis Granderson, Tony Gwynn Jr., Jerry Hairston, Scott Hairston, LaTroy Hawkins, Ryan Howard, Edwin Jackson, Jeremy Jeffress, Adam Jones, Russell Martin, David Price, Tony Sipp, B.J. Upton, Justin Upton, and Dontrelle Willis.

The game will coincide with the opening of a new Hall of Fame exhibit called “The Souls of the Game: Voice of Black Baseball,” which is part of the Hall’s ongoing Black Baseball Initiative.

The Hall hasn’t yet said anything about the uniforms, but there’s obviously a lot of retro potential here. I’ve put out some feelers to some of my Hall contacts and will report back if and when I learn more — stay tuned.