Source: Courtesy / Magnolia Pictures
If you ever wanted to know more about the Negro League and its illustrious history, wait no more. Click inside to check out the trailer for the upcoming
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI), executive produced by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (Oscar-winning SUMMER OF SOUL), Mark Cuban, Todd Wagner, Tariq Trotter (DESCENDANT), and produced by RadicalMedia, THE LEAGUE celebrates the dynamic journey of Negro League baseball’s triumphs and challenges through the first half of the twentieth century.
The story is told through previously unearthed archival footage and never-before-seen interviews with legendary players like Satchel Paige and Buck O’Neil – whose early careers paved the way for the Jackie Robinson era. Also included are celebrated Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Hank Aaron who started out in the Negro Leagues. From entrepreneurial titans Cumberland Posey and Gus Greenlee, whose intense rivalry fueled the rise of two of the best baseball teams ever to play the game, to Effa Manley, the activist owner of the Newark Eagles and the only woman ever admitted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, THE LEAGUE explores Black baseball as an economic and social pillar of Black communities and a stage for some of the greatest athletes to ever play the game, while also examining the unintended consequences of integration.
THE LEAGUE will open exclusively in AMC Theaters on July 7 and will be available on digital July 14. Before then, check out the film’s trailer and some photos of some of the teams and players highlighted below!
1. The 1942 AA Marines
Source:Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
2. The 1916 Chicago American Giants led by manager Rube Foster
Source:Courtesy Magnolia Pictures
Rube Foster (center) while managing the 1916 Chicago American Giants, from THE LEAGUE, a Magnolia Pictures release. © Hake’s Auction. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. questlove,the league,ahmir thompson
3. The Newark Eagles in 1936
Source:Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
4. Bob Motley in actiom!
Source:Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
5. Black baseball players from Morris Brown College
Source:Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
6. Sam Pollard
Source:Magnolia Pictures
