Growing Bolder Community

Bill Blair called it the greatest day of his life -- finally, a chance for his family to see the success he had in the Negro Leagues and what a tough road it was to get there.

Charley Pride made it big in two worlds: baseball and country music. Charlie Davis remembers what it was like to live on $250 a month. And Bob Mitchell has big dreams for the future of baseball.

She's the only woman ever drafted by major league baseball; he's 102 years old and still loves to tell stories about his days in the Negro Leagues.

These guys made it to the big leagues, but they know they couldn't have done it unless the Negro League players broke the sport's barriers. Hear what they say about the history of baseball, and the work of unknown stars.

At Major League Baseball's Negro League draft, we asked players about civil rights in today's world. It was clear most people in the room saw Barack Obama's presumptive Democratic nomination for president as another major milestone for African-Americans.

They had the skills to play in the big leagues but were denied the chance because of their skin color. In a symbolic gesture of goodwill, Major League Baseball "drafted" 30 former Negro League players.

When we met some of the surviving Negro League baseball players at the recent Major League Baseball draft at Walt Disney World, we were blown away by the stories these men -- and one woman -- shared about their climb to the the big leagues.