Retired MLB Players Discuss Black Baseball, Striving For Goals

With Negro league memorabilia covering the Prince George’s Ballroom, the Negro League Legends Hall of Fame (NLLHOF) held an event on Aug. 28 talking about goals for the county and celebrating the past, present and future of African-Americans in baseball.

Days before the organization’s annual event at the Bowie Baysox stadium, Darryl Barnes, chair of the Maryland-National Capitol Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC), baseball coach Jimmy O. Williams, and retired outfielder Keith Showell discussed the history of the Negro Leagues, their professional lives and goals.

Pitching legend Dwight “Doc” Gooden of the New York Mets — known for throwing a no-hitter late in his career with the Yankees — was also supposed to participate in the panel, but was unable to as his son underwent surgery for a sports injury on the West Coast. 

NLLHOF founder Dwayne Renal Sims, who set up the event, emphasized baseball as a way to learn about America’s history and the economics of ownership — especially the little-known Colored Leagues that predates the Negro Leagues.

“The Colored Leagues are part of American baseball history. This is inclusive of everything in America. That’s my trademark,” Sims said while on a recent episode of “Around the Diamond” with Bowie State University baseball Hall of Famer and commentator Marvin Jackson.

Jimmy Williams, Keith Showell Discuss Baseball Experiences

Williams, an outfielder who was drafted in 1965 by the Baltimore Orioles directly out of D.C.’s Eastern High School, discussed the road to professional baseball. Now serving as a baseball coach at Prince George’s Community College (PGCC), Williams told the audience the difficult task of making the Los Angeles Dodgers’ minor-league team. 

“That journey was a grind. It was a grind. I wasn’t too far away from not playing ball, it could’ve been different,” said Williams, who was drafted prior to the modern free-agency system, significantly limiting player movement during his early seasons. 

During his baseball journey, Williams also played alongside Baseball Hall of Famers Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal and 1962 Negro League MVP Maury Wills. 

In his international career, he played against all-time home run leader Sadaharu Oh in Japan. 

Many fellow panelists and audience members lauded retired outfielder Keith Showell, who was honored as an All-America Junior College Athletic Association in 1978 and was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the second round of the 1979 MLB draft. 

“I went from leading the nation in hitting to sitting on the bench for a year to having 18 teams trying to draft me,” he said. “I didn’t know one of my teammates had a scout for a dad.”

Goals for Prince George‘s

A native Washingtonian, Barnes discussed his trajectory from a kid born in the nation’s capital to leading the MNCPPC.

“The journey is real for everyone in the room. We all come from humble beginnings, and mine is no different than most of those in the room,” said Barnes, who relocated from Washington, D.C., to Prince George’s when he was young and later joined the military. “I grew up in Southeast D.C. I always tell the story of dreaming and dreaming big, and never letting your circumstances dictate your future.”

A standout basketball player in his youth, Barnes told the story of beating the Len Bias-led Northwestern Wildcats and of his experience as a sports agent with NBA and WNBA players, encouraging the crowd to follow their dreams. 

“Put one foot in front of the other,” he said, “and you can be anything you dream about.”

As MNCPPC chair, Barnes said he plans to partner with County Executive Aisha Braveboy (D) to best utilize the commission’s resources for local families. 

“I oversee a billion-dollar budget, I have over 600 employees, and I oversee Park Police,” he said about the responsibilities of his new role. 

Barnes also spoke about the potential conversions of the soon-closing Northwest Stadium and Six Flags into multi-use athletic facilities, akin to Landover’s Sports and Learning Complex. 

“Just think about how we can turn that huge parcel of land into a destination in Prince George’s County,” he said. 

The annual NLLHOF East-West All Star Game will be held on Saturday, Aug. 30. Get tickets here.