MORGANTOWN — Negro League Baseball has a rich tradition. Its proud history was spotlighted recently at two local venues.

Baseball historian Phil Dixon spoke at Buckeye Local High School and the Ohio County Public Library on Oct. 22. His local stops were a part of a 108-city tour, spotlighting the prominence of African-American baseball players.

The Negro Baseball League spawned many a great player such as Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell and Josh Gibson. The Ohio Valley made its presence felt in the black baseball annals.

One of the most prominent black players was Bellaire’s Sol White. He not only enjoyed a sparkling playing career but also successful managing tenure. White played five seasons in organized minor leagues, hitting a robust .359.

White helped to form the Philadelphia Giants in 1902. He served as the team’s captain and manager. In 1906, the Giants won both the informal “colored championship” and the pennant of the racially integrated International League of Independent Professional Base Ball Clubs.

White enrolled in Wilberforce University as a theology student in 1896, spending the next four years alternating between professional baseball with the Cuban X-Giants in the summer and college in the fall and winter.

The roots of black baseball are traced back to Eastern Ohio. Moses “Fleetwood’ Walker is generally regarded as the first African-American major league player.

He was born in Mount Pleasant in 1856 and attended Steubenville High School. Walker played for the University of Michigan before embarking on a professional diamond career, a career that encompassed time with the Toledo Blue Stockings in the American Association as well as in Cleveland (1885), Waterbury (1885, 1886), Newark (1887) and Syracuse (1888, 1889) of the International League.

Negro League Baseball is receiving expanded limelight courtesy of a traveling exhibit now playing out at West Virginia University.

“Negro Leagues Beisbol: African American Baseball and Hispanic Culture 1860-1960” opened Sept. 18 and will run through Oct. 28. The exhibit is being housed in the Nutting Gallery at the WVU Erickson Alumni Center.

There is no cost for admission. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the exhibit is open from 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the display is open from 1:30 to 7 p.m. Guided tours are available.

The exhibit features replica uniforms, players’ personal letters and photos, memorabilia from latin American teams and baseball-themed artworks.

Negro League Baseball trivia:

∫ Pittsburgh was home to two of the most successful teams — The Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords;

∫ The Negro League Baseball Museum is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo. It was established in 1990 and is privately funded;

∫ Fleetwood Walker and Sol White are both featured prominently in the museum;

∫ White played for several teams, including the integrated Wheeling Green Stockings of the Ohio State League. He played third base for the Green Stockings and hit .370 in 52 games.

∫ The Cuban Giants formed the first professional baseball team in 1885;

∫ The Negro National League was formed in 1920;

∫ In order to make ends meet, Negro League teams often times faced a grueling schedule of exhibition games, playing as many as three contests in a day.

BUBBA’S BITS

COLLEGE BASKETBALL practice has commenced. Coach Bob Huggins will be bringing his WVU Mountaineers to WesBanco Arena in Wheeling for an exhibition on Oct. 13 beginning at 7 p.m.

THE CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh is hosting the Atlantic-10 Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament March 8-12, 2017. The conference is holding its annual men’s basketball media day at the CONSOL Energy Center on Tuesday, Oct. 18. Former Wheeling Jesuit University men’s basketball coach and athletic director Jay DeFruscio is associate commissioner for the A-10.

I WILL be covering my first collegiate rugby game Saturday when Wheeling Jesuit hosts Kutztown University. Tommy Duffy’s Cardinals are currently 5-1 on the campaign, including a 72-12 blasting of WVU Friday.

BROWNS’ WIDE receiver Josh Gordon continues his battle against drugs. To his credit, he has opted to enter a rehab facility while putting his return to pro football on hold. I am one guy rooting that he eventually conquers his demons and returns as one of the NFL’s best receivers.

THE RYDER Cup makes for great dramatic theater. The U.S. golfers have positioned themselves well enough to end their losing ways to the Europeans today.

WHEELING PARK product Elijah Bell and his North Carolina A&T teammates were featured on ESPNU Thursday night. The Aggies defeated Hampton, 31-9. Bell has made an impact as a frosh, catching 13 passes for 192 yards and a TD in helping A&T to a 3-1 start.

YOU WON’T find a better 2-4 football team than Linsly School. The Cadets dropped their third heartbeaker of the season Friday, 7-6, to Wheeling Central. Linsly also suffered a one-point loss to Kiski while dropping a close nod to Ohio D-VI power Mogadore, a game in which Coach B.J. Depew’s charges held a halftime lead. Only Martins Ferry has delivered the Cadets a double-digit defeat.

I HAVE witnessed many a talented prep running back in the Ohio Valley during my lengthy journalistic career. Barnesville’s Caide Bunfill is one of those special runners. He has surprising speed and shiftiness for someone 205 pounds.