They Came To Play The Game They Loved
Donation protected
DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Created By William C. Jones
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Jackie Robinson's Baseball success opens Major League door for Negro League Players!
Three years after Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers black ballplayers were given a chance to join the Major Leagues, however it also meant the inevitable decline of the Negro Leagues in the United States. Once Robinson was ushered into the Majors the best talent from the Negro Leagues were signing professional contracts. Only a select few, top-notch black ballplayers were chosen, so where were black semi-pro baseball players to go and play the game they loved? Many players came North.
My company, in partnership with Thomega Entertainment, is producing a nine-part documentary series They Came to Play The Game They Loved: The Warm & Welcomed Opportunities for African Americans to Play Semi-Pro Baseball in Canada during the 1950s.
The historic value carries a positive message; we have worked hard to secure a line-up of knowledgeable historians providing us with information that will educate, entertain and inspire, soon to be a globally featured documentary.
Highlighted events are being presented using dramatic re-enactments with voice-over narration. Several scholarly interviews will be conducted to compile, explain and present pertinent points of interesting, mostly ‘unknown’ references.
Countless archival photographs will be presented in concurrence with the time period outlined; B-roll footage will be needed including, but not limited to, establishing shots of the various historical locations African-Americans played semi-pro baseball in Canada. All footage will be shot in high definition video.
Planned interviews include former players who speak about relationships within Canada during their baseball careers, fans who got used to integrated play pretty quickly along with organizers and family members who welcomed baseball players … not colored men.
"They Came To Play The Game They Loved" features baseball seasons starting in 1950 & ending in 1959. In addition, interviews will be secured from various accredited historians including (Associate Professor) Leslie Heaphy from Kent State Research University (Ohio) and Negro League Author Phil Dixon. These informed individuals will give additional historical background to the events presented and talk about the importance of Canada's role within baseball throughout the 1950's.
Presently our research has provided us with numerous stories from communities across the country and across the U.S. – Canadian border, including a segmented interview with Chicago Clubs great … Ferguson Jenkins.
This historic story has never been told in this manner;
Project Objectives and Timeline:
· Production Financing: July – October 2020 (Phase One)
· Production / Editing: November 2020 - November 2021 (Phase Two)
· Broadcast Air Date targets to coordinate with Black History month February 2022 (Phase Three)
This is a personally motivated story for me, as my father Collins Jones was one of the many African Americans who came north To Play The Game He Loved, however the scope of significance within this project resonates to this very day. As positive stories are unearthed and released, baseball and those who broke difficult ground within that sport, will help all of us to appreciate how Canada and the U.S. have worked together, fought together … and played together, for generations.
Thank You For Your Support
https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1876726
Organizer
Bill Jones
Organizer
Saskatoon, SK