Black baseball legends get Major League deal: proceeds of new licensing program will benefit former Negro League players.

Proceeds of new licensing program will benefit former Negro League players

John "Buck" O'Neil starred in two World Series, played in six all-star games and won a batting tide in 1946. But don't look for his name in any of the popular, storied annals of baseball history. O'Neil played for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues, at a time when Major League Baseball (MLB) barred black athletes from competing. His name is alongside players such as George Washington Stovey and Oscar Charleston, baseball legends for whom the footnote will always be: "What if?"

The league that years ago rejected O'Neil and countless others is finally doing something to make sure their contributions to the sport are rewarded. MLB Properties recently introduced a Negro League licensing program that will benefit former players, the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo., and the New York-based Jackie Robinson Foundation. All of the royalties and licensing fees from merchants selling Negro League apparel, caps and assorted novelties will go to the three groups.

"It's something we've been hoping for, for many years," says O'Neil, chairman of the museum. "It's going to give some guys some money that they had no idea they'd get." O'Neil, 82, estimates that of the more than 2,600 athletes who played in the Negro Leagues, about 200 are still alive today.

Depending on the company, product category, product line and distribution outlets, MLB Properties' licensing program starts at $1,000 upwards, with guarantees and an 8.5% royalty. The current license contracts range from two to three years. Fifty percent of the royalties will go to the players, 30% to the museum and 20% to the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which supports programs promoting educational achievement by minorities. Jackie Robinson played in the Negro Leagues prior to integrating modern day baseball in 1947.)

Christopher Jones, MLB Properties' director of business development, says there are 10 Negro League licensees, two of which are black-owned businesses. Jones says MLB Properties is close to signing four additional minority licensees and welcomes others seeking to merchandise Negro League products.

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which has had its own licensing program in place since 1991, had been reluctant to work with MLB Properties. The museum feared that the Major League would eventually take control of all licensing of Negro League products and apparel. This compromise between the two organizations came after a year of negotiations.

MLB Properties' new program does not replace the museum's program, which has generated over $6 million in sales for various licenses, with royalties going to the museum. "We can never correct the injustices of the past, but we can educate today's fans and consumers about a significant era in American sports," says Richard E. White, former MLB Properties president.