They Stepped Up to the Plate
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Thank you for taking the time to read about our campaign. My name is Jeff Klein and I am a father, a husband, a baseball enthusiast, and a retired police officer. With a little help and a lot of inspiration from the Klein clan, my daughter, Makayla and I created “They Stepped Up to the Plate” as a way to honor the unsung heroes of civil rights and baseball, the surviving members of the segregated Negro Leagues. What started as a way for me to teach my kids about civil rights, has developed into so much more than we could have imagined. “They Stepped Up to the Plate” has become more than just a father/daughter project. It has become a labor of love in which we decided to dedicate our time and energy in honoring former Negro League players. The men and women who made up the segregated Negro Leagues have such amazing stories to tell and we would like to help them by being the platform from which they can have their voices heard.
Makayla came home one cold February day in 2014 as a 2nd grader in the Honeoye Falls-Lima School District very intrigued to learn more about civil rights. Her teacher had taught her that day about Rosa Parks and Ruby Bridges and all of a sudden, my 7 year old daughter had new heroes! She asked me if I could find Ruby Bridges' address so she could write her a letter. 2 days later, Makayla wrote Ms. Bridges a two and a half page letter. I seized the opportunity to teach her more about civil rights through the eyes of baseball, as I had been collecting Negro League autographs and memorabilia since before she was born. Very fascinated by what I was teaching her, she said to me, "Why don't you write letters too?"
It is said that there are less than 200 living Negro Leaguers left. I have written over 300 letters in an attempt to find these men (and one woman) and astonishingly, we have heard back from about 75 players. Unfortunately, there is a downside to these correspondences. Several of the players we have heard from have since passed away, some of them taking their stories with them. Their deaths is an extremely sobering reminder that their stories need to be shared to ensure their legacy lives on. This is why we created “They Stepped Up to the Plate”. If we don’t honor these players now, together, we may lose something we can’t afford to lose.
These players have such amazing stories. Their stories should not go untold. What starte
d as a simple attempt to teach my own children about the civil rights struggles in America has turned into so much more. There are countless stories about the players who made it to the Major Leagues, but seldom do we read about the players who, for the love of the game, continued playing segregated baseball into the 1950's and 1960's. Their story is a compelling account of an America struggling with itself to establish a new identity.
We held an event in July of 2015 and 4 of these players came to Rochester, NY to share their stories with our community. They told human stories of men who simply wanted to play baseball whatever the costs. Men who would learn to love and sometimes loathe the game that helped define America. Men whose stories have largely gone untold yet unwittingly became such an important part of baseball, civil rights, and America. Some of the stories shared at our event had never been shared publicly before; not even with family members.
Our intention now is to hold another event in the summer of 2017. We have 3-4 players who have
expressed an interest in attending our event and sharing their stories.
Also, due to the tremendous success of our original campaign and of the event itself, and at the urging of many people, we have decided that “They Stepped Up to the Plate” will be shared with a much broader audience. I have begun writing a book of the same name and we plan on traveling to meet and interview some of the players to document their stories for inclusion in the book. As this portion of our campaign evolves, we will provide updates with stories from the players themselves as well as photos taken during our travels.
Please consider donating to this very important and special cause. Any donations received will be used to cover lodging, stipends, and travel expenses for the players who will be attending this special event. Any money donated in excess of the players’ expenses will be used for travel, fuel, and lodging as we continue our work on the book, “They Stepped Up to the Plate.”
We appreciate the tremendous support and encouragement we received to make “They Stepped Up to the Plate” a reality in 2015 and with your help, we look forward to taking this project to the next level. Thank you.
Jeff and Makayla Klein
Makayla came home one cold February day in 2014 as a 2nd grader in the Honeoye Falls-Lima School District very intrigued to learn more about civil rights. Her teacher had taught her that day about Rosa Parks and Ruby Bridges and all of a sudden, my 7 year old daughter had new heroes! She asked me if I could find Ruby Bridges' address so she could write her a letter. 2 days later, Makayla wrote Ms. Bridges a two and a half page letter. I seized the opportunity to teach her more about civil rights through the eyes of baseball, as I had been collecting Negro League autographs and memorabilia since before she was born. Very fascinated by what I was teaching her, she said to me, "Why don't you write letters too?"
It is said that there are less than 200 living Negro Leaguers left. I have written over 300 letters in an attempt to find these men (and one woman) and astonishingly, we have heard back from about 75 players. Unfortunately, there is a downside to these correspondences. Several of the players we have heard from have since passed away, some of them taking their stories with them. Their deaths is an extremely sobering reminder that their stories need to be shared to ensure their legacy lives on. This is why we created “They Stepped Up to the Plate”. If we don’t honor these players now, together, we may lose something we can’t afford to lose.
These players have such amazing stories. Their stories should not go untold. What starte
d as a simple attempt to teach my own children about the civil rights struggles in America has turned into so much more. There are countless stories about the players who made it to the Major Leagues, but seldom do we read about the players who, for the love of the game, continued playing segregated baseball into the 1950's and 1960's. Their story is a compelling account of an America struggling with itself to establish a new identity.
We held an event in July of 2015 and 4 of these players came to Rochester, NY to share their stories with our community. They told human stories of men who simply wanted to play baseball whatever the costs. Men who would learn to love and sometimes loathe the game that helped define America. Men whose stories have largely gone untold yet unwittingly became such an important part of baseball, civil rights, and America. Some of the stories shared at our event had never been shared publicly before; not even with family members.
Our intention now is to hold another event in the summer of 2017. We have 3-4 players who have
expressed an interest in attending our event and sharing their stories.
Also, due to the tremendous success of our original campaign and of the event itself, and at the urging of many people, we have decided that “They Stepped Up to the Plate” will be shared with a much broader audience. I have begun writing a book of the same name and we plan on traveling to meet and interview some of the players to document their stories for inclusion in the book. As this portion of our campaign evolves, we will provide updates with stories from the players themselves as well as photos taken during our travels.
Please consider donating to this very important and special cause. Any donations received will be used to cover lodging, stipends, and travel expenses for the players who will be attending this special event. Any money donated in excess of the players’ expenses will be used for travel, fuel, and lodging as we continue our work on the book, “They Stepped Up to the Plate.”
We appreciate the tremendous support and encouragement we received to make “They Stepped Up to the Plate” a reality in 2015 and with your help, we look forward to taking this project to the next level. Thank you.
Jeff and Makayla Klein
Organizer
Jeff Klein
Organizer
Honeoye Falls, NY
