World War II Homefront Era: 1940s: African American Trailblazers in Sports
Click image to zoom in.Or view larger version. Oakland Larks baseball players. c1947. Unknown photographer. Gelatin silver print. Collection of the Oakland Museum of California. The Richard T. Dobbins Collection. Gift of Judith P. Dobbins.
This photograph shows four members of the Oakland Larks baseball team posing together. The Oakland Larks were members of the short-lived West Coast Negro Baseball League. African Americans and Latino baseball players were barred by organized baseball from playing in the major and minor leagues, so players formed their own teams and leagues outside of the segregated game.