A conversation with NLBM president Bob Kendrick: Storytelling's power to inspire baseball with its past

About this episode

Bob Kendrick discusses the impact of the St. Louis Stars and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum's initiatives to inspire future generations of baseball fans.

One of the first true baseball dynasties in St. Louis history was the St. Louis Stars, who had the talent to back up the name. And, at their centrally located ballpark, the Stars and greats like Cool Papa Bell played such an entertaining, exciting brand of baseball that it not only enriched the game's popularity in St. Louis but also informed the style of play fans have expected and celebrated for generations since. Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, joins the Best Podcast in Baseball for a wide-ranging conversation with baseball writer and host Derrick Goold. They start with the Stars and the discussion grows from there to detail the NLBM's "Pitch for the Future" iniative to raise $50 million an expand the current footprint of the museum to a campus that will include more items to display, a hotel, and a larger research and academic space. The goal comes back to telling the story of the Negro Leagues and bringing those players and those games to the modern fan with such a strong connection that information becomes inspiration. And that's where this new episode ultimately leads -- to a spot where legends of the past influence the present…

People in this episode

Host: Derrick Goold

Guest: Bob Kendrick

Topics covered

• Negro Leagues
• baseball history
• storytelling
• museum expansion
• inspiration
• St. Louis Stars

Keywords

• Negro Leagues
• St. Louis Stars
• Bob Kendrick
• Derrick Goold
• baseball history
• Pitch for the Future
• inspiration
• Cool Papa Bell

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Places: St. Louis, Kansas City, St. Louis Stars

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