Baysox Honor Negro Leagues

The Bowie Baysox announce today a special event to honor a unique chapter in baseball history at Prince George's Stadium, with Negro Leagues Tribute Night Saturday, June 19, as the Baysox take on the Harrisburg Senators at 6:35 p.m. The event features former Negro League players and a postgame fireworks extravaganza.

The Baysox are pleased to honor 12 former players and dignitaries in a special pregame ceremony at 6 p.m. Guests scheduled to attend are:

Player	Pos	Organization	Years
Leo Burnette	CF	Harrisburg Giants	1947-1957
Pedro Sierra	P	Baltimore Bruins Greensboro Red Wings	1951 1952-1953
Jim Weedon	RF	Harrisburg Giants	1954-1955
Wilbur "Willie" Fordham	P	Harrisburg Giants	1954-1955
Luther "Luke" Atkinson		Wilson All-Stars Carolina Tigers Satchel Paige All-Stars Glenarden Braves	1955-56 1957-1958 1960 1964
Al Burrows	P/1B/OF	New York Black Yankees Kansas City Monarchs Indianapolis Clowns	1954 1954 1955-1962
Ed Burton	2B/OF	Harrisburg Giants	1947-1955
Bruno Di Mortile	P	Harrisburg Giants	1954-1955
Ed Nork	P	Harrisburg Giants	1955
Geraldine Day		Wife of the late Mr. Leon Day
Eddie Banks	2B	Newark Eagles Newark Phillies	1958-1960 1960-1965
Sean Gibson		Great grandson of legendary Negro League player Josh Gibson, representing the Josh Gibson Foundation

After the ceremony, the guests will throw out ceremonial first pitches. During the game, they will sign autographs and take pictures with fans. After the game, the Baysox celebrate the event with a fireworks extravaganza.

Baysox Director of Marketing Brandan Kaiser looks forward to the event each year. "The Negro Leagues have always fascinated me," Kaiser said. "The stuff that these guys had to go through just to play professional ball is incredible and shows how much they loved the game. I can hardly wait to talk to them and hear stories from their playing days."

To honor the former players, the Baysox will take the field in nine different Negro League replica jerseys.

Baysox Assistant General Manager Phil Wrye helps plan the event each year. "These players never received the credit they deserved in their playing days," Wrye said. "It's great that we get the opportunity to honor them at Prince George's Stadium."

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