‘In Search of the Ballfields of Montgomery’s Black Communities’ Will Be Focus of Montgomery History Presentation

Tim Warner said that for many of Montgomery County’s Black communities, “History is buried with the people.” Along with churches and schools, baseball was the center of civic life for many of the County’s small towns for much of the first half of the 20th Century. “In Search of the Ballfields of Montgomery’s Black Communities,” a presentation from Montgomery History, looks at the proud history baseball played in many Black communities.

The presentation, which is hosted by former County Councilmember and Bethesda Big Train Founder and President Bruce Adams, will be viewable for free for a one-week period starting Monday, June 17. It can be viewed at History Conversations (montgomeryhistory.org).

Nearly every Black area had a town team with the community’s name on the jersey, such as Clarksburg, Emory Grove, Germantown, Poolesville, Rockville, Scotland, Stewartown and Sandy Spring. On Saturdays and Sundays after church, hundreds would turn out to support their teams. On Memorial Day, a thousand fans would descend on Emory Grove for a picnic and ballgames at the County’s finest ballfield, Johnson Park.

This talk will explore the story of these town teams and the meaning to their communities during the decades when Negro League baseball was thriving across the country from the 1920s through the early 1960s.

The presentation originally aired at the 2021 Montgomery County History Conference.