WBGO's award-winning podcast SportsJam with Doug Doyle is nearing its 500th episode. In this Hall of Fame episode from September of 2012, the late legendary poet, author and activist Amiri Baraka spoke his love of sports with host Doug Doyle in the WBGO Studio in Newark.
Baraka talked about how he became a sports fan in Newark.
"I of course was raised in this town. My father used to bring me down to see the Newark Eagles like at least twice a month, which I always liked. That's not only the black ballplayers who were the greatest at the time but the people that would come. There was always a sense of liberation about them being able to come down and see the greatest players. I can't remember what season it was, but I remember Leon Day pitched a no-hitter. We were very proud of them. When the Major Leagues started taking black ballplayers, remember the second ballplayer they took was Larry Doby from the Newark Eagles. The Giants took Monte Irvin. The players we had admired were obviously confirmed as great players in any league."
Doby was Baraka's favorite player on the Newark Eagles.
"I tried to run like him when I was in high school, I liked the way he walked, pigeon-toed an all that stuff."
Amiri's father, a very loyal baseball fan, would take him to see some of the greatest players and teams of that era.
"He started taking me to the (New York) Giants games. I saw the great Willie Mays we he first broke into (the Majors). My father would take me to the Polo Grounds. I even saw the New York Football Giants when there was only one black player."
What was that like as a kid and seeing the one black player for the Giants?
"Emlen Tunnell was our hero. It made me think that they were slow in understanding that we could do whatever they could do. That's what I thought. Emlen Tunnell was a great defensive back for the Giants. We would be there for him."
During this intimate 2012 SportsJam episode, Amiri Baraka also performed live in the studio, a moment that can't be missed.
He passed away on January 9, 2014. That same year his son, Ras J. Baraka, was sworn into the office of Mayor of Newark on May 13.
