June 29 - Aug. 26, 2012

The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum has opened an exciting new exhibition – The Story of Negro League Baseball: We Are the Ship.

Sponsored by:
Pittsburgh Pirates
Double Eagle Foundation
Fine Foundation

This powerful 2,500 square foot exhibit tells the story of the Negro Leagues through nearly 50 original paintings and sketches by Kadir Nelson. The award-winning artist and author spent seven years interviewing former players, examining old photographs, and researching baseball archives to present an authentic depiction of life in the Negro Leagues.

The Story of Negro League Baseball: We Are the Ship includes a special section on the Negro League baseball tradition in Pittsburgh, including a rare uniform and artifacts from the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum collection.

The Sports Museum has also unveiled a new life-like museum figure of baseball legend Josh Gibson, the Hall of Fame slugger who starred for the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords. Gibson’s signed employee identification card from his days of employment with the Westinghouse Air Brake Company – recently discovered in the History Center’s Detre Library & Archives – is also on display.

The exhibit presents the story of the Negro Leagues with large heroic paintings that provide a personal look at the ballplayers who would become larger-than-life, transcend baseball, and set the stage for the modern Civil Rights Movement.

In the News

• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Gibson statue is unveiled at Heinz History Center
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: 'We Are The Ship' exhibit is a different view of Negro League Baseball
• Pittsburgh Tribute-Review: Negro League Baseball exhibit touches base in 'Burgh
• 90.5 Essential Public Radio: Take Me Out To The Baseball Exhibit
• 90.5 Essential Public Radio: We Are The Ship