Major League Baseball announced last week that it would add statistics from the Negro Leagues to the Major League historical record.
Why it matters: The move shines a spotlight on the history of Black baseball players, some of whom played in Detroit.
- Negro League players were barred from the MLB during segregation, but some were considered the greatest of all time.
The big picture: The inclusion of seven professional Negro Leagues that operated between 1920 and 1948 into MLB records comes as replica jerseys and caps from the era have become popular with a new generation of fans.
- "We are now grateful to count the players of the Negro Leagues where they belong: as major leaguers within the official historical record," commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.
The Negro Leagues combined to produce 35 Hall of Famers , per MLB.com , including storied Detroit Stars alumni such as pitcher Andy "Lefty" Cooper and center fielders Norman "Turkey" Stearnes and Pete Hill .
Data: MLB; Chart: Axios Visuals
Zoom in: The Detroit Stars were a founding member of the Negro National League that began their first season in 1920, according to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum .
- The Stars quickly cemented themselves as a top team but never managed to nab a Negro League title or World Series championship, the museum reports.
Flashback: The Stars began playing at Mack Park on Detroit's east side at Mack and Fairview, according to the Detroit Historical Society .
- After a fire in 1929, they relocated amid "opposition to rebuilding from white citizens in the neighborhood," according to a Detroit Stars history from the Tigers' website.
- Their first season at Hamtramck Stadium was in 1930. The stadium, recently renovated and still in use , is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Several iterations of the Detroit Stars name continued playing until 1961.
Go deeper: MLB to add Negro Leagues stats to official records … The Negro National League's lasting legacy
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