Our Guest Speaker Today

LONG VERSION (two shorter versions below)
Our guest speaker today is Larry Lester, a nationally recognized historian whose work has illuminated the legacy of Black baseball for more than 50 years. Lester is the co‑founder and former Research Director of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, where he developed its business plan and launched its licensing program for caps, jerseys, and jackets. He also served as treasurer, personally financing the museum’s operations during its formative years.
His name appears as author or editor on more than a dozen books, and he has written forewords to seven others. He is cited as a contributing researcher in over 250 books on sports history. Over the decades, Lester has interviewed dozens of Negro League veterans and their families, preserving priceless firsthand accounts.
Most recently, he served as historical consultant for The League, a documentary produced and directed by three‑time Emmy winner Sam Pollard. In 2006, Lester co‑chaired a special National Baseball Hall of Fame committee that elected a record 17 players and executives. That same year, he co‑founded the 100 Black Men of Greater Kansas City, mentoring inner‑city youth. He has continued his service to Cooperstown as a consultant for the Hall of Fame’s Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball exhibit, which debuted in May 2024, and he is a member of Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred’s Negro Leagues Statistical Review Committee.
Beyond scholarship, Lester has campaigned tirelessly to honor Negro League veterans—raising funds to place more than four dozen headstones on unmarked graves and successfully lobbying for retroactive Major League pensions for over 85 former players. His close relationships with these athletes led to a personal invitation from President Barack Obama in 2013 for a White House meet‑and‑greet. You may also recognize Lester from his many media appearances: with Stephen A. Smith, Charles Barkley, Michael Smith, Michael Wilbon, Harold Reynolds, Bryant Gumbel, Jericka Duncan, and Roland Martin, among others.
His contributions have earned widespread acclaim. Historian John B. Holway remarked, “Larry Lester might know more about the Negro Leagues and their players than anyone else. He’s certainly among the top five scholars.” Award‑winning author Lonnie Wheeler called him “the de facto chairman of all things Negro League.”
Today, Lester serves as president of the Greater Kansas City Black History Study Group and is an active member of M.A.G.I.C., the Midwest Afro‑American Genealogy Interest Coalition. His traveling exhibits—ranging from The HELP (on Black maids) to Currency of Change, Black Sitcoms: A Laughing Matter, and Stamps of Recognition—continue to educate and inspire audiences nationwide.
For more information, visit LarryLester42.com.
His guiding mantra is: “We are drowning in information but starving for knowledge.”
Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming Larry Lester.
SHORTER VERSION:
Our guest speaker today is Larry Lester, one of the nation’s foremost historians of Black baseball. For more than 50 years, he has researched, written, and promoted the history of the Negro Leagues. Lester co‑founded the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, where he served as Research Director and treasurer, personally supporting the museum in its early years. He is the author or editor of more than a dozen books, cited in over 250 works on sports history, and has interviewed countless Negro League veterans and their families.
His expertise has been sought by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Major League Baseball, and most recently as a consultant for the acclaimed documentary The League. He has also led efforts to secure pensions for former Negro Leaguers and raised funds to mark the graves of dozens of players.
Recognized by scholars and journalists alike as a leading authority, Lester continues to educate and inspire through his exhibits, his leadership of the Greater Kansas City Black History Study Group, and his guiding mantra: “We are drowning in information but starving for knowledge.”
Please join me in welcoming Larry Lester.
ULTRA BRIEF INTRO
Our guest speaker is Larry Lester, a leading historian of Black baseball. Co‑founder of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, he has authored numerous books, advised the Baseball Hall of Fame and Major League Baseball, and worked tirelessly to honor Negro League veterans. Please welcome Larry Lester.