Cincinnati already celebrates its Underground Railroad heritage with a museum. Next season, the city will add a baseball game.
Major League Baseball announced Thursday that, after two years as an exhibition game in Memphis, the annual Civil Rights Game will be a regular-season game, played June 20 when the Chicago White Sox meet the Reds at Great American Ball Park. "It's pretty exciting that they're having the game here, especially when you've got the Freedom Center right next door and the history of the town," said Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker, an African American who said he became involved in the Junior National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) when he was 15 years old.
Baker and two former Reds -- Chuck Harmon, the first African American to play for the Reds, and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson -- also were on hand for a press conference at the Reds' home ballpark.
Bob Castellini, the Reds' president and chief executive officer, pointed out the history of Negro League baseball shared by Chicago and Cincinnati.
"When the Reds and the White Sox take the field, it will be a tribute to teams like the Cincinnati Tigers and the Chicago American Giants," said Castellini, whose team also will host the Civil Rights Game in 2010.
CARDINALS 5, REDS 4: Edinson Volquez failed in his fourth consecutive attempt to post his 17th win, as he allowed four runs in seven innings. Cincinnati's winning streak was snapped at four games.
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