Baltimore Black Sox Sculpture Project: A Legacy in Public Art
The Baltimore Black Sox Sculpture Project (BBSP) aims to honor a representative group of Baltimore Black Sox players, managers, coaches, owners, and other people affiliated with this Negro Leagues team. The BBSP will build a Memorial in Westport consisting of signage, historic references, and outdoor classroom space. The Memorial focus and core attraction will be a collection of sculptures in the likenesses of persons selected via this nomination process.
Our primary goal is to recognize the athletic excellence, leadership, and historical significance of the Active Members of the Black Sox being honored, and to celebrate the legacy they had on the game, on civil rights, and on the societal times in which they played the game. (In order to convey the full richness of this complex history, the project may also periodically elect to include Related Historical Figures whose story further clarifies the history of South Baltimore athletic traditions).
The BSSP is expected to start with an initial group of three sculptures. Then in successive years, additional figures will be added on an annual basis as funding allows.
The Memorial is envisioned to be one of the crown jewels of the Reimagine Middle Branch (RMB) initiative. This 11-mile community-driven effort also involves the City of Baltimore, South Baltimore Gateway Partnership, and Parks & People, working alongside a team of expert consultants, stakeholders, and Baltimoreans. One critical element of the RMB Plan is to celebrate the historic African American culture of South Baltimore neighborhoods such as Westport, Cherry Hill, and Sharp-Leadenhall, and to harness this proud history to create equitable, economic development.
Submitting Nominations
The Memorial sculpture nomination submission process will be open to the public annually.
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To be eligible for consideration, nominated individuals must either be:
An Active Member of the Baltimore Black Sox organization between its founding (1913) and final season (1934) for at least one full season (which can include owners, coaches, players, and managers); or
A Related Historical Figure whose professional career demonstrates a strong nexus with South Baltimore, Negro Leagues baseball, or figures already honored in the Memorial. Related historical figures are not the primary focus of the Memorial, but can be considered if their story clarifies or provides important context for the history of South Baltimore athletic traditions.
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Nominations may be submitted by any individual or organization, including community members, historians, family members, and stakeholders. Staff members of Parks & People or South Baltimore Gateway Partnership are eligible to make nominations.
Nominations should include basic supporting information such as the individual’s role or position, era of play, athletic or historic significance, contributions to the Baltimore Community outside of baseball, and any contributions to the pursuit of civil rights in America.
Nominations may be submitted via the submission form below.
Interested parties may submit up to three nominations per year.
The same individual may be nominated in multiple years or by multiple parties.
Nominees that are not selected in a given year may later be considered for inclusion in future years, based upon the original application.
Explanations will not generally be given for why nominees were not selected.
Review & Selection Process
All nominations will be reviewed by members of the Black Sox Memorial Governing Board’s standing Selection Committee.
The committee will evaluate nominees using the established selection criteria below, and draft a recommended list of individuals for recognition.
Final selections will then be confirmed by the Black Sox Memorial Governing Board.
It is important to note that the selection process is not intended to rank or diminish the contributions of any individual who was affiliated with the Baltimore Black Sox. Rather, it seeks to identify a representative group of individuals whose collective stories best convey the team’s legacy.
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The Baltimore Black Sox are an important part of Baltimore’s early 20th century sports and social history. As a result, P&P and SBGP are committed to ensuring we make every effort to honoring them well. Consequently, we have spent years researching not only the Baltimore Black Sox Team, but we also researched lessons learned from other Negro Leagues memorials. We met with Bob Kendrick (Executive Director of the National Negro Leagues Baseball Museum), Sean Gibson (Josh Gibson’s great grandson), Ray Bank (former Executive Director of the Hubert V. Simmons Negro Leagues Museum), and others. One of the most important points of advice was for this project to have a Selection Committee.
The selection committee will review the people nominated for memorialization and ultimately decide who gets chosen for this honor. The committee needed to have baseball depth (gravitas), community input, and Negro Leagues players’ family representation, in addition to stakeholders’ input. This resulted in a committee with Society for American Baseball Research representation, Negro Leagues Family Alliance participation, and Westport Community input.
Whenever possible, the Committee should include representative(s) from the following stakeholder groups:South Baltimore Community
South Baltimore Gateway Partnership
Parks & People
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The Committee will adopt specific criteria for the review of the proposed honoree. Our recommended criterion is a hybrid approach of a hall of fame model and a place-based storytelling model.
The hall of fame focuses on recognizing individual achievements, impact, and excellence in a particular field. It gives us a framework to make sure honorees meet a consistent standard of excellence and contribution.
The place-based storytelling model emphasizes the honoree’s connection to the community, location, or cultural context. It’s about the stories, experiences, and history that tie them to a particular place and the ways they’ve shaped or reflected in that community.
Using both models together allow the Committee to honor people who have made a real difference, and highlight the context behind their contributions. It ensures the process both recognizes exceptional achievements and tells meaningful stories that connect honorees to Baltimore’s history. This is a way to keep the process fair, thoughtful, and connected to the community.
To be considered for a statue, the nominated party must receive a minimum Qualitative Score of 70 as determined by the Selection Committee. The Committee will then weigh the remaining nominees against one another, factoring in Qualitative Considerations to determine how best to represent different eras, positions, historical context, and experiences in the unfolding Memorial. The Committee must exercise their judgement in this matter, and is not required to simply select the individual with the highest point total. Because the Memorial itself will change over time, an individual who might be a low priority in a given year may eventually become a higher priority as the Memorial evolves.
The individual(s) will be selected by the Committee by majority vote.
A recommended guide for the weighing of each criterion is listed below. The weighting keeps achievement, community connection, and storytelling at the core (75% combined), while also accounting for representation across eras and visual/interpretive potential to support the broader narrative. This weighting may be updated over time by the Committee.
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Individual professional accomplishments – 25 Points
Record(s) held
Statistics
Induction to Major League Baseball Hall of Fame
Clear Role and Contribution – 15 Points
Nature of the individual's relationship to the Baltimore Black Sox (or related historical role), demonstrating a defined role or leadership position.
Documented History – 15 Points
Sufficient archival records or historical references to support the nominee’s contribution to the Baltimore Black Sox or related historical role.
Connection to Baltimore – 20 Points
Relevance of the individual to the city (its values, culture, and people); to the team; and/or to Baltimore’s sports history.
Length and significance of the time with the Baltimore Black Sox or related historical role.
Narrative Depth – 15 Points
A compelling personal or historical story that reflects broader themes of Negro League baseball and lived experience.
Visual and Interpretive potential – 10 Points
Availability of reference materials for artistic production (meaning, there are photos, images, or documentation that we can use to translate to art).
Qualitative Consideration (no assigned weight)
Representation of different eras, positions, historical context, and experiences.
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Milbert Brown: Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)
Sean Gibson: Negro Leagues Family Alliance
David Berman: Parks & People)
Mary Randall: Community
Brad Rogers: SBGP
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The Memorial project will be managed by SBGP, in collaboration with P&P. The Memorial will be treated as a special project under the fiscal responsibility of the SBGP, but will employ a governance structure designed to solicit and incorporate the ideas, input, and interests of key stakeholders. These stakeholders’ input and comments, to include immediate community residents, Negro Leagues players’ descendants, elected officials, baseball historians and officials, and others, will be incorporated into the Memorial project. These stakeholders are viewed as thought partners and project advocates to help guide the work in a way that honors and elevates the Black Sox, specifically, and the Negro Leagues, as a whole.
The intent of this governance structure is to help ensure there is a holistic voice in the ideation, planning, and execution of this Memorial. A holistic voice that honors the men who were also Black Sox players; a voice that empowers the community; a voice that embodies the spirit of Baltimore; and a voice that does homage to the legacy of Negro leagues baseball. These voices are critical to the success of the process and project. These voices must enable the Memorial planning to be nimble, open to various opinions, responsive to community desires, and creative and gifted in fundraising.
This governance structure will oversee the execution of and the subsequent ongoing operations of the Memorial. The SBGP and P&P are the ultimate decision-making bodies for the Memorial, and will make a good faith effort to solicit to input from the following, as needed:
One or more members of SBGP
One or more members of P&P
One or more members of the Westport Community
One or more members of the Baltimore Black Sox Descendants and/or Selection Committee
City Council Representative and/or State Delegate Representative
Project Expertise Members:
Design
Legal
Finance
Art and History
Baseball
Construction
Maintenance and Operations
Nomination Submission Form
This year’s submission form will open on July 1, 2026 at 10:00am ET and close on September 30, 2026 at 5:00pm.