Stickball Player in East Harlem

Stickball players sit on a stoop ready for the next game, East Harlem, New York, 1961

Courtesy of Stickball Hall of Fame

When racism and discrimination barred Latinas/os from joining baseball leagues, they created their own teams. In the early 1900s in East Harlem, New York, primarily Puerto Rican, African American, and Dominican communities responded by creating their own game: stickball.