MLB's Civil Rights Game

MLB -- which worked very hard to keep black players out of its ranks for more than 60 years -- will hold the first Civil Rights Game in Memphis today.

St. Louis and Cleveland (for whom Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League, played) will take the field at 5:30. I find it odd that Bud Selig et al. believe a team that proudly wears this


on their hats -- and has it plastered all over its park -- should be part of this event. Naturally, the team won't wear that during this exhibition. They'll wear this instead
which could be seen as an admission that its regular cap might not be in keeping with the whole progressive, open-minded, anti-prejudice vibe MLB would like to project.

Here's the logo the team used from 1946-1950. Doby played in Cleveland from 1947-1955.

The legend that the team was named to honor former player Louis Sockalexis is a myth. About eight years ago, historians announced -- after reading articles in the Cleveland Plain Dealer from early 1915 -- that the name was actually chosen by a group of sportswriters.

Amazingly, some people insist that these images are not racist, that they actually honour Native Americans. What about having these on a team's caps and shirts?