A film archivist at the University of Georgia has discovered nearly century-old footage that's believed to be the oldest recording of African Americans playing baseball. It's only 26 seconds, but it shows a game being played and teams in full uniform.
Margie Compton, who discovered the film, believes it's from 1919, which would be two years earlier than oldest footage at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. This rare footage was shot on a plantation in Thomasville, Ga., by its "very wealthy" owners and stashed among their home movies. The players, Compton says, are likely employees of the plantation.
From WXIA-TV in Atlanta:
"This was just (the photographer) grabbing twenty six seconds of a game at the end of a reel of film. He just wanted to use up the film, send it off and get it developed. Why not shoot a ballgame?" Compton said. "It meant nothing to them, I'm sure."
Maybe it meant nothing to the videographer. But almost 100 years later, it's pretty amazing that we can watch this on our laptops or iPads.
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