The League

Name: The League
Genre: Documentary
Released: July 7, 2023
Duration: 103 min
Rating: 77
Cast: Berry Williams Jr., Clayton B. Stevens, Jakkar Thompson, Lovell Gates

2023

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Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews

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The League

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Movie Details & Credits

Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: July 7, 2023 | PG

Starring: Berry Williams Jr., Clayton B. Stevens, Jakkar Thompson, Lovell Gates

Summary: The League celebrates the dynamic journey of Negro League baseball's triumphs and challenges through the first half of the twentieth century. The story is told through previously unearthed archival footage and never-before-seen interviews with legendary players like Satchel Paige and Buck O’Neil – whose early careers paved the way for theThe League celebrates the dynamic journey of Negro League baseball's triumphs and challenges through the first half of the twentieth century. The story is told through previously unearthed archival footage and never-before-seen interviews with legendary players like Satchel Paige and Buck O’Neil – whose early careers paved the way for the Jackie Robinson era – as well as celebrated Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Hank Aaron who started out in the Negro Leagues. From entrepreneurial titans Cumberland Posey and Gus Greenlee, whose intense rivalry fueled the rise of two of the best baseball teams ever to play the game, to Effa Manley, the activist owner of the Newark Eagles and the only woman ever admitted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, The League explores Black baseball as an economic and social pillar of Black communities and a stage for some of the greatest athletes to ever play the game, while also examining the unintended consequences of integration. … Expand

Director: Samuel D. Pollard

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: PG

Runtime: 103 min

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Critic Reviews

IndieWire Robert Daniels

Jul 7, 2023

As a living record of the history of the Negro Leagues — it’s role in shaping America, in the prospects of upward mobility, in providing a playing field for Black folks to express themselves — Pollard’s The League is a rich, engrossing, and necessary tribute to a critical early wave in the Civil Rights movement. Read full review

Noel Murray

Jul 13, 2023

Ultimately, Pollard’s film is equal parts tribute and lament, as complicated as this country. Read full review

Matthew Monagle

Jul 17, 2023

Anyone who wants to better understand the cultural conditions leading up to the civil rights movement would do well to check out The League. But for those baseball fans who are used to charting the history of America alongside iconic moments in sports history, this one is a real treat. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

The League is an entertaining survey of Negro Leagues history with special attention paid to their place within the African American life of their day. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico

Jul 7, 2023

There’s too much story to tell in a feature runtime, so parts of The League feel like they’re just skimming the surface. But what a fantastic surface it is. Read full review

Ben Kenigsberg

Jul 6, 2023

This history has surely been well-covered elsewhere, but The League recounts it movingly. Read full review

Oliver Jones

Jul 17, 2023

By presenting this crucial cultural phenomenon in a staid documentary form and in the reverent tone of a hushed docent, The League has the unintentional impact of making Black baseball seem like ancient rather than living history. Read full review

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