Dennis Biddle Meet & Greet

THIS FRIDAY: Meet and Greet With Negro League Baseball Star, Dennis Biddle!

Join Aurora Public Art, Alderman At-Large Will White, Ward 9 Alderman Edward J. Bugg, and Community Advocacy Awareness Network Director, Mary Fultz, for a meet and greet with Negro League baseball star Dennis Biddle!

The event, which is set to take place on Friday, February 6, at 6 P.M., will showcase Biddle’s traveling Negro League Museum, plus feature memorabilia, such as autographed baseballs, posters, calendars, and bats available in exchange for donations.

Biddle was born in 1935 and graduated from high school at the age of 17 to pursue his dream of playing professional baseball. He joined the Chicago American Giants of the Negro Leagues as a pitcher and finished his rookie season with a record of 15-3. That same year, Biddle beat Gerald “Lefty” McKinnis, one of the few pitchers to beat Satchel Paige, earning him the nickname of “The Man Who Beat The Man Who Beat The Man.”

Biddle pitched one more year in the Negro Leagues before being asked by the Chicago Cubs to try out for the team. On the first day of Spring Training, Biddle broke his leg while sliding into third base, ending his short, but great baseball career. Today, he lives in Milwaukee and travels the country, speaking at schools, colleges, and military bases about the history of the Negro Leagues. Biddle was entered into the Congressional Record as the youngest person to ever play in the Negro Leagues and was also inducted into the Wall of Honor at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

Members of the public are invited to meet Biddle and take photos with him, while learning more about the history behind the Negro Leagues.

When

Location

Aurora Public Art Galley, 20 E. Downer Pl, Aurora, IL, View Map