Will Herb Simpson be a token in NOLA?

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I recently published a post about lifelong New Orleans resident and former Negro Leaguer Herb Simpson being inducted a couple weeks ago into the New Orleans Professional Baseball Hall of Fame. I also posted about the apparent sorry state of local baseball legend Wesley Barrow’s grave in New Hope Baptist Cemetery in Gretna, La. Well, I’ve got a couple updates about those topics …

Regarding Barrow, I drove past the cemetery yesterday (Sunday), and it appears that the facility was cleaned up a little recently, i.e. mowing was actually done, etc., and there were a handful of people visiting the park as well. Of course, yesterday was Mother’s Day, so maybe that’s what all the hubbub was about. Maybe …

About Herb and the Hall of Fame … a couple weeks ago, I sent this e-mail to Dave Sachs, the PR guy for the New Orleans Zephyrs, who sponsor the local hall:

Hi Dave,
Does the induction of Herb Simpson — the first Negro League figure to be so honored — mean other such figures will be considered in the future, i.e. Allen Page, Oliver Marcell, Dave Malarcher, Wesley Barrow, etc., etc.?
Ryan
I have yet to receive any response whatsoever, which is a little unsettling. To be fair, Dave has said in the past that he’s not really the precise contact person for the Hall. However, also in the past, I’ve had trouble contacting the person who is the precise person for that. That all makes me nervous that Herb Simpson was inducted as a sort of token representative of the Negro Leagues. I’m certainly glad that Herb was given the long-overdue honor, but he should only be the first.
Here’s a baseball card that in recent years recognized Herb. It’s from Legends of the Negro Leagues:
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2 thoughts on “Will Herb Simpson be a token in NOLA?”

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