Joining me in the Huddle is the President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Bob Kendrick. Bob is the man to listen to if you love baseball and its history. Bob's appointment in 2011 marked a celebrated return to the NLBM. The NLBM is the world's only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of African-American baseball and its profound impact on the social advancement of America.
Bob became the museum's first Director of Marketing in 1998. He was named Vice President of Marketing in 2009 before accepting the post as Executive Director of the National Sports Center for the Disabled-Kansas City. Before his departure, Bob's leadership helped secure more than $15 million in financial support for the NLBM and widespread national acclaim. Kendrick is now responsible for the Museum's day-to-day operations and for developing and implementing strategies to advance the mission of the NLBM.
Bob began his association with the NLBM as a volunteer during his 10-year newspaper career with The Kansas City Star as a senior copywriter for The Star's Promotions Department.
While he doesn't fashion himself to be a historian, Bob has become one of the leading authorities on the topic of Negro Leagues Baseball history and its connection to issues relating to sports, race and diversity. He has been a contributing writer for "Ebony Magazine" and the National Urban League's "Opportunity Magazine."
His volunteer roots in the Kansas City community are deep and passionate. He has served on the boards of various Kansas City-area non-profit organizations and has worked with Kansas City youth for more than 20 years. He remains active in the community and spends a great deal of time in Kansas City classrooms giving motivational talks to area students and sharing the illustrious history of Negro Leagues Baseball with nearly 100 schools, social and civic groups annually.
In 2006, the Greater Kansas City Black Chamber of Commerce awarded him the Mary Lona Diversity Award. He was named "Citizen of the Year" by the Omicron Xi Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. In 2009, The Kansas City Globe named Kendrick to the papers' list of "100 Most Influential African-Americans in Greater Kansas City."
A native of Crawfordville, Ga., Kendrick received a basketball scholarship to attend Park College (Parkville, Mo.) in 1980, where he earned a B.A. degree in Communications Arts in 1985.