A historical marker is coming to an empty meadow in western Massachusetts where Big League teams used to stop to play the local nine.
Back before television-fueled astronomical salaries for professional athletes, managers of major-league teams used to schedule games with local teams, so big-leaguers could make extra money on the side. Games often took place between spring training and the regular season or after the regular season, but sometimes took place on a gap day during the season. It was known as "barnstorming."
The Massachusetts Senate has passed a bill seeking to establish the third Saturday in July as Negro Election Day.
About 1740, slaveowners in Massachusetts allowed slaves to have a festival day around the time of local elections in the colony, which occurred on the last Wednesday in May. It was "a general holiday for slaves," according to a scholarly article about it by Shane White (" 'It Was A Proud Day': African Americans, Festivals, and Parades in the North, 1741-1834,"The Journal of American History, June 1994).
