The community of Norbeck, in Montgomery County, is centered around the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Norbeck Road, and nearby Muncaster Mill Road. In the late nineteenth century, after the end of slavery, it became home to an African American enclave known as Mt. Pleasant. Like many of the African American communities scattered throughout the county, it was anchored by a church, a school and a fellowship hall. These institutions united the community by answering their critical needs – spiritual, educational, and charitable.
There was another need that was fulfilled in this community – recreation and entertainment. It was a need for freedom to do things for sheer enjoyment away from the scrutiny of White society which excluded them during segregation. According to Allison Claggett, who played for the Sandy Spring Stars in the 1930s and 1940s, “Baseball was the only main activity open to African Americans at that time. You couldn’t play golf. You could caddy, but you had no place to play.” Stanley Snowden, the Mount Pleasant church custodian, said “Baseball was the Black sport. Every boy you saw along the road had a ball glove tied to his belt.”
Read more about Black baseball in Norbeck here:
Mangin, Julianne, “Black Baseball in Norbeck,” The Montgomery County Story, v. 66(1) Spring 2023, p. 10.
https://mchdr.montgomeryhistory.org/items/c7a9980e-dd2a-4208-b320-d31d8d8f47b4
