When Lou Collier was growing up on the South Side of Chicago, 17 to 19 percent of MLB players were African American. It was the 1970s and 80s, just after Willie Stargell’s peak, and in Chicago, the beginning of Lee Smith’s Hall of Fame career.
When Collier signed with the Pirates in 1993, 16.8 percent of the league was African American, according to SABR.org.
By the time Collier retired from baseball in 2007, the number of African Americans in MLB had plummeted to 8.5 percent. Opening day last season: 7.7 percent.
“There’s no (good) reason why there’s 68 African Americans in the major leagues,” said Collier, a retired Black baseball player himself.