Episode 16 - Steve Bandura - We stand out. Not just because of our pigment, but because of how we play the game as a team.

Notes & Highlights
03:45 Steve worked at a sales and marketing firm. He had a company car and a secretary, and he hated every minute of it. He really felt that it was meaningless.

11:15 In 1993 Steve intentionally went on unemployment so he could start the Jackie Robinson Baseball League. He named all the teams after negro league teams and gave every kid a book called Jackie Robinson and the Story of All Black Baseball.

14:00 The Anderson Monarchs were the first youth baseball team to racially integrate Philadelphia’s city A league.

16:30 Steve and the Monarchs got together at the rec center every Friday and studied the civil rights movement and baseball history along that timeline.

18:30 After Mo’Ne’s jersey was retired in Cooperstown, the kids bought baseball cards and had a mock baseball draft. It’s so nice to see the kids embrace each other in the absence of technology.

26:30 Steve built a team of five Black, five White and five Hispanic players. Their families self-segregated during their introductory team meeting. Two years later, those same families are renting a vacation house together in Ocean City, MD. A lot times it’s not racism, it’s ignorance and lack of exposure.

33:00 14 kids from one team will be playing college baseball, nine of which are at the D-1 level. In 2011 the Monarchs won the baseball, basketball, indoor and outdoor soccer city a league championship. We proved that we could compete if the kids were given an opportunity. 

38:00 Empathy is knowing what someone else is thinking and feeling. This is a great competitive advantage.

39:00 We stand out. Not just because of our pigment, but because of how we play the game as a team.

45:00 Mo’s biggest contribution was inspiring younger girls to chase their dreams.

46:45 Takes n’ Fakes Trivia 

53:00 MLB’s key demographic is about to be gone, and just because the TV money is there, doesn’t mean it ain’t broke.

1:00:00 An Anderson Monarch’s goal from day is to graduate from college.

1:05:30 If you’re a rabbit in a hole looking up, the sky isn’t big. If you pop your head out of that hole, the whole world opens up. So make sure your kids pop their heads out.