Park University Black History Month Event to Feature Negro Leagues Baseball Museum President Bob Kendrick

February 16, 2022 — In recognition of Black History Month, Park University will host Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo., for a virtual event on Monday, Feb. 28, starting at 3 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but those wishing to listen to Kendrick’s talk must e-mail communication@park.edu to reserve a spot no later than Sunday, Feb. 27. A link to the event will be sent to respondents the morning of the discussion.

Kendrick, a 1985 Park graduate, will provide reflections of the rich history of African American baseball and the NLBM’s impact on the social advancement of America. He is also expected to talk about Kansas City’s Buck O’Neil, who will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously in July. Kendrick has said that O’Neil changed the course of his life, calling him “one of the greatest human beings who ever walked the earth.”

Kendrick was named president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in March 2011 following 13 months away from the museum. He was the NLBM’s first director of marketing in 1998 and was named vice president of marketing in 2009 before accepting a role as executive director of the National Sports Center for the Disabled – Kansas City in 2010.

He began his association with the NLBM as a volunteer during his 10-year stint with The Kansas City Star. As a senior copywriter in the promotions department, Kendrick developed the advertising concept and campaign that helped attract more 10,000 people in less than 30 days to see the debut of the Museum’s first traveling exhibit in the summer of 1993. The success of that promotion led to an appointment to the museum’s Board of Directors in the fall of 1993.

While he doesn’t fashion himself as a historian, Kendrick is one of the leading authorities on Negro Leagues Baseball history and its connection to issues relating to sports, race and diversity. In May 2020, Kendrick was ranked No. 35 on a Kansas City Star column ranking the most influential people in Kansas City sports history. In addition, Kendrick was honored with the Park University Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2013.