ABC News announces new season of ‘reclaimed,’ the Edward R. Murrow Award-winning podcast series delving into the history of baseball’s Negro leagues

Today, ABC Audio released the trailer for its six-part podcast series “Reclaimed: The Forgotten League,” the latest season of its award-winning “Reclaimed” franchise. Host Vanessa Ivy Rose traces the history of her grandfather, Norman “Turkey” Stearnes, who, along with other Black baseball players in the early 20th century, was shut out of Major League Baseball due to his race. The series explores how America’s pastime was shaped by its history of segregation and the impact Black players have had on the sport. The first two episodes of “Reclaimed: The Forgotten League” debut Monday, Oct. 2, with new episodes posting weekly through October.

Prior to Jackie Robinson joining the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Black players were not allowed to compete in Major League Baseball. The exclusion led to the creation of their own league in 1920. The impact of the Negro Leagues went far beyond baseball and became a pillar of Black life in America. The podcast series chronicles the growth of the Negro Leagues and how it became a lucrative source of income for Black team owners and players.

Rose uncovers powerful stories and rarely told history by exploring her own family history and through interviews with living Negro Leagues player Ron Teasley, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum President Bob Kendrick, baseball researcher and Seamheads Negro League Database co-founder Kevin Johnson, and more.

The series also delves into the ways in which Major League Baseball and the National Baseball Hall of Fame are grappling with this history to this day, as the MLB made a promise in 2020 to integrate the Negro Leagues statistics into its official record book.

“Reclaimed: The Forgotten League” is the third season of ABC Audio’s award-winning “Reclaimed” podcast franchise. This year, “Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till-Mobley” was honored with the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Podcast, Signal Awards for Best Documentary and Best Writing, and Best Host at the Ambies. The first season of the franchise, “Reclaimed: Tulsa’s Buried Truth,” explored the history of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre.
The trailer for “Reclaimed: The Forgotten League” is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Audacy, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Sirius XM, TuneIn and the ABC News app.

“Reclaimed: The Forgotten League” is produced by ABC Audio. Laura Mayer is executive producer.

About Vanessa Ivy Rose
Vanessa Ivy Rose is an author, educator and former D1 athlete from Detroit, Michigan. She has worked in public education for 17 years, teaching English and history. Vanessa is part of the Negro Leagues Family Alliance, a group of Negro Leagues descendants working to preserve the legacies of their family members. Her grandfather, Norman “Turkey” Stearnes, played in the Negro Leagues from 1923-1945, most notably for the Detroit Stars.

About ABC Audio
ABC Audio is America’s premier source for radio news, entertainment content, and podcasts. ABC News Radio reaches more Americans than any other commercial broadcaster through its network of more than 1,600 radio stations and digital distributors. ABC Audio offers affiliates on-demand access to original audio, video and social media content, as well as news, entertainment and lifestyle digital text stories. ABC Audio is part of a top-ranked podcasting network, along with partners at ESPN, National Geographic and Marvel. The growing podcast portfolio includes ABC News’ flagship daily news podcast, “Start Here,” as well as the critically acclaimed, chart-topping hits like “The Dropout,” “Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till-Mobley,” “In Plain Sight: Lady Bird Johnson” and “The King Road Killings.”

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ABC News Media Relations
Alisa Vasquez
alisa.vasquez@abc.com