521 All-Stars: A Championship Story of Baseball and Community 

The Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum is pleased to present their newest temporary exhibit, “The 521 All-Stars: A Championship Story of Baseball and Community,” on display from Jan. 30 through March 27.  

 Based on the 1998 book The 521 All-Stars: A championship Story of Baseball and Community, this exhibit depicts the game in its purest form: scrap metal base lines, rotten wood bleachers, teams made up of brothers, fathers and sons, and most importantly, fellowship within the community.  

“I think this exhibit is important because it shows how a game like baseball brings people together,” says South Carolina State Museum’s Curator of History, Fritz Hamer who organized the traveling exhibit.  

 Until Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, major league baseball was the pastime for white players and fans. Segregated and separated, black players were forced to form leagues of their own.  

 In 1996, author Frye Gaillard was driving north on Route 521 in Sumter County when he discovered a homemade ballpark and stopped to take pictures of the players. He and his partner, photographer Byron Baldwin, spend the next season and a half watching and studying the Gamecock baseball league of Rembert, S.C. The teams are comprised only of African Americans. 

The Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum is located at 315 W. Avenue B in downtown Temple. For more information about exhibits, museum hours and admission, please visit templerrhm.org or call 254-298-5172.