Emilio””Millito” Navarro passed away Saturday in Puerto Rico at the age of 105.
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The former Negro Leagues star died while surrounded by relatives, said a statement from his family. He was hospitalized Thursday in the southern coastal city of Ponce after having a small heart attack.
Navarro was elected to the Puerto Rico Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Puerto Rican Sports Hall of Fame in 2004
.SOURCE: Associated Press
Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1946, but the Negro Leagues as a whole may have had far greater influence on the game of baseball because of the reasons it had to exist in the first place.
Would Emilio Navarro and other black players (African-American, Latino) have had the chance to play professional baseball if the Negro Leagues weren’t created? I’m glad we didn’t have to find out.
