Larry Lester

Larry Lester is an award-winning American sports historian, author, and archival researcher widely

recognized as one of the world's foremost authorities on Black baseball history. He is a co-founder of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) in Kansas City and serves as the long-standing chairman of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Negro Leagues Committee.

For over sixty years, Lester has dedicated his life to uncovering, verifying, and preserving the statistical and cultural legacy of independent Black baseball. His landmark archival research famously resulted in the recovery of authentic team jersey colors, permanently transforming how the visual history of the Negro Leagues is preserved. A premier consultant for Major League Baseball, academic institutions, and award-winning documentary filmmakers, Lester’s monumental contributions to American cultural preservation were formally honored during an official briefing at the White House with President Barack Obama.

Based in Kansas City, Missouri, he continues his rigorous research mission to ensure the

achievements of sports trailblazers are accurately recorded for future generations.