Dr. Grady diploma orange (1900-1946): Baseball, segregation, and medicine

Dr. Grady Orange was a baseball player in the Negro National League (NNL) from 1925 to 1930, and then a practicing physician until his sudden death. Born in 1900, in Terrell, Texas, Grady was raised in the Jim Crow South. There were economic and societal barriers for African Americans, including access to well-paying jobs and opportunities for career advancement. Hospitals were segregated, as Black doctors faced barriers to medical education and were often not permitted to practice in white institutions. After Orange's baseball career, using NNL salaries to cover costs, he turned his focus to completing medical school and graduated at the top of his class. Dr. Orange devoted time beyond his medical practice, often educating his community and giving talks on tuberculosis, syphilis, and other public health topics. Dr. Orange and other players of his era helped pave the way towards baseball integration and the start of the modern-day civil rights movement in the United States. Studying Dr. Grady Orange's biography helps preserve both his life's impact and provide a history of baseball, segregation, and medicine.