Retro Baltimore: How Orioles’ arrival helped integrate Baltimore hotels in 1950s

The 1954 Orioles were a hapless bunch, losing 100 games in their first season. But the impact of that fledgling team 70 years ago transcended baseball. The arrival of those Orioles of yore helped hasten the demise of segregation that marked Baltimore’s hotels. At the time, Black people were barred from staying in the city’s best hotels — the Emerson, Lord Baltimore and others — a nonissue in all other big league towns.