By Milton Kirby | Atlanta, GA | October 7, 2025

We at The Truth Seekers Journal are excited to announce that on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, we will debut a new and engaging column: “Shadow Ball.” The column will feature the work of Negro League Baseball historian Ted Knorr, who has been—first a fan, then a historian—for more than 30 years.

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About Ted Knorr

Ted Knorr, 74, is a retired program manager with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where he focused on economic development and education. A lifelong baseball fan, Knorr has devoted much of his life to exploring the rich history of the Negro Leagues, along with his deep interests in statistical analysis, Pittsburgh history, literature, and baseball trivia.

Among his proudest accomplishments:

• He has played the APBA Major League Baseball Game for 63 years and been a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) for 46 years, remaining active in the Negro Leagues Committee (NLC) for 36 of them.
• Since 1966, he and his father have attended about two dozen World Series, All-Star, and playoff games, along with stadium and season openers in Pittsburgh.
• In 1973, he hitchhiked across the United States, following the Pirates, Mets, and Reds before witnessing Game Six of that year’s World Series in Oakland, California.
• He founded Negro League Commemorative Nights in Harrisburg, Lancaster, and York, Pennsylvania—annual celebrations held since 1997.
• He established the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference in 1998, a national research gathering that has convened 26 times to date. Knorr has hosted the event four times and attended 23 of them.
• In 2007, he raised funds and designed a historical marker for his hero, Negro League outfielder Rap Dixon, whose life and career Knorr continues to champion for recognition in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
• A trivia enthusiast, Knorr has won the Jerry Malloy Significa Contest three times, served as emcee ten times, and in 2022 led his team to victory in the SABR national trivia championship—making him the only SABR member to win trivia or significa titles on both sides of the color line.
• Today, Knorr continues to lecture and exhibit on Negro League history for schools, community groups, senior centers, and baseball organizations nationwide.

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A Twice-Monthly Column

“Shadow Ball” will be published on the second and fourth weeks of each month, offering readers a consistent and interactive look at the legacy of Negro League Baseball and the lives that shaped it.

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Two-Way Conversation with Readers

The column will have two interactive components:

• Reader Questions: Each edition, Mr. Knorr will respond directly to questions submitted by TSJ readers, allowing community curiosity to help shape the narrative.
• Knorr’s Question to Readers: Mr. Knorr will also pose a question to readers. Selected responses will appear in the following week’s column. To be published, respondents will need to provide a release to TSJ.

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Why “Shadow Ball”?

The title draws inspiration from the famous warm-up routines Negro League players performed—miming an invisible baseball to entertain crowds. In that same spirit, Knorr’s column will mix memory, history, and imagination, bringing the brilliance of Negro League Baseball into today’s conversations.

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We invite our readers to join us in welcoming Ted Knorr and to become part of this living dialogue. Be sure to read the first edition of Shadow Ball on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.

You can send questions to shadowball@truthseekersjournal.com or Shadow Ball, 3904 N Druid Hills Rd, Ste 179, Decatur, GA 30033