By Michael Ceraolo
Of course I would like to have played in the white majors
But because that wasn’t meant to be for me,
I’m proud to have played in the Negro Leagues,
and I’m glad to see those leagues
have now been recognized as major leagues,
because we definitely played major-league-caliber ball
I long hoped to be elected to the Hall of Fame,
to be in the group of the greatest ballplayers
I was in the hospital when I got
the news that I had been so elected
I could now die a happy man,
and, unlike so many who use that cliche,
I did die a few days later
