OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Baseball has long been called America's favorite pastime. It's been around for more than 150 years, but for decades, not everyone could play on the same field at the same time.

The Oak Ridge Bombers began playing during the era of segregation in baseball.

"In 1944, there was a colored league that came into existence, and the segregated Oak Ridge, Tennessee, during wartime, Manhattan Project era," said Katatra Vasquez, the founder and president of the Atomic Hope Heritage Preservation and Tourism Company.

Baseball is a big sport in the Black community.

"I sort of came up with baseball with my uncles and things like that. That's all we really had to do after school was go watch them practice and we practiced with them. This was like the only thing that Blacks as young

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