Wall of Honor
An iconic figure in the world of baseball, the Kansas City community, and of course at Park University, is none other than Bob Kendrick. The 1985 Park graduate has been the President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) since March 2011. Founded in 1990, the NLBM is the world’s only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of African-American baseball and its profound impact on the social advancement of America. After much storytelling for others in his career, we now have the privilege of displaying Kendrick’s story on the Park Wall of Honor. He came to Park on a basketball scholarship and was part of a 1981 upset victory over UMKC, 63-60. His life’s work after Park would garner global recognition though, as he advanced the NLBM forward as one of the leading authorities on the topic of Negro Leagues Baseball history and its connection to issues relating to sports, race, and diversity. Over the course of his career, Kendrick was crowned with the Park University Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2013, a Missouri Sports Hall of Fame induction in 2014, he was named “Person of the Year” in 2020 by The Kansas City Call newspaper, and much more. Through it all, Kendrick has remained a pillar of support to Park Athletics and to the local Kansas City community.
