Seven Sandy Springers starred on the Legionaires, an American Legion team of the late 1940s. The team played during the last decade of the famed Negro Leagues--black teams that barnstormed the nation during the hardship days of Jim Crow. After Jackie Robinson broke the color line in 1947, black athletes increasingly found berths with the Majors, and the Negro leagues died out. Team members, from front: the Israel brothers Clarence, Elbert, and mascot Freddie of Rockville, James Baker of Norbeck, Bill Williams of Rockville; second row: Walter Williams of Spencerville, James Slater of Colesville, Thomas Snowden of Sandy Spring, Charles Smith of Olney, Dewey Israel, Russell Awkard of Cloverly, and James Riggs (standing) of Holly Grove; rear, Carl Webster of Wheaton and Walker Hill and Bud Harper of Rockville. Russell Awkard and Clarence Israel played semi-pro baseball with the Negro Leagues, and Elbert Israel played on a major league farm team.