Who:Ira McKnight was a catcher in the Negro National League of baseball, an organization created in 1920 for blacks, who were not allowed to play in Major League Baseball because of their race.

He began his professional career in 1952 with the Memphis Red Sox and then played for the Kansas City Monarchs from 1956 to 1960, two decades after another Monarch, Jackie Robinson, had broken the major league color barrier and was playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

“I met Jackie once in New York,” said McKnight, who hit .401 for the Monarchs in 1959. “When he broke the color barrier, he opened the door for a lot of black players, many of them like Satchel Paige who came from the Negro Leagues. But that was the beginning of the end for the Negro Leagues.”

The league disbanded in 1960.

The retired McKnight operates a baseball souvenir and memorabilia booth from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday at the Irvington Flea Market, 6301 E. Washington St.

Personal:McKnight, 73, was born in Trenton, Tenn., and grew up in South Bend, where he played baseball as a youth. He played in the Negro National League from 1952 to 1960, and had a brief stint in 1957 in the New York Yankees minor league system. In the 1960s, he played in various Canadian leagues.

On racism in baseball:“It’s come a long way, but there’s still some of it there. You don’t see that many black third-base coaches. You see a lot of them on first base, but a third-base coach is more like a manager’s job. You don’t see many black general managers, either.”

On catching Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Satchel Paige when he played on the Satchel Paige All-Stars traveling exhibition team in 1963:

“He was in his 50s by the time I caught him and had lost some of his speed, but he still had great control. .”

On baseball’s steroid scandal:“You can tell by looking at them. But even if you take steroids, that doesn’t help you hit a baseball.”