Press Coverage
Interested in connecting with Vanessa for a speaking engagement, book talk and signing, interview, or other opportunity? We’d love to hear from you!
Vanessa has been featured on:
Event & Television Appearances
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Michigan Celebrates First Annual Negro Leagues Day
WLNS NEWS 8 GRAND RAPIDS
May 2, 2025Vanessa Ivy Rose talks to WLNS News 8 about the first day Michigan is celebrating Negro Leagues Day after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill in June 2024 to uplift the historic accomplishments of Black baseball players in Michigan.
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Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2024: Norman “Turkey” Stearnes
WLNS NEW 6 LANSING
July 7, 2024Vanessa Ivy Rose talks to WLNS News 6 about her grandfather’s induction into the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024. Rose said her interest in her grandfather’s legacy was sparked through conversations with her grandmother, Nettie Stearnes. Her grandmother spent 21 years after her husband’s passing campaigning for him to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which he finally was in 2000.
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Indianapolis Indians Negro Leagues Night
Indianapolis Indians
June 24, 2024The Indians paid tribute to the rich history of the Negro Leagues in Indianapolis with Negro Leagues Night on June 24. Educational fact boards and podcast clips from "Reclaimed: The Forgotten League" educated fans in attendance about the legacy of the Negro Leagues and its players. Vanessa spoke to the team in the locker room, with each player playing in honor of a Negro Leagues player she selected. Vanessa also threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
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CNN News Live: Negro Leagues at Rickwood Field
CNN News Live
June 21, 2024
CNN News Live and Vanessa Ivy Rose discuss the Negro Leagues, Willie Mays and the Rickwood Field game. Turkey Stearnes played at Rickwood Field and was a member of the Montgomery Grey Sox before his time with the Detroit Stars. -
Governor Whitmer Signs Bill to Recognize Negro Leagues Day in Michigan
Hamtramck Stadium
June 19, 2024
On Juneteenth, Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, signed a bill recognizing May 2nd as Negro Leagues Day at Turkey Stearnes Field at Historic Hamtramck Stadium. Vanessa, who is a Board Member for the stadium, gave a speech thanking the Governor as well as awarded several scholarships during the event. -
Podcast of the Month: Reclaimed: The Forgotten League
GMA3: What You Need to Know
Image courtesy of GMA3Guest: Vanessa Ivy Rose
October 20, 2023Host Vanessa Ivy Rose discusses ABC Audio’s six-part podcast series, “Reclaimed: The Forgotten League,” with DeMarco Morgan and Eva Pilgrim from GMA3. This interview explores how baseball was shaped by its history of segregation.
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NPR 1A Podcast Interview
NPR 1A Podcast
Image courtesy of NPR
October 5, 2023Reclaiming the overlooked elites of baseball’s Negro Leagues. Vanessa Ivy Rose discusses the impact of Black baseball players and the Negro Leagues and what it means to be the greatest baseball player.
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Detroit Stars Flag Raising at Comerica Park
Detroit Tigers
Photo courtesy of the Detroit TigersGuests: The Stearnes Family
February 13, 2022To commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the founding of the Negro Leagues, the family of Norman "Turkey" Stearnes helped us raise the Detroit Stars flag at Comerica Park, where it flew for the remainder of Black History Month.
The video features an interview with Vanessa Ivy Rose discussing the combined legacies of her grandfather, the Negro Leagues and baseball.
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Inside the Tigers: Stars Forever
Inside the Tigers
Photo courtesy of Inside the Tigers
Guests: Joyce Stearnes Thompson and Vanessa Ivy Rose
August 3, 20192019 marked the Centennial Anniversary of the Detroit Stars. To pay tribute, Inside the Tigers looked back on the impact of the Negro Leagues and the path they set for young, Black athletes today. Joyce Stearnes Thompson and Vanessa Ivy Rose are interviewed by Craig Monroe.
Podcast & Radio Interviews
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Reclaimed: The Forgotten League
ABC Audio
Host: Vanessa Ivy Rose
Premiered October 2, 2023For decades, Black baseball players were excluded from the major leagues and forced to create their own space: the Negro Leagues. In “Reclaimed: The Forgotten League,” we’ll uncover the stories of some of these overlooked greats, including Turkey Stearnes, one of the best hitters of all time.
Vanessa Ivy Rose, granddaughter of Negro Leagues star Turkey Stearnes, brings us on a quest to excavate the stories and stats of Black players who were shut out of the major leagues, a legacy that still haunts the sport. The series includes interviews with family and friends of Turkey Stearnes, including a living Negro Leagues player; never-before-published audio of Stearnes himself; and interviews with leading historians.
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Celebrating Negro Baseball History with Vanessa Ivy Rose
Girls Talk Books
March 24, 2025Vanessa never met her grandfather, the Hall of Famer Norman “Turkey” Stearnes. However, the story of his life in the Negro Leagues was captivating. As an athlete, she wondered what she would learn from his legacy. In her book, Hall of Fame DNA: The Legacy of Norman “Turkey” Stearnes, she brings his story to life in a conversation with his history.
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Leadership Lessons From the Negro Leagues Podcast
The Negro Leagues Are Major Leagues
July 8, 2024Vanessa Ivy Rose and Steve Taddei discuss Negro League statistics as Major League statistics, and much more.
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WDET The Metro Podcast
Detroit City Football Club Makes History
(starting at 8:50)
July 5, 2024Vanessa Ivy Rose, vice chair of the Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium and granddaughter of Norman Turkey Stearnes, joined The Metro to share her connection to America’s Pastime.
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The Hall of Very Good Podcast
Episode 403: Vanessa Ivy Rose
December, 19, 2023
Vanessa Ivy Rose, host of “Reclaimed: The Forgotten League”, returns to talk to the boys about her recent appearance on “Good Morning America”, finding a seemingly lost voice recording of her grandfather, Negro Leagues legend (and five-time Hall of Famer) Turkey Stearnes, whether or not we could see Hamtramck Stadium playing host to Major League Baseball and, of course, her lifelong love of Prince. -
SABR Ballpark Figures: Vanessa Ivy Rose
Society of American Baseball (SABR)
December 8, 2023
Vanessa talks to host Shakeia Taylor about her ABC News podcast "Reclaimed: The Forgotten League", and how she continues to honor her grandfather’s legacy through Hall of Fame DNA. -
The Patti Vasquez Show
Driving it Home | WCPT 820 AM
(starting at 1:06:08)
November 27, 2023Negro League's author and podcaster Vanessa Ivy Rose joins Patti from Detroit during their twin cities AM 950 Radio hour.
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Locked on MLB Podcast
Honoring Turkey Stearnes
November 23, 2023Vanessa returns to the show with Sully to talk about Reclaimed: The Forgotten League podcast and her new book about the life and legacy of her grandfather.
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Effectively Wild: A Fangraphs Baseball Podcast Interview
Episode 2088: Let’s Talk Turkey
(starting at 53:16)
November 22, 2023Vanessa talks about the under-appreciated greatness of her grandfather, Turkey Stearnes, telling the story of the Negro Leagues, and the past, present, and future of Black baseball.
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Celebrating Turkey Stearnes and Hamtramck Stadium
Locked on MLB
Guest: Vanessa Ivy Rose
August 12, 2021The stadium that was home to the Detroit Stars of the Negro Leagues is being preserved and renamed Norman “Turkey” Stearnes Field at Historic Hamtramck Stadium. The new name honors Baseball Hall of Famer and Negro League star "Turkey" Stearnes. His granddaughter, Vanessa Ivy Rose, joins the show to talk about a weekend of ceremonies at the part and with the Tigers honoring her grandfather, plus memories of the Cooperstown announcement and being part of the celebration.
Publications
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Hall of Fame DNA: The Legacy of Norman "Turkey" Stearnes
Written by Vanessa Ivy Rose
Publication Date: May 7, 2023The story of Norman "Turkey" Stearnes is one of greatness hidden in plain sight. According to baseball statistics and four Hall of Fame inductions, he is one of the all-time greats, yet many people have never heard his name. In this sports biography and memoir fusion, Vanessa Ivy Rose gives the play-by-play. Written as a conversation with Turkey, she details what makes her grandfather an unforgettable legend, both on and off the field.
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The Negro Leagues are Major Leagues: Essays and Research for Overdue Recognition
Baseball-Reference.com
Photo courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com
Essay by Vanessa Ivy Rose
December 15, 2021
Vanessa’s essay, Turkey Stearnes and the Inclusive Grand Slam, is featured alongside incredible historians and amazing athletes in this book. -
Detroit Tigers’ Negro Leagues Weekend is a ‘major’ celebration
Detroit Metro Times
Photo courtesy of the Detroit Metro Times
Written by Vanessa Ivy Rose
Thursday, July 15, 2021For baseball fans, the events taking place during the month of July could be considered holidays. The 2021 MLB All-Star Game and the MLB Home Run Derby are clear frontrunners, but from July 30–Aug. 1, the Detroit Tigers organization will celebrate and acknowledge a team that belongs to their baseball family tree: the Detroit Stars. With annual celebrations (and arguably the best historic uniforms in the game), the Tigers have provided fans with an opportunity to commemorate the legacy of players who thrived during the era of Jim Crow. Due to segregation and bigotry, the legacy of the Detroit Stars is often introduced to the average person as buried treasure. Upon further examination (usually provided by celebrations or statistical evidence), larger-than-life heroes like Norman “Turkey” Stearnes emerge from the shadows to take their rightful place in baseball culture.
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Long live the king
Detroit Metro Times
Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios/Walt Disney PicturesWritten by Vanessa Ivy Rose
Monday, August 31, 2020Chadwick Boseman’s legacy is that he was able to show the world who Black people really are through his art. He was a one-man Harlem Renaissance. Boseman had the gift of bringing to life Black history icons that had been forgotten, intentionally hidden, or intentionally dismissed.
When I saw 42, even though it wasn’t about my grandfather, National Baseball Hall of Famer Norman “Turkey” Stearnes, for the first time in a mainstream film, I was able to visually see what it might have looked like for a Negro Leaguer to take the field in Birmingham, Alabama. That was my favorite scene in the entire film, and I remember tears streaming down my face because I had never seen footage of my grandfather — and I never will. Due to the color of his skin, it’s simply not an option.
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Detroiters remember Nelson Mandela's 1990 Tiger Stadium visit
Detroit Metro Times
Photo courtesy of the Walter Reuther Library
Quote by Vanessa Ivy Rose
Tuesday, July 14, 2020The beautiful synchronicity of seeing and hearing Nelson Mandela on the field was a true representation of Black excellence,” she says. “His words deeply embodied the spirit of leadership, as well as the spirit of Detroit. His declarations of freedom were wrapped in ancestral healing. His calls for solidarity and unity exemplified the leadership so desperately needed in the past, present, and future. Symbolically standing in centerfield, Mandela’s words gave life, longevity, and new meaning to the whispered and unspoken dreams of a silent slugger like Grandpa Turkey. I used to think Grandpa Turkey was born too early, but seeing a liberated Mandela on the field just reaffirmed that, much like destiny, greatness has no expiration date.
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Turkey Stearnes and the Inclusive Grand Slam
Baseball-Reference.com
Photo courtesy of Baseball-Reference.comWritten by Vanessa Ivy Rose
Tuesday, June 15, 2021For most, actions speak louder than words, but in my family, home runs speak the loudest. It comes with the territory when your grandfather is Baseball Hall of Famer (and Detroit Stars legend), Norman “Turkey” Stearnes. My grandfather was a quiet and reserved man (originally from Tennessee) who could be found hitting baseballs so far they were rumored to have landed in “somebody’s kitchen,” making plays in center field that deserved to be on SportsCenter’s Top Ten, or discussing baseball on any given day, but he likely never imagined reaching Cooperstown (or four other Hall of Fames).
Webinars & Presentations
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Beckett Live Presents: Project #JG20MVP Baseball Card Art Challenge Final
Beckett Live
Photo courtesy of Beckett Live
Celebrity Guest Judge: Vanessa Ivy Rose
Sunday, July 11, 2021Representing Turkey Stearnes, Vanessa appeared as part of a celebrity panel of judges to rate, review and celebrate stunning artwork created by artists from around the world for the Josh Gibson for MVP campaign.
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Angel in the Outfield: The Life and Legacy of Norman “Turkey” Stearnes
Josh Gibson Foundation
Photo courtesy of the Josh Gibson FoundationPresented by Vanessa Ivy Rose
May 15, 2021Vanessa Ivy Rose is the granddaughter of Baseball Hall of Famer Norman “Turkey” Stearnes. As she would say, “Standing upon his shoulders”, she is an educator, activist, basketball coach, creative, and storyteller.
Webinar Passcode: @UzDf54g
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Combining Forces: Restorative Options for Baseball Integration and the Inclusion of the Negro Leagues
Detroit Negro Leagues Baseball Centennial
Photo courtesy of Detroit Negro Leagues Baseball Centennial
Presented by Vanessa Ivy Rose
August 8, 2018Vanessa Ivy Rose presented Combining Forces: Restorative Options for Baseball Integration and the Inclusion of the Negro Leagues at the 2018 Detroit Negro Leagues Baseball Centennial.
Get in Touch
Interested in connecting with Vanessa for a speaking engagement, book talk and signing, interview, or other opportunity?
We’d love to hear from you! Drop us a line at hofdna@gmail.com or fill out the form on this page.
Thank you for your interest in sharing the legacy of the Negro Leagues!