How did the International League limit contracts for Black players in 1887?

In 1887, the board of directors of the International League took a discriminatory step toward excluding Black athletes by instructing its secretary to approve no further contracts for Black players. While this directive effectively halted the addition of new Black players to the league, it did not result in the immediate removal of the five Black athletes already on team rosters at that time. This action was part of a broader, exclusionary trend in professional baseball that eventually led to the establishment of a "gentlemen's agreement" to bar Black players from organized leagues.123