The story of the Negro Leagues stands as a classic example of both.

But hundreds of baseball fans got a history lesson on the league Saturday afternoon outside Jacobs Field, as a 53-foot Roadway Express tractor trailer rolled into the city with exhibits from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in tow.

"For the first time, many folks are getting to learn not only a piece of baseball history, but a piece of American history that they never knew anything about," said Bob Kendrick, director of marketing for the museum, headquartered in Kansas City. "This is a new history for them, and they are basically in awe that a story of this magnitude that lasted 40 years in our country could go and happen and them not know anything about it."

Inside the 18-wheeler, the museum glued 40 years of its historical artifacts to the walls -- walls that include game-worn Negro Leagues uniforms. One of those scratchy, wool uniforms belonged to a member of the Cleveland Buckeyes, a team that played in the Hough area just a few miles from Jacobs Field at old League Park.

For one afternoon, the history of black baseball came within reach of Clevelanders -- literally.

Visitors were able to view the historical photographs that were scattered throughout the rolling museum. Some of those photos are of Jackie Robinson; others are lesser-knowns like Martin Dihigo, a Cuban-born ballplayer who starred in the Negro Leagues.

Then there's a corner with photographs of players that even the most casual fan can identify: Willie Mays, Roy Campanella, Ernie Banks and former Indians outfielder Larry Doby.

Those men were Hall of Famers in the Major Leagues, though, right?

Correct. But a closer glance at Mays and Banks reveals that they were not playing for the Giants and Cubs, respectively. Mays was playing for the Birmingham Black Barons; Banks for the Kansas City Monarchs.

Who knew?

:Many people know a little bit about the Negro Leagues," said Jim Ferguson, vice president of marketing for Roadway. "They've heard of Satchel Paige; they've heard of 'Cool Papa' Bell. They may not know the story behind them and the story of the game."

Monty Guest, 47, knew a little bit about Paige, Bell and Buck O'Neil, who toured the mobile museum Saturday along with former Negro Leaguers James Cobbin and Ted Toles Jr. But Guest didn't necessarily know the stories behind those men.

"I actually had an opportunity to meet Buck O'Neil the other day," said Guest, who lives in Solon, Ohio. "He's one of the nicest guys that I've ever met. He just enjoys life.

"I've never met anybody who enjoys life as much as him, so I wanted to come out and see what his history is all about."

But Guest learned about more than just O'Neil.

"The one thing that really surprised me was back in the 1940s, they had women playing baseball in the Negro Leagues," he said. "They were starting to lose a little interest in the league, so they brought women into it to pique the interest."

His two children also enjoyed the mobile museum, because it includes game-used artifacts that astound kids. Perhaps the most astounding to them were game-used gloves that looked more like oven mitts.

"They loved it -- seeing the old gloves, the old spikes that players wore and just seeing some of the old uniforms," Guest said. "They were great."

The mobile museum, which first hit the highway in early April, consists of more than old gloves, spikes and authentic uniforms. The experience of Negro League history extended outside the tractor trailer, as baseball fans get the chance to meet former players like O'Neil and Toles at each stop.

They also could buy replica uniforms, caps and memorabilia at the museum's souvenir stand.

"There's ideas on how this can turn this thing into an experience for a larger fan base," Ferguson said. "[Ideas include] more public access, maybe tie it into African-American heritage days [and] throwback uniforms.

"We're excited about what we can do next year to make this better, more interesting and a better baseball experience."

But the experience and history have definitely hit a home run with baseball fans, Kendrick said.

"I think overall, they've been very impressed with the story that we're telling and the way that we're telling it and in this mobile fashion," he said. "They all think it's pretty cool."