Here are 100 books that The Negro Leagues, 1869-1960 fans have personally recommended if you like
The Negro Leagues, 1869-1960.
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Race has always been a primary issue in American lifeâand a test of how well our ideals as a nation sync up with reality. Because sports are a national passion, they have long put questions of inclusion on full display. Itâs a fascinating, illuminating clash: the meritocracy of sports vs. the injustice of racism.
The National Basketball Associationâs color barrier was not as long-lasting as Major League Baseballâs, but it was in place in 1950 when the more enlightened white owners and talented Black players shattered it.
Author Thomas recalls the economic justification for racism, with how one owner warned another owner that his âplayers will be 75% Black in five years and youâre not going to draw people.â Fears that racial fairness would ruin the NBA were ridiculous, of course. The first Black player drafted and the first to sign a contract were Harlem Globetrotters. Through deep research and interviews, Thomas explains in an engaging manner how the NBA was integrated.
Today, black players comprise more than eighty percent of the National Basketball Association's rosters, providing a strong and valued contribution to professional basketball. In the first half of the twentieth century, however, pro basketball was tainted by racism, as gifted African Americans were denied the opportunity to display their talents. A few managed to eke out a living playing for the New York Renaissance and Harlem Globetrotters, black professional teams that barnstormed widely, playing local teams or in short-lived leagues. Also, a sprinkling of black players were on integrated teams. Modern professional basketball began to take shape in the lateâŚ
Race has always been a primary issue in American lifeâand a test of how well our ideals as a nation sync up with reality. Because sports are a national passion, they have long put questions of inclusion on full display. Itâs a fascinating, illuminating clash: the meritocracy of sports vs. the injustice of racism.
Satchel Paige was a pitcher with the skill and showmanship to draw thousands of baseball fans of all races to ballparks across the country. When the Cleveland Indians signed him in 1948 at the age of 42, some sportswriters called it a gimmick. But Paigeâs arm helped Cleveland reach the World Series. In 1965, he threw his final pitch in a pro baseball game at the incredible age of 59.
It was hard not to crack a smile when Paige offered his stories and wisdom. He gave a young pitcher this amusing advice: âThrow strikes. Home plate donât move.â
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ⢠The superbly researched, spellbindingly told story of athlete, showman, philosopher, and boundary breaker Leroy âSatchelâ Paige
âAmong the rare biographies of an athlete that transcend sports . . . gives us the man as well as the myth.ââThe Boston Globe
Few reliable records or news reports survive about players in the Negro Leagues. Through dogged detective work, award-winning author and journalist Larry Tye has tracked down the truth about this majestic and enigmatic pitcher, interviewing more than two hundred Negro Leaguers and Major Leaguers, talking to family and friends who had never told their storiesâŚ
Race has always been a primary issue in American lifeâand a test of how well our ideals as a nation sync up with reality. Because sports are a national passion, they have long put questions of inclusion on full display. Itâs a fascinating, illuminating clash: the meritocracy of sports vs. the injustice of racism.
Major League Baseball teams integrated at different paces. In 1964, the St. Louis Cardinals relied heavily on several Black players to fuel their march toward the league title. St. Louisâs white and Black players had built camaraderie and trust long before they reached that yearâs World Series. Their opponent, the New York Yankees, had been cautious about integrating.
Halberstam explores this contrast and how it shaped the Cardinalsâ series victory. Heâs a great storyteller, sharing tales about players from different races and regions learning to play and win together.
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * THE BEST SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR
"October 1964 should be a hit with old-time baseball fans, who'll relish the opportunity to relive that year's to-die-for World Series, when the dynastic but aging New York Yankees squared off against the upstart St. Louis Cardinals. It should be a hit with younger students of the game, who'll eat up the vivid portrayals of legends like Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris of the Yankees and Bob Gibson and Lou Brock of the Cardinals. Most of all, however, David Halberstam's new book should be a hit withâŚ
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctorâand only womanâon a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
Race has always been a primary issue in American lifeâand a test of how well our ideals as a nation sync up with reality. Because sports are a national passion, they have long put questions of inclusion on full display. Itâs a fascinating, illuminating clash: the meritocracy of sports vs. the injustice of racism.
During the Cold War, the propaganda battle between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was intense during the 1950s and 1960s. Communist leaders in Moscow constantly attacked America as hypocritical for promoting freedom abroad while treating its Black residents as second-class citizens.
Damion L. Thomas provides a fascinating look at how the U.S. government countered by sponsoring Black athletes on goodwill tours abroad. Thomas refers to government directives and other papers to shine a light on this diplomatic strategy.
Throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Union deplored the treatment of African Americans by the U.S. government as proof of hypocrisy in the American promises of freedom and equality. This probing history examines government attempts to manipulate international perceptions of U.S. race relations during the Cold War by sending African American athletes abroad on goodwill tours and in international competitions as cultural ambassadors and visible symbols of American values. Damion L. Thomas follows the State Department's efforts from 1945 to 1968 to showcase prosperous African American athletes including Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens, and the Harlem Globetrotters as the preeminent citizensâŚ
I have long been fascinated by how Black players and team owners strove to put forward their best efforts in the decades before professional baseball was integrated in the late 1940s. I have been researching and writing about the Negro Leagues for more than 30 years, with three books and several contributions to Black baseball compilations to my credit. I was a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame special committee that elected 17 Black baseball figures to the Hall in 2006. Black baseballâs efforts were finally acknowledged in 2020 when Major League Baseball, which once wanted nothing to do with the Negro Leagues (except to sign away their best players starting in 1946), finally acknowledged them as major leagues.
The Negro Leagues, like all organized sports leagues, were showcases for the stars of the game â Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, and the like. But, like all the other leagues, they were businesses, too. Sports entrepreneurs, most of them African American, invested in all-Black teams that formed a âshadowâ alternative to Major League Baseball where the players, and most of the owners, too, were not welcome due to segregation. Lanctot, a history professor comfortable with deep and extensive research, chronicles the successes and failures of the Black leagues, which were almost always existing on a financial knifeâs edge, until the integration of pro ball in 1946 spelled their death.
The story of black professional baseball provides a remarkable perspective on several major themes in modern African American history: the initial black response to segregation, the subsequent struggle to establish successful separate enterprises, and the later movement toward integration. Baseball functioned as a critical component in the separate economy catering to black consumers in the urban centers of the North and South. While most black businesses struggled to survive from year to year, professional baseball teams and leagues operated for decades, representing a major achievement in black enterprise and institution building.
Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of aâŚ
I have been a teacher for over 30 years and a writer of juvenile nonfiction for 10. In my research, I immersed myself in the early decades of the 20th century, which saw the rise of spectator sports and an increasing tension between amateur and professional. Investigating the evolution of competitive running for my book whet my appetite for more. I read other writers for young people to see how they treated the subject in different sports. The best works of childrenâs literature are informative, well-written, and worthwhile even for adult readers. (One project had me researching the War in the Pacific, hence the apparent outlier, Unbroken.)
I loved this book for the flavor it evokes of the early days of the game: the clowning, rough play, and inconsistent pay; the bus rides, bedbugs, and vexations of segregation. All are told in the voice of an everyman Negro Leagues player.
The conceit allows author Kadir Nelson to bring the reader closer to the feel of the times and to provide interpretations that avoid sounding pedantic: âYou couldnât change those folksâ minds anyhow. We were just a bunch of ballplayers. They were long set in their ways.â Nelsonâs bold, full-page illustrations are surely the most striking feature of this book. They imbue each Negro Leaguer with unequivocal dignity; they stimulate the viewer to imagine himself there, in the stands, looking on.
In this New York Times bestselling classic, Caldecott Medal-winning artist Kadir Nelson tells the incredible story of baseball's unsung heroes -- perfect for celebrating the centennial anniversary of the Negro Leagues! Winner of the 2009 Coretta Scott King Author Award * Winner of the 2009 Sibert Medal
Featuring nearly fifty iconic oil paintings and a dramatic double-page fold-out, an award-winning narrative, a gorgeous design and rich backmatter, We Are the Ship is a sumptuous, oversize volume for all ages that no baseball fan should be without. Using an inviting first-person voice, Kadir Nelson shares the engaging story of Negro LeagueâŚ
I have long been fascinated by how Black players and team owners strove to put forward their best efforts in the decades before professional baseball was integrated in the late 1940s. I have been researching and writing about the Negro Leagues for more than 30 years, with three books and several contributions to Black baseball compilations to my credit. I was a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame special committee that elected 17 Black baseball figures to the Hall in 2006. Black baseballâs efforts were finally acknowledged in 2020 when Major League Baseball, which once wanted nothing to do with the Negro Leagues (except to sign away their best players starting in 1946), finally acknowledged them as major leagues.
Peterson was a magazine writer in the 1960s who became curious about those Black baseball teams he saw play in the Pennsylvania town where he grew up. He set out with his tape recorder to track down and interview many Negro League figures, and dove into library newspaper collections to find the facts to back up their reminiscences. First published in 1970 and still in print, this is the first comprehensive history of Black professional baseball, the history of which was in serious danger of being lost to modern memory when the Negro Leagues were put out of business in the 1950s following Major League integration. Many of us who write about Black ball read this book first.
Early in the 1920s, the New York Giants sent a scout to watch a young Cuban play for Foster's American Giants, a baseball club in the Negro Leagues. During one at-bat this talented slugger lined a ball so hard that the rightfielder was able to play it off the top of the fence and throw Christobel Torrienti out at first base. The scout liked what he saw, but was disappointed in the player's appearance. "He was a light brown," recalled one of Torrienti's teammates, "and would have gone up to the major leagues, but he had real rough hair." SuchâŚ
I have been motivated to be the best version of myself for as long as I can remember and that has included reading a ton of books, pushing my own limits on what I was capable of (Ironman triathlons and a cross-country bicycle ride), tapping into my own creativity as well as taking it to the next step and sharing what I have learned through my own books and TEDx presentation. I believe we have so much more inside of us than we realize and I love to share and see others reach their goals and dreams.
This book is wonderful. While it isnât your typical self-improvement book, reading it made me want to be a better person. Buck OâNeilâs attitude is amazing despite all of the hardships he endured. He is an inspiration to everyone. No matter where we are or when we are born, we are all "right on time,â and hopefully striving to serve a purpose for a greater good. A good attitude and lots of gratitude are so important for our self-awareness journey and Buck had it in truckloads. Please read this book.
From Babe Ruth to Bo Jackson, from Cool Papa Bell to Lou Brock, Buck O'Neil has seen it all. As a first baseman and then manager of the legendary Kansas City Monarchs, O'Neil witnessed the heyday of the Negro leagues and their ultimate demise. In I Was Right on Time, he charmingly recalls his days as a ballplayer and as an African-American in a racially divided country. Whether he's telling of his barnstorming days with the likes of Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson or the day in 1962 when he became the first African-American coach in the major leagues, O'NeilâŚ
No one really knows who invented baseball. Games involving balls hit with sticks, runners, and bases are as old as time. By the middle of the 1800s, everybody in America was playing baseball. And I mean everybodyâgirls, boys, women, and men from all walks of life and heritage. While researching baseball history for The House That Ruth Built, I read stacks of baseball books about baseball legendsâfor the most part, White players like Babe Ruth or Black players like Jackie Robinson who broke the color barrier. I was surprised and delighted when I came across books about baseball players who represented the rest of everybodyâhence this list.
Mamie Peanut Johnson loved baseball, and she was a good player. Really good. A pitcher.
Regardless of how good she was, because she was Black, Mamie was barred from playing on the All-American Girlsâ Pro Baseball League. That might have stopped other players, but not Mamie! She didnât let adversity, or the color of her skin, or gender stop her.
Instead, when a chance to pitch for the Negro Leaguesâ Indianapolis Clowns, a menâs professional team, came her way, Mamie stepped right up, thus becoming the first female pitcher to play professional baseball.
Mamie "Peanut" Johnson had one dream: to play professional baseball. She was a talented player, but she wasn't welcome in the segregated All-American Girls Pro Baseball League due to the color of her skin. However, a greater opportunity came her way in 1953 when Johnson signed to play ball for the Negro Leagues' Indianapolis Clowns, becoming the first female pitcher to play on a men's professional team. During the three years she pitched for the Clowns, her record was an impressive 33-8. But more importantly, she broke ground for other female athletes and for women everywhere.
Forthcoming eclipses coming up in Australia include that of 22 July 2028, which will cross Australia from the Northern Territory to Sydney, home of the internationally famous sights of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Eclipse Chasers will act as a guidebook for both locals and international visitors, givingâŚ
I split my writing time between fiction and non-fiction, the latter usually baseball-themed, and Iâve published two books of baseball writing. My reading is similarly bifurcated; thereâs always a baseball book on my nightstand. Iâve also got a background in history, and I genuinely enjoy deep research (itâs a great way to put off, you know, writing). Baseball is such fertile ground, so ripe for deep divesâthe nexus of sport, culture, entertainment, economics, labour relations, etc. The best baseball books are more than boxscores and transactions, they place the game in its historical context. Books that manage to synthesize all of the above are some of my favourite reads.
Henry Aaronâs career spanned the Negro Leagues, the Civil Rights movement, baseballâs expansion era, the turbulent â60s, and the freaky â70s, all while dealing with intractable racism, especially as he neared Babe Ruthâs home run record. Aaronâs autobiography, I Had a Hammer, is certainly worth reading, but author and NPR correspondent Howard Bryant is the right man to put Aaronâs life and career in historical perspective. The Last Hero is an intelligent and incisive social history of the second half of the twentieth century, as well as a stirring account of a heroic baseball life. Incidentally, Bryantâs next book is a biography of Rickey Henderson, which promises more of this goodness. I canât wait.
This definitive biography of Henry (Hank) Aaronâone of baseball's immortal figuresâis a revelatory portrait of a complicated, private man who through sports became an enduring American icon.
âBeautifully written and culturally important.â âThe Washington Post
âThe epic baseball tale of the second half of the 20th century.â âAtlanta Journal Constitution
After his retirement in 1976, Aaronâs reputation only grew in magnitude. But his influence extended beyond statistics. Based on meticulous research and extensive interviews The Last Hero reveals how Aaron navigated the upheavals of his timeâfighting against racism while at the same time benefiting from racial progressâand how he achievedâŚ