From Negro League stars Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson, to color line shatterer Jackie Robinson, and those who followed them in the limelight, such as Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, this biographical encyclopedia chronicles the history of African American baseball through the life stories of the game's greatest players, the legends who played a significant role in the integration of major league baseball.
Lew Freedman is a sportswriter with the Chicago Tribune. He has worked as an award-winning journalist with the Anchorage Daily News and is the author of over 21 books.
The careers of 20 athletes, inlcuding Ray Campanella, Willie Mays,
and Hank Aaron, are highlighted with reference to their
contributions to the Negro Leagues and/or major league baseball
mid-century, when their impact on the sport was most dramatic. The
author's anecdotal style is especially affecting in describing his
subjects, their struggles with racism, and their travails.
*Curriculum Connections*
Freedman's approach, which includes plenty of quotations and
fascinating anecdotes, such as Don Newcombe's daring to get into a
public argument with a white man during spring training in Florida,
makes the book both an excellent source and a compelling sports
history.
*American Reference Books Annual*
This excellent and readable book tells the stories of 20
African-American baseball players, both old-timers excluded from
the major leagues by segregation….and relatively newer players such
as Ernie Banks, Bob, Gibson, and Hank Aaron. The book works at two
levels--first, as an account of what it meant to be an
African-American baseball player in the United States, and second,
as a great read about very good players….There are pictures
throughout, and an index, both of which add to the book's
quality….This book is both educational and enjoyable, and is highly
recommended.
*MultiCultural Review*
Together, these players reflect nearly ninety years of baseball
history. Freedman uses their careers to illuminate changes in both
baseball and American society. His detailed accounts describe the
early life, professional career and later efforts of each player.
The author uses interviews, biographies, and game reports to
demonstrate the character and achievements of each man. The
narratives are heavily sprinkled with contemporary accounts and
anecdotes, but are fully documented. As stories of success,
tragedy, pain, perserverance, sports and history, this collection
of biographies will prove entertaining and informative reading in
both public and academic libraries.
*Lawrence Looks at Books*
Crafting a readable and informative history, Freedman reminds
readers of the struggles of Hank Aaron and his brethren. The
articles are arranged neither alpahbetically nor strictly
chronologically. Instead, the order of subject coverage is chosen
to best weave individual stories into a cohesive account of African
Americans in baseball in the 20th century. Each lengthy selection
provides details of the players' personal and professional lives as
well as the abuses they suffered. Since Freedman was able to
interview a few of the players, such as Buck O'Neil and Minnie
Minoso, the anecdotes and reminiscences make these men seem real,
and the racism they encountered that much more painful.
*School Library Journal*
Chicago Tribune sportswriter Freedman explains his arrangement of
the 20 biographies found here as neither chronological nor
alphabetical, but laid out in a manner that best illustrates the
African American baseball experience through the Negro Leagues and
the barrier-breaking period in the major leagues. The lives and
careers of players including Buck O'Neil, Cool Papa Bell, Jackie
Robinson, Roy Campanella, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron are offered in
entries averaging eight pages each, and accompanied by a few
B&W photographs. A timeline of births, deaths, and major events
is provided, along with suggestions for further reading.
*Reference & Research Book News*
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