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A Calculus of Color: The Integration of Baseball's American League
In 1947, as the integration of Major League Baseball began, the once-daring American League had grown reactionary, unwilling to confront postwar challenges--population shifts, labor issues and, above all, racial integration. The league had matured in the Jim Crow era, when northern cities responded to the Great Migration by restricting black access to housing, transportation, accommodations and entertainment, while blacks created their own institutions, including baseball's Negro Leagues. As the political climate changed and some major league teams realized the necessity of integration, the American League proved painfully reluctant. With the exception of the Cleveland Indians, integration was slow and often ineffective. This book examines the integration of baseball--widely viewed as a triumph--through the experiences of the American League and finds only a limited shift in racial values. The teams accepted few black players and made no effort to alter management structures, and organized baseball remained an institution governed by tradition-bound owners.
- GenresBaseball
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 31, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 11, 2023
McGregor shows remarkable narrative discipline. I feel like I went to school on the development and intrepid but precarious existence of the Negro Leagues, background to the book's main subject, but he never got bogged down. He showed a knack for touching on the current of history where they were relevant but never digressing in a way that would inhibit the reader's focus. He definitely kept my attention for as long as he asked for it.
September 22, 2015
Fascinating story of the development of African American players in the American League of MLB after the initial signing of Larry Doby by the Cleveland Indians. The AL clearly lagged far behind the signing and development of black ballplayers, resulting in inferior production on the ball fields.
January 22, 2026
A few days after I returned 14, I witnessed Frank Robinson manage the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) for his first day as a player-manager. I was witnessing history as he was the first African American manager of a professional baseball team, the first from a team that brought us the first Black player, Larry Doby. We were all thrilled when he slammed a home run the first time up at base as an Indian. We finished in fourth place that year, better than usual during those years. I was witnessing another break-through for Black Americans in America’s sport. What I did not realize is that I was born before all professional teams had at least one black player for a full season with Boston (the supposed All-American team) finally placing an African American on their roster.
It was surprising to read that there were renegade leagues out west that allowed Blacks and white to play together. Places like North Dakota and Minnesota were not accepted to the major leagues’ restrictions. They had barnstorming events that paid well and attracted the likes of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehirig who enjoyed playing with the Black players. It demonstrated that black and whites could play fine with and against one another.
World War II had a major impact, draining good players to the war effort then bringing back African Americans who demanded more after fighting for freedom. The war also encouraged the great migration north for Blacks to take jobs in war production, increasing Black consumers for baseball plus increasing the political pressure. The fact that the owners were conservative and old, represented by people like Connie Mack.
This book provides an almost professorate review of how Blacks broke through against the long-held, shameful Jim Crow process. It took 10 years for the National League and 7 years for the American Leage to finally break through the color line, with half that time not even having the majority of teams ridding themselves of Jim Crow systems.
The author mentions the importance of reporters, especially Black journalists. People like Wendell Smith and Sam Lacy promoted racial fairness. Smith interviewed all eight National League managers, pushing them about the racial divide. Most hid their racism while Pie Traynor, manager of the Cubs, said he did not understand why the restrictions existed. But, when the Negro Publishers Association had Paul Robeson as their main spokesperson for a meeting with the delegation, it allowed various owners to push back against the ending of Jim Crow, using communism as the reason.
McGregor argues that economics really moved owners to start moving to eliminate Jim Crow from America’s game and, later, pressure from a renewed civil rights campaign, politicians and some civil rights organizations. The movement of Blacks from the south to the north in the great migration made a major impact in increasing paying fans in places like Cleveland. Detroit, New York and Boston continued to hold back from hiring an African American. He argues late in the book that perhaps Boston was slower to desegregate because of a poor owner and the lower percentage of African Americans in Boston compared to other northern cities. It was long the city where Blacks were least likely to want to play.
The Negro League was the only true avenue for Black players and affordable for African Americans. They were also run poorly, with little extra funds and even less for the players. When the country was plunged into the great depression, the Negro League couldn’t survive since Blacks were the last hired and fire fired; the league crashed in 1932. A new league was started five years later, with Cleveland hosting a team.
The book also gave a snapshot of the Cuban league, attracting Black plays but also some white players. Later, some owners would further insult the African Americans by bringing in Cuban players while excluding darker skin Americans.
As an added benefit, the author talks about Indian’s owner, Bill Veeck. After buying the team in 1946, he used various promotions to increase attendance – fireworks, giveaways, entertainment, and more. He wanted to bring in more money to win. Within the first full year, he brought Larry Doby on board – and received 20,000 pieces of hate mail. Veeck hired Lou Jones, a black man, to deal with Black press. Two fellow teammates, Lou Bouveau and Joe Gordon were allies of the newest teammate. It didn’t help that Veeck brought Doby on the team directly instead of sending him to the minors like Robinson was treated. To the credit of the Indians, they maintained Blacks after Veech left. To the chagrin of other owners, Veech bought the Browns.
It was surprising to read that there were renegade leagues out west that allowed Blacks and white to play together. Places like North Dakota and Minnesota were not accepted to the major leagues’ restrictions. They had barnstorming events that paid well and attracted the likes of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehirig who enjoyed playing with the Black players. It demonstrated that black and whites could play fine with and against one another.
World War II had a major impact, draining good players to the war effort then bringing back African Americans who demanded more after fighting for freedom. The war also encouraged the great migration north for Blacks to take jobs in war production, increasing Black consumers for baseball plus increasing the political pressure. The fact that the owners were conservative and old, represented by people like Connie Mack.
This book provides an almost professorate review of how Blacks broke through against the long-held, shameful Jim Crow process. It took 10 years for the National League and 7 years for the American Leage to finally break through the color line, with half that time not even having the majority of teams ridding themselves of Jim Crow systems.
The author mentions the importance of reporters, especially Black journalists. People like Wendell Smith and Sam Lacy promoted racial fairness. Smith interviewed all eight National League managers, pushing them about the racial divide. Most hid their racism while Pie Traynor, manager of the Cubs, said he did not understand why the restrictions existed. But, when the Negro Publishers Association had Paul Robeson as their main spokesperson for a meeting with the delegation, it allowed various owners to push back against the ending of Jim Crow, using communism as the reason.
McGregor argues that economics really moved owners to start moving to eliminate Jim Crow from America’s game and, later, pressure from a renewed civil rights campaign, politicians and some civil rights organizations. The movement of Blacks from the south to the north in the great migration made a major impact in increasing paying fans in places like Cleveland. Detroit, New York and Boston continued to hold back from hiring an African American. He argues late in the book that perhaps Boston was slower to desegregate because of a poor owner and the lower percentage of African Americans in Boston compared to other northern cities. It was long the city where Blacks were least likely to want to play.
The Negro League was the only true avenue for Black players and affordable for African Americans. They were also run poorly, with little extra funds and even less for the players. When the country was plunged into the great depression, the Negro League couldn’t survive since Blacks were the last hired and fire fired; the league crashed in 1932. A new league was started five years later, with Cleveland hosting a team.
The book also gave a snapshot of the Cuban league, attracting Black plays but also some white players. Later, some owners would further insult the African Americans by bringing in Cuban players while excluding darker skin Americans.
As an added benefit, the author talks about Indian’s owner, Bill Veeck. After buying the team in 1946, he used various promotions to increase attendance – fireworks, giveaways, entertainment, and more. He wanted to bring in more money to win. Within the first full year, he brought Larry Doby on board – and received 20,000 pieces of hate mail. Veeck hired Lou Jones, a black man, to deal with Black press. Two fellow teammates, Lou Bouveau and Joe Gordon were allies of the newest teammate. It didn’t help that Veeck brought Doby on the team directly instead of sending him to the minors like Robinson was treated. To the credit of the Indians, they maintained Blacks after Veech left. To the chagrin of other owners, Veech bought the Browns.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews