Integrating the Orioles: Baseball and Race in Baltimore

by Bob Luke

The struggle to integrate the Baltimore Orioles mirrored the fight for civil rights in Baltimore. The Orioles debuted in 1954, the same year the Supreme Court struck down public school segregation. As Baltimore experienced demonstrations, white flight and a 1968 riot, team integration came slowly. Black players--mostly outfielders--made cameo appearances as black fans stayed away in droves. The breakthrough came in 1966, with the arrival of a more enlightened owner, and African American superstar Frank Robinson. As more black players filled the roster, the Orioles dominated the American League from 1969 through much of the 1970s and into the early 1980s.
Attempts to integrate the team's executive suite were less successful. While black players generally did not participate in civil rights actions, several under Robinson's leadership pushed for front office jobs for former black players.

216 pages, Paperback

Published January 28, 2016

Reviews

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I was expecting was not what I got and that's a good thing. A well-researched tale of race and baseball in Baltimore. Bob Luke deftly weaves a narrative between both, while never losing perspective that sports is but a microcosm of the bigger issue of racial injustice. Shed light on much of the sordid Orioles front office history that I never really knew. Can be read as a companion to Antero Pietila's Not In My Neighborhood and is in some ways a better book as it is far more focused.

[NCHS Library]

Publisher's Description: Drawing on primary sources and interviews with former executives, players and sportswriters, this book tells the story of the integration of the Baltimore Orioles. The author describes how tensions between community leaders and team officials aborted negotiations to both increase black attendance and put an African American in the club's executive ranks.