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While this is a comprehensive volume on the birth and growth of Negro (Black) Baseball, it is not a dry reference book. It is a narrative about Negro Baseball from the late-1800s and its growth into leagues to its death knoll in the early-1960s. Included are a chronicle of the leagues, teams, star players, owners, leaders, and writers. These early pioneers come alive in this book. The author also focuses on individual players and competition between the best players. He also includes games of in
While this is a comprehensive volume on the birth and growth of Negro (Black) Baseball, it is not a dry reference book. It is a narrative about Negro Baseball from the late-1800s and its growth into leagues to its death knoll in the early-1960s. Included are a chronicle of the leagues, teams, star players, owners, leaders, and writers. These early pioneers come alive in this book. The author also focuses on individual players and competition between the best players. He also includes games of interest and milestones throughout the book. One will glean much knowledge about these men and the challenges they overcame to develop Black Baseball.
Seminal to this were trailblazers, 'test pilots,' and brave leaders who grappled with Jim Crow laws and racism. Among these were the 19th century ballplayers: Sol White, Moses Fleetwood Walker, John W. 'Bud' Fowler, Bob Higgins, Frank Grant, and Grant Johnson. We are led through the infancy of organized baseball after the Civil war. The early-formed teams of the Cuban Giants, Chicago Unions, and the New York City Gorhams along with the barn-storming teams, operated independently and later in the first independent leagues. In time the rise of Prairie Baseball and the segregation that took place at the end of the 19th century stunted the growth of black baseball. The unionization of baseball and white semipro baseball organizations also proved a challenge. This new reality compelled the white baseball entrepreneurs to put pressure on the Black teams, owners and players to stay away from the major league. This period of belligerent segregation began a dark period for black baseball is handled with depth and truth by the authors. By focusing on this era of black baseball, Lawrence D. Hogan points out the future of baseball was seen and delayed by fear and racism. the 'status quo' of the 1890s was rejected and a hard and calculated push-back ensued. He wrote with a hope for the future.
By the 1900s, black baseball was separate and highly successful but the sport was now segregated and would remain so until the mid-point of the 20th century. The new stars were John Henry 'Pop' Lloyd, Pete Hill, Pete Booker, Bruce Petway, Andrew 'Jap' Payne, Rube Foster, Spotswood Poles, and Joe Williams while the Cuban Giants, Cuban X Giants, Leland Giants, Philadelphia Giants, Chicago American Giants, and Chicago Union Giants teams dominated. In 1907, the National Association of Colored Baseball Clubs (NACBC)) existed as a 13-club professional league. With the flow of Cuban players, the league flourished and often played against MLB clubs in competitive contests. unfortunately, internal player raids, scheduling challenges, and competition from the International League of Colored Baseball Clubs in America and Cuba (ILBCAC) spelled doom. Several teams failed, resulting in the NACBC to collapse in 1912. Amazingly, the spirit of Black baseball rebounded. As new partnerships were formed and creative methods like Rube Foster taking a barn-storming team to the West Coast from 1912-15 breathed new life into the growing enterprise.
By 1913, Foster now owner of the Chicago franchise was the leader of black Baseball. With men such as 1Bman/Manager, Dick Redding; C.L. Taylor, owner of Indianapolis franchise; players Oscar Charleston and Bingo DeMoss; J.L. Wilkinson, owner of the new KS franchise; and Charles Mills, owner of the St. Louis franchise, Black Baseball flourished over the next 30 years. The emergence of the Kansas City Monarchs along with the Pittsburgh Crawfords, Pittsburgh Homestead Grays, Indianapolis ABCs, Cuban Stars East, Chicago American Giants, and the Hilldale Giants would form the nucleus of Negro baseball for the coming decades. Interestingly, the author shone a light on the new league's creative marketing, using the print media, promoting rivalries, stage exhibition games against white teams, and constantly scouted of new talent. All these methods would later be adapted by the MLB.
Hogan points out that during the 1920s and 1930s witnessed the development of new powerhouse team, the Hilldale Daises whose star player, Louis Santop was a magnet for other players. Jose Mendez, a Cuban fireball pitcher was recruited by Cuban entrepreneur, Alex Pompez for his Cuban Stars team. other stars like Cristobal Torriente and Luis Padron followed him into the league. The inclusion of Latinos added an international appeal and publicity for the league. The league also had national appeal with Midwestern and Southern teams playing throughout the country. The 1920s proved to be the breakout decade for Negro Baseball in spite of the Southern League closing up with only two teams staying afloat. As the black community grew and developed into an economic power, Negro Baseball followed its path. Baseball expanded, repackaged itself and more players came into the spotlight. Raleigh 'Biz' Mackey burst into the baseball scene and was considered a great catcher. MLB stars soon began to acknowledge that these players had talent. At the forefront of the league was Rube Foster whose playing days were coming to an end. By 1924, the midwestern Negro National League (NNL) and the Eastern Colored League (ECL) formed the new Negro League were formed and operating well. The immediate future would see growth and the first Negro Baseball World Series. The little team that could, the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants would challenge Hilldale, Kansas City, and the Baltimore Black Sox to fuel the love of baseball. Although Mackey left to play in Japan, other stars like Wilbur 'Bullet' Rogan, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Webster MacDonald, Joe Harris, Oscar "Four No hitters" Owens, Martin Dihigo, Norman "Turkey" Stearnes, Dick "King Richard" Lundy, William Julius "Judy" Johnson. and Oscar Charleston shined and carried the league into the 1930s. In spite of the growth and success, the teams struggled financially, with the 'independent' Pittsburgh Homestead Grays being the only team to be in the 'black' as the Great depression loomed because of their owner, Cumbebrland 'Cum' Posey, Jr. and their financial backers. The teams in the East Colored League (ECL) struggled while the Negro National League stayed steady. Semi-pro black teams were easy fodder for teams like the Grays who fattened up on the gate money. By 1929, a new league, the American Negro League replaced failed ECL. Pittsburgh was one of the six teams in the new league which would challenge the NNL. As the 1920s ended, both William Julius "Judy" Johnson. and Oscar Charleston signing with Posey's Grays. Posey's father was a stockholder of the Pittsburgh Courier so the Grays got great press. This model would be emulated by the MLB soon after. The Grays also played year round which improved their level of play. More teams started to play during the winter soon after. Black-owned newspapers like Pittsburgh Courier, the Defender of the windy City (Chicago), and the Kansas City Call all fueled the national coverage of Negro Baseball in the late-1920s and 1930s. A new era and baseball enterprise was looming for the NNL.
As 1930 began, Andrew "Rube' Foster, the "Father of Black Baseball" died. Under the new leadership of attorney, William Hueston, the NNL instituted new budget restraints as the Great Depression raged on through the 1930s. The author was quick t point out that the NNL became a leaner business enterprise dedicated to ensuring that the teams had success and growth in support. New players like power-hitting John Beckwith, a catcher with Hilldale and Willie "El Diablo" Wells, a talented SS who came up through Mexico would play for the St, Louis Stars would impress and thrill fans. Wells' flashy style of play (and later mentor future stars like Robinson, Newcombe, Banks, Bill Gibson, etc) instilled more thrills. The black sportswriters like A.D. Williams, John Holway played critical roles in making players national heroes. In spite of careful management, the Great Depression Years doomed teams like the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants and the Cuban Stars while Pittsburgh Homestead Grays and the Lincoln Giants flourished in 1930s. The failed attempt by Cum Posey to form a new league were thwarted but he knew expansion was needed. He formed the East-West League in 1932 with the Grays and Crawfords being the two best teams. Because of this imbalance and opposition the EWL lasted only one season. Negro Baseball was in peril for the lack of black owners, small playing venues, the economic state of the country, and weaker clubs bleeding money, many players leaving to 'barn-storm,' a form of profit-sharing staved off closure for several years. The mid-1930s saw the mergence of new stars: Buck Leonard, Ray Dandridge, Bill Wright, Leon Day, Raymond Brown, Satchel Paige, and Josh Gibson. In Kansas City, the Monarchs played night baseball and reaped the benefits of bigger crowds. By the late-1930s, new white owners replaced the one-dimensional white owners. One result of this was the creation of Negro American League in 1937 which featured two geographically balanced leagues. The NAL intiially had teams in Kansas City, Chicago, Cincinnati, Memphis, Detroit, Birmingham, Indianapolis and St. Louis in its first season. Cleveland was added in 1939 when Birmingham closed up that same year.
The 'New Age' of Negro Baseball began with a rejuvenation in the late-1930s. It was led by 'Cum' Posey and a quartet of exciting superstars (Buck Leonard, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, and Satchel Paige). The result was an explosion of fan attendance of games, and a growing support for NNL players to be allowed into the major leagues. The author includes many quotes from some major leaguers and writers who felt it was time to let these talented men into baseball. While still in the minority, the sentiment was swinging steadily. During this period, baseball competition went forward and the Grays and Crawfords dominated the sport as the 1930s ended. These two teams embraced a love for the game and eyed each other's players. The Crawfords were led by owner, Gus Greenlee and manager/captain Harold Tinker and the Grays were led by owner/manager, Posey & Vic Harris who became manager in 1936. These two teams battled each other and stood toe-to toe most of the 1930s. However, from 1937 to 1948, the Grays went on unprecedented run finishing first place in the league in ten of twelve seasons while competing in organized playoff baseball in six of those seasons (which they won three). One crucial aspect of the Crawfords and Grays was the impact of Gibson who switched teams several times during his 17-yer career (1930-46). During that time, Gibson was a Gray (1930-31), a Crawford (1932-33), Gray/Crawford (1934), a Crawford (1935-36), and a Grays (1937-46). Joining Gibson in 1937 was the power-hitting, Buck Leonard. The Grays and Crawfords powered the NNL in its resurrection from 1933 to 1948. Satchel Paige played a role in the competition between the Crawfords (1931-34, and 1936) and the Monarchs (1935, 1940,-41, (142-43, and 1944-47). The Kansas City Monarchs had been an upcoming power in the late-1930s that they would realize in the 1940s and 1950s. The final diamond of this period of rebirth was the East-West Classic (all-star game) that started in 1933. Interestingly, the author emphasized that Negro Baseball unified the black community and became an economic engine in most communities. Toward the end of the Depression in 1939 a new arena opened up for the black baseball player - playing in the tropics. In 1939, President Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic formed a 'super team' to help him get 're-elected'. The team included Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Leroy Matlock, Sam Bankhead, Harry Williams, Herman Andrews, and Josh Gibson, the best hitter in the NNL along with the best player from the two santo Domingo baseball teams. The 'Trujillo All-Stars" dominated Caribbean baseball in 1937. Facing a ban from the NNL for having played for Trujillo, the players barn-stormed for the rest of 1937. For the remainder of the 1930s and into the early-1940s, black players would be lured to play in the Caribbean and Mexico for more money. Latin America was not segregated and the black players were welcomed. Still, the NNL flourished as more new players broke into the league. Ray Brown, Jud Wilson, Wilmer Fields, Frank Duncan, and Hilton Smith became stars in the pre-WWII years.
The 1940s were the years of the Grays versus the Monarchs. The Monarchs boasted a team that included Paige, Frank Duncan, Newt Allen, and Hilton Smith. In 1942, the world changed as WWII raged. The 1942 Negro World Series featured the storied meeting of Gibson & Leonard of the Grays and Paige of the Monarchs. The 'WWII Years were not devoid of excitement: Gibson had a 'Ruthian' year in 1943; the continued clashes between Paige and Gibson; the Grays played several home games in Washington, DC (their future home) and Pittsburgh proper; and many NNL players were drafted. Time and wear & tear had taken their toll on both Gibson and Paige in 1945. In 1945, the aged Grays were beaten soundly by the younger Cleveland Buckeyes. The Grays' 'Golden Age" was at an end. This transitional period section of the book features colorful narratives worthy of classic baseball folklore and epitaths to an age of great baseball.
The Post-WWII period would begin the downward path of the Negro leagues as Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie R. Robinson, a WWII veteran and Kansas City Monarch to a contract. The Monarch's owner, Tom Baird led teh protest against Rickey who he labeled a thief for 'stealing' away Robinson. Baseball was on the verge of integration with Robinson being the first black player to play in the majors since 1884. The NNL also suffered the loss of Cum Posey who died at the age of 53 in 1946. The 1946 Negro World Series also saw the last game of Josh Gibson who led the Grays against the Monarchs led by Buck Leonard and Satchel Paige. Gibson's death from a stroke in January 1947 was offset by the Negro World Series' triumph of the perennial bridesmaid, the New York Cubans led by Lorenzo Cabrera, Claro Duany, Orestes "Minnie" Minos, Silvio Garcia, David Barnhill, Luis Tiant, and Rafael Noble over he Cleveland Buckeyes. 1947 was the last 'glory season' for Negro Baseball. Robinson's debut with the Dodgers was a triumph but a death knoll for Negro Baseball.
Sportswriters, Wendell Smith and Sam lacy wrote about desegregation during the WWII years and now wrote of the gates opening for blacks to play in the majors. This section of the book is uplifting with a bow to the talent that now left to play in the majors. Although the "Homestead" Grays won the Negro World Series in 1948, the exodus of talent began. Larry Doby, Hank Thompson, Willard Brown, Dan Bankhead, Roy Campanella, Satchel Paige, Minnie Minoso, Don Newcombe, Monte Irvin, and Luke Easter debuting in the majors from 1948 to 1950. The Newark Eagles and the New York Black Yankees were the first teams to fold in 1948. Other teams like the Monarchs began to sell off its players to the majors to reduce costs. 1949 proved to be a watershed year as the talent drain continued. Sensing the end, Negro baseball team owners petitioned the major leagues to allow them to join the minor leagues. They were denied and continued to lose player but to now to Canada and Mexico. Attendance dipped ore in 1950 and teams took to barn-storming to make money. In 1951, the Homestead Grays and Chicago American Giants folded. One team, the Indianapolis Clowns became a top team in 1951 and 1952 with a young phenom, Hank Aaron leading the way but were out-classed by the Kansas City Monarchs. The end was coming with four more teams folding over the next two years. From 1958 to 1962, talented black players like Hank Aaron, Joe Black, Sam Jethroe, Jim Gilliam, Ernie Banks, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Billy Williams, and Frank Robinson left for the majors. By 1960, the majors were being dominated by black ballplayers and forever changing the game. The Negro Baseball Age ended and baseball was now better for inclusion of so many talented ballplayers. The last season was in 1963 and the few surviving teams were reduced to barn-storming.
The author includes the statistic of the better players but because statistics were not kept for all the games played, they are incomplete. Still, this a good reference for the baseball fan.
Overall, I rate this book as very entertaining and comprehensive. I would recommend folks to read books about the individual players and teams to get more details. ...more
Seminal to this were trailblazers, 'test pilots,' and brave leaders who grappled with Jim Crow laws and racism. Among these were the 19th century ballplayers: Sol White, Moses Fleetwood Walker, John W. 'Bud' Fowler, Bob Higgins, Frank Grant, and Grant Johnson. We are led through the infancy of organized baseball after the Civil war. The early-formed teams of the Cuban Giants, Chicago Unions, and the New York City Gorhams along with the barn-storming teams, operated independently and later in the first independent leagues. In time the rise of Prairie Baseball and the segregation that took place at the end of the 19th century stunted the growth of black baseball. The unionization of baseball and white semipro baseball organizations also proved a challenge. This new reality compelled the white baseball entrepreneurs to put pressure on the Black teams, owners and players to stay away from the major league. This period of belligerent segregation began a dark period for black baseball is handled with depth and truth by the authors. By focusing on this era of black baseball, Lawrence D. Hogan points out the future of baseball was seen and delayed by fear and racism. the 'status quo' of the 1890s was rejected and a hard and calculated push-back ensued. He wrote with a hope for the future.
By the 1900s, black baseball was separate and highly successful but the sport was now segregated and would remain so until the mid-point of the 20th century. The new stars were John Henry 'Pop' Lloyd, Pete Hill, Pete Booker, Bruce Petway, Andrew 'Jap' Payne, Rube Foster, Spotswood Poles, and Joe Williams while the Cuban Giants, Cuban X Giants, Leland Giants, Philadelphia Giants, Chicago American Giants, and Chicago Union Giants teams dominated. In 1907, the National Association of Colored Baseball Clubs (NACBC)) existed as a 13-club professional league. With the flow of Cuban players, the league flourished and often played against MLB clubs in competitive contests. unfortunately, internal player raids, scheduling challenges, and competition from the International League of Colored Baseball Clubs in America and Cuba (ILBCAC) spelled doom. Several teams failed, resulting in the NACBC to collapse in 1912. Amazingly, the spirit of Black baseball rebounded. As new partnerships were formed and creative methods like Rube Foster taking a barn-storming team to the West Coast from 1912-15 breathed new life into the growing enterprise.
By 1913, Foster now owner of the Chicago franchise was the leader of black Baseball. With men such as 1Bman/Manager, Dick Redding; C.L. Taylor, owner of Indianapolis franchise; players Oscar Charleston and Bingo DeMoss; J.L. Wilkinson, owner of the new KS franchise; and Charles Mills, owner of the St. Louis franchise, Black Baseball flourished over the next 30 years. The emergence of the Kansas City Monarchs along with the Pittsburgh Crawfords, Pittsburgh Homestead Grays, Indianapolis ABCs, Cuban Stars East, Chicago American Giants, and the Hilldale Giants would form the nucleus of Negro baseball for the coming decades. Interestingly, the author shone a light on the new league's creative marketing, using the print media, promoting rivalries, stage exhibition games against white teams, and constantly scouted of new talent. All these methods would later be adapted by the MLB.
Hogan points out that during the 1920s and 1930s witnessed the development of new powerhouse team, the Hilldale Daises whose star player, Louis Santop was a magnet for other players. Jose Mendez, a Cuban fireball pitcher was recruited by Cuban entrepreneur, Alex Pompez for his Cuban Stars team. other stars like Cristobal Torriente and Luis Padron followed him into the league. The inclusion of Latinos added an international appeal and publicity for the league. The league also had national appeal with Midwestern and Southern teams playing throughout the country. The 1920s proved to be the breakout decade for Negro Baseball in spite of the Southern League closing up with only two teams staying afloat. As the black community grew and developed into an economic power, Negro Baseball followed its path. Baseball expanded, repackaged itself and more players came into the spotlight. Raleigh 'Biz' Mackey burst into the baseball scene and was considered a great catcher. MLB stars soon began to acknowledge that these players had talent. At the forefront of the league was Rube Foster whose playing days were coming to an end. By 1924, the midwestern Negro National League (NNL) and the Eastern Colored League (ECL) formed the new Negro League were formed and operating well. The immediate future would see growth and the first Negro Baseball World Series. The little team that could, the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants would challenge Hilldale, Kansas City, and the Baltimore Black Sox to fuel the love of baseball. Although Mackey left to play in Japan, other stars like Wilbur 'Bullet' Rogan, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Webster MacDonald, Joe Harris, Oscar "Four No hitters" Owens, Martin Dihigo, Norman "Turkey" Stearnes, Dick "King Richard" Lundy, William Julius "Judy" Johnson. and Oscar Charleston shined and carried the league into the 1930s. In spite of the growth and success, the teams struggled financially, with the 'independent' Pittsburgh Homestead Grays being the only team to be in the 'black' as the Great depression loomed because of their owner, Cumbebrland 'Cum' Posey, Jr. and their financial backers. The teams in the East Colored League (ECL) struggled while the Negro National League stayed steady. Semi-pro black teams were easy fodder for teams like the Grays who fattened up on the gate money. By 1929, a new league, the American Negro League replaced failed ECL. Pittsburgh was one of the six teams in the new league which would challenge the NNL. As the 1920s ended, both William Julius "Judy" Johnson. and Oscar Charleston signing with Posey's Grays. Posey's father was a stockholder of the Pittsburgh Courier so the Grays got great press. This model would be emulated by the MLB soon after. The Grays also played year round which improved their level of play. More teams started to play during the winter soon after. Black-owned newspapers like Pittsburgh Courier, the Defender of the windy City (Chicago), and the Kansas City Call all fueled the national coverage of Negro Baseball in the late-1920s and 1930s. A new era and baseball enterprise was looming for the NNL.
As 1930 began, Andrew "Rube' Foster, the "Father of Black Baseball" died. Under the new leadership of attorney, William Hueston, the NNL instituted new budget restraints as the Great Depression raged on through the 1930s. The author was quick t point out that the NNL became a leaner business enterprise dedicated to ensuring that the teams had success and growth in support. New players like power-hitting John Beckwith, a catcher with Hilldale and Willie "El Diablo" Wells, a talented SS who came up through Mexico would play for the St, Louis Stars would impress and thrill fans. Wells' flashy style of play (and later mentor future stars like Robinson, Newcombe, Banks, Bill Gibson, etc) instilled more thrills. The black sportswriters like A.D. Williams, John Holway played critical roles in making players national heroes. In spite of careful management, the Great Depression Years doomed teams like the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants and the Cuban Stars while Pittsburgh Homestead Grays and the Lincoln Giants flourished in 1930s. The failed attempt by Cum Posey to form a new league were thwarted but he knew expansion was needed. He formed the East-West League in 1932 with the Grays and Crawfords being the two best teams. Because of this imbalance and opposition the EWL lasted only one season. Negro Baseball was in peril for the lack of black owners, small playing venues, the economic state of the country, and weaker clubs bleeding money, many players leaving to 'barn-storm,' a form of profit-sharing staved off closure for several years. The mid-1930s saw the mergence of new stars: Buck Leonard, Ray Dandridge, Bill Wright, Leon Day, Raymond Brown, Satchel Paige, and Josh Gibson. In Kansas City, the Monarchs played night baseball and reaped the benefits of bigger crowds. By the late-1930s, new white owners replaced the one-dimensional white owners. One result of this was the creation of Negro American League in 1937 which featured two geographically balanced leagues. The NAL intiially had teams in Kansas City, Chicago, Cincinnati, Memphis, Detroit, Birmingham, Indianapolis and St. Louis in its first season. Cleveland was added in 1939 when Birmingham closed up that same year.
The 'New Age' of Negro Baseball began with a rejuvenation in the late-1930s. It was led by 'Cum' Posey and a quartet of exciting superstars (Buck Leonard, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, and Satchel Paige). The result was an explosion of fan attendance of games, and a growing support for NNL players to be allowed into the major leagues. The author includes many quotes from some major leaguers and writers who felt it was time to let these talented men into baseball. While still in the minority, the sentiment was swinging steadily. During this period, baseball competition went forward and the Grays and Crawfords dominated the sport as the 1930s ended. These two teams embraced a love for the game and eyed each other's players. The Crawfords were led by owner, Gus Greenlee and manager/captain Harold Tinker and the Grays were led by owner/manager, Posey & Vic Harris who became manager in 1936. These two teams battled each other and stood toe-to toe most of the 1930s. However, from 1937 to 1948, the Grays went on unprecedented run finishing first place in the league in ten of twelve seasons while competing in organized playoff baseball in six of those seasons (which they won three). One crucial aspect of the Crawfords and Grays was the impact of Gibson who switched teams several times during his 17-yer career (1930-46). During that time, Gibson was a Gray (1930-31), a Crawford (1932-33), Gray/Crawford (1934), a Crawford (1935-36), and a Grays (1937-46). Joining Gibson in 1937 was the power-hitting, Buck Leonard. The Grays and Crawfords powered the NNL in its resurrection from 1933 to 1948. Satchel Paige played a role in the competition between the Crawfords (1931-34, and 1936) and the Monarchs (1935, 1940,-41, (142-43, and 1944-47). The Kansas City Monarchs had been an upcoming power in the late-1930s that they would realize in the 1940s and 1950s. The final diamond of this period of rebirth was the East-West Classic (all-star game) that started in 1933. Interestingly, the author emphasized that Negro Baseball unified the black community and became an economic engine in most communities. Toward the end of the Depression in 1939 a new arena opened up for the black baseball player - playing in the tropics. In 1939, President Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic formed a 'super team' to help him get 're-elected'. The team included Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Leroy Matlock, Sam Bankhead, Harry Williams, Herman Andrews, and Josh Gibson, the best hitter in the NNL along with the best player from the two santo Domingo baseball teams. The 'Trujillo All-Stars" dominated Caribbean baseball in 1937. Facing a ban from the NNL for having played for Trujillo, the players barn-stormed for the rest of 1937. For the remainder of the 1930s and into the early-1940s, black players would be lured to play in the Caribbean and Mexico for more money. Latin America was not segregated and the black players were welcomed. Still, the NNL flourished as more new players broke into the league. Ray Brown, Jud Wilson, Wilmer Fields, Frank Duncan, and Hilton Smith became stars in the pre-WWII years.
The 1940s were the years of the Grays versus the Monarchs. The Monarchs boasted a team that included Paige, Frank Duncan, Newt Allen, and Hilton Smith. In 1942, the world changed as WWII raged. The 1942 Negro World Series featured the storied meeting of Gibson & Leonard of the Grays and Paige of the Monarchs. The 'WWII Years were not devoid of excitement: Gibson had a 'Ruthian' year in 1943; the continued clashes between Paige and Gibson; the Grays played several home games in Washington, DC (their future home) and Pittsburgh proper; and many NNL players were drafted. Time and wear & tear had taken their toll on both Gibson and Paige in 1945. In 1945, the aged Grays were beaten soundly by the younger Cleveland Buckeyes. The Grays' 'Golden Age" was at an end. This transitional period section of the book features colorful narratives worthy of classic baseball folklore and epitaths to an age of great baseball.
The Post-WWII period would begin the downward path of the Negro leagues as Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie R. Robinson, a WWII veteran and Kansas City Monarch to a contract. The Monarch's owner, Tom Baird led teh protest against Rickey who he labeled a thief for 'stealing' away Robinson. Baseball was on the verge of integration with Robinson being the first black player to play in the majors since 1884. The NNL also suffered the loss of Cum Posey who died at the age of 53 in 1946. The 1946 Negro World Series also saw the last game of Josh Gibson who led the Grays against the Monarchs led by Buck Leonard and Satchel Paige. Gibson's death from a stroke in January 1947 was offset by the Negro World Series' triumph of the perennial bridesmaid, the New York Cubans led by Lorenzo Cabrera, Claro Duany, Orestes "Minnie" Minos, Silvio Garcia, David Barnhill, Luis Tiant, and Rafael Noble over he Cleveland Buckeyes. 1947 was the last 'glory season' for Negro Baseball. Robinson's debut with the Dodgers was a triumph but a death knoll for Negro Baseball.
Sportswriters, Wendell Smith and Sam lacy wrote about desegregation during the WWII years and now wrote of the gates opening for blacks to play in the majors. This section of the book is uplifting with a bow to the talent that now left to play in the majors. Although the "Homestead" Grays won the Negro World Series in 1948, the exodus of talent began. Larry Doby, Hank Thompson, Willard Brown, Dan Bankhead, Roy Campanella, Satchel Paige, Minnie Minoso, Don Newcombe, Monte Irvin, and Luke Easter debuting in the majors from 1948 to 1950. The Newark Eagles and the New York Black Yankees were the first teams to fold in 1948. Other teams like the Monarchs began to sell off its players to the majors to reduce costs. 1949 proved to be a watershed year as the talent drain continued. Sensing the end, Negro baseball team owners petitioned the major leagues to allow them to join the minor leagues. They were denied and continued to lose player but to now to Canada and Mexico. Attendance dipped ore in 1950 and teams took to barn-storming to make money. In 1951, the Homestead Grays and Chicago American Giants folded. One team, the Indianapolis Clowns became a top team in 1951 and 1952 with a young phenom, Hank Aaron leading the way but were out-classed by the Kansas City Monarchs. The end was coming with four more teams folding over the next two years. From 1958 to 1962, talented black players like Hank Aaron, Joe Black, Sam Jethroe, Jim Gilliam, Ernie Banks, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Billy Williams, and Frank Robinson left for the majors. By 1960, the majors were being dominated by black ballplayers and forever changing the game. The Negro Baseball Age ended and baseball was now better for inclusion of so many talented ballplayers. The last season was in 1963 and the few surviving teams were reduced to barn-storming.
The author includes the statistic of the better players but because statistics were not kept for all the games played, they are incomplete. Still, this a good reference for the baseball fan.
Overall, I rate this book as very entertaining and comprehensive. I would recommend folks to read books about the individual players and teams to get more details. ...more
Oct 11, 2023
Don Brown
added it
