The Integration of Baseball in Philadelphia

The Integration of Baseball in Philadelphia PDF Author: Christopher Threston
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 9780786414239
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
The release of Ken Burns' documentary Baseball in 1994 and the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut in the major leagues in 1997 once again brought attention to the integration of baseball. Integration did not guarantee equality or even begin to solve baseball's race-related struggles. In some instances, integration caused even more problems for the African American players and their white teammates. This was the case in Philadelphia, where, among other discriminatory actions, Phillies manager Ben Chapman instructed his players to verbally abuse Jackie Robinson. This work examines how Philadelphia acquired a reputation as a tough place for African American players. It follows the very slow and difficult progress of integration of the Philadelphia Phillies and Athletics. Attempts to integrate Philadelphia baseball began being made as early as the 1860s, and all of them proved futile until 1953. Those attempts and the reasons that they failed are discussed. The book provides biographical and statistical information on some of the African American players who were confronted with discrimination, and also looks at the white players, managers, coaches, and front office personnel who were having a difficult time accepting African American players on their teams.

The Integration of Baseball in Philadelphia

The Integration of Baseball in Philadelphia PDF Author: Christopher Threston
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 9780786414239
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 202

Get Book Here

Book Description
The release of Ken Burns' documentary Baseball in 1994 and the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut in the major leagues in 1997 once again brought attention to the integration of baseball. Integration did not guarantee equality or even begin to solve baseball's race-related struggles. In some instances, integration caused even more problems for the African American players and their white teammates. This was the case in Philadelphia, where, among other discriminatory actions, Phillies manager Ben Chapman instructed his players to verbally abuse Jackie Robinson. This work examines how Philadelphia acquired a reputation as a tough place for African American players. It follows the very slow and difficult progress of integration of the Philadelphia Phillies and Athletics. Attempts to integrate Philadelphia baseball began being made as early as the 1860s, and all of them proved futile until 1953. Those attempts and the reasons that they failed are discussed. The book provides biographical and statistical information on some of the African American players who were confronted with discrimination, and also looks at the white players, managers, coaches, and front office personnel who were having a difficult time accepting African American players on their teams.

Ed Bolden and Black Baseball in Philadelphia

Ed Bolden and Black Baseball in Philadelphia PDF Author: Courtney Michelle Smith
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786478497
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
For nearly 40 years, Ed Bolden dominated black baseball in Philadelphia. He owned two teams, the Darby-based Hilldale Club and the Philadelphia Stars, and briefly led the Eastern Colored League, which he founded. Winner of two championships--one with each team--he experienced the highs and lows of the Negro Leagues. He remained with the Stars until his death in 1950, which foreshadowed the dissolution of the Negro Leagues in the face of Major League Baseball's integration. This book examines Bolden's leadership of both teams through economic downturns, racial discrimination and two world wars.

Baseball's Great Experiment

Baseball's Great Experiment PDF Author: Jules Tygiel
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780195106206
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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Book Description
Offers a history of African American exclusion from baseball, and assesses the changing racial attitudes that led up to Jackie Robinson's acceptance by the Brooklyn Dodgers.

When Baseball Went White

When Baseball Went White PDF Author: Ryan A. Swanson
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 0803235216
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
"Explains how in the decade following the Civil War, baseball became segregated because its leaders wanted to grow its presence and appeal to Southerners, and wanted to professionalize it. The result was the exclusion of black players that lasted until 1947"--

Only the Ball was White

Only the Ball was White PDF Author: Robert Peterson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780195076370
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
Tells the forgotten story of Black star-quality athletes excluded from professional baseball because of the big league's color line.

Beyond the Shadow of the Senators

Beyond the Shadow of the Senators PDF Author: Brad Snyder
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN: 9780071442671
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
The enthralling true story of the greatest baseball team ever forgotten In a time when the country was divided into black and white, our soldier boys battled against the evils in Europe, and war-weary Americans gathered around green fields to forget their troubles in the joys of our national pastime, the greatest baseball dynasty you've probably never heard of electrified the game and set an unstoppable revolution in motion. So begins the fascinating and often surprising story of the Homestead Grays, the Negro League's most successful franchise, and how the fight to integrate baseball began not in Brooklyn with Jackie Robinson but in our nation's capital. During the first half of the twentieth century, Washington, D.C., was a segregated Southern town. Black and white Washingtonians lived in separate worlds--until those worlds collided at Griffith Stadium. Standing in the heart of a thriving black district, the park played host to the white Washington Senators and, when the Senators were out of town, the Homestead Grays. There, the best team in the Negro Leagues reigned victorious on the same field where one of the worst teams in the all-white majors struck out again and again. Although white fans never caught on, tens of thousands of loyal black fans flocked to watch the great Grays. On those sun-bright stadium afternoons, the wall of segregation fell away; the fans sat wherever they wanted--and, together with their number-one team and a host of heroes, they transformed our nation's capital into the front lines of the campaign to integrate major-league baseball. In this transcendent account, the author gracefully unfolds the true story behind this bold adventure, taking you back to those front lines, where intriguing characters such as journalists Sam Lacy and Wendell Smith fought doggedly for integration; the Negro Leagues' most celebrated sluggers, Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard, gave the major-league superstars a run for their money; and club owner Clark Griffith, mired in prejudice and greed, thwarted integration at every turn. Through numerous interviews with key players (many now deceased), a treasure trove of archival material, and dozens of unpublished historical photos, the author masterfully pieces together the lost legend of how the fight to integrate baseball really began, bearing witness at last to the greatest legends of black baseball and opening the book on a forgotten chapter in American history. "This is the story of the lost era between the Babe and Jackie, of a crusading journalist named Sam Lacy, an immensely talented black ballplayer named Buck Leonard, and a stubborn major league owner named Clark Griffith. It's the story of why the fight to integrate major league baseball began in Washington and not in Brooklyn, why black Washington ultimately lost the fight, and why the Senators were not the first team to integrate. And it's the story of the greatest baseball dynasty that most people have never heard of, the Homestead Grays, whose wartime popularity at Griffith Stadium moved them beyond the shadow of the Senators." --from the Introduction So begins this powerful and passionate account of how the fight to integrate baseball really began. Moving seamlessly between the heroic exploits of the ballfield and the exploitation of the boardroom, Beyond the Shadow of the Senators reveals all the magic and madness that surrounded the legendary Homestead Grays and their lesser--but more recognized--stadium-mates, the Washington Senators. Drawing on extensive interviews with key players, long-lost archives, and dozens of dazzling historical photos, the author meticulously chronicles the true story behind this forgotten chapter in the annals of baseball, painting a portrait of larger-than-life characters and lazy, golden afternoons you'll wish you could remember--when the Homestead Grays dominated Griffith Stadium and gave baseball's white superstars a run for their money.

Herb Pennock

Herb Pennock PDF Author: Keith Craig
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442252200
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
Herbert Jefferis Pennock (1894-1948) was a Hall of Fame pitcher for the dynastic 1920s New York Yankees. Considered one of the best left-handed pitchers in history, Pennock won 241 games on the mound, never lost in his five World Series starts, and came within four outs of pitching the first no-hitter in a World Series in 1927. More than just a great pitcher, Pennock was well-respected by teammates and locals alike. He was known as a principled, practical gentleman, with an intellect that matched his pitching skills and a humanity that bested both. In Herb Pennock: Baseball’s Faultless Pitcher, Keith Craigrecounts Pennock’s ascent from well-to-do Kennett Square to the heights of major league baseball. Signed by the Philadelphia A’s legendary Connie Mack as an 18-year-old school boy, Pennock would flourish into a dependable pitcher for the New York Yankees. He was part of the iconic Murderer’s Row team and played a crucial role in their World Series victories. For 22 seasons, Pennock’s forte was control, not power; he studied each hitter, every at bat, and exploited all weaknesses. When Pennock’s playing career came to an end, he used that same single-minded diligence as the General Manager of the woeful Philadelphia Phillies, where he reinvented the team through the careful development of its farm system that resulted in the 1950 pennant-winning Whiz Kids. Including interviews with Pennock’s family members and Kennett Square residents who personally knew the baseball legend, Herb Pennock: Baseball’s Faultless Pitcher is the first biography to paint such a complete picture of Pennock and the times he lived in. Featuring original photographs provided by his family, this book delivers an invaluable look into the life of a great ballplayer, savvy front-office executive, and honorable man.

Playing America's Game

Playing America's Game PDF Author: Adrian Burgos
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520940776
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
Although largely ignored by historians of both baseball in general and the Negro leagues in particular, Latinos have been a significant presence in organized baseball from the beginning. In this benchmark study on Latinos and professional baseball from the 1880s to the present, Adrian Burgos tells a compelling story of the men who negotiated the color line at every turn—passing as "Spanish" in the major leagues or seeking respect and acceptance in the Negro leagues. Burgos draws on archival materials from the U.S., Cuba, and Puerto Rico, as well as Spanish- and English-language publications and interviews with Negro league and major league players. He demonstrates how the manipulation of racial distinctions that allowed management to recruit and sign Latino players provided a template for Brooklyn Dodgers’ general manager Branch Rickey when he initiated the dismantling of the color line by signing Jackie Robinson in 1947. Burgos's extensive examination of Latino participation before and after Robinson's debut documents the ways in which inclusion did not signify equality and shows how notions of racialized difference have persisted for darker-skinned Latinos like Orestes ("Minnie") Miñoso, Roberto Clemente, and Sammy Sosa.

Comeback Season

Comeback Season PDF Author: Cam Perron
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982153601
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
In 2007, at the age of twelve, Perron bought a set of Topps baseball cards featuring several players from the Negro Leagues. He started writing letters to former Negro League players asking for their autographs and a few words about their careers. The players responded with detailed stories about their glory days on the field, and the racism they faced, including run-ins with the KKK. The letters turned into phone calls, and in these conversations many of the players revealed that they had fallen out of touch with their former teammates. Perron and a small group of fellow researchers organized the first annual Negro League Players Reunion in Birmingham, Alabama in 2010. This is the story of his mission to help many players get pension money that they were owed from Major League Baseball-- and to get a Negro League museum opened in Birmingham, stocked with memorabilia. -- adapted from jacket

Branch Rickey

Branch Rickey PDF Author: Lee Lowenfish
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 1496213459
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 605

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Book Description
He was not much of a player and not much more of a manager, but by the time Branch Rickey (1881-1965) finished with baseball, he had revolutionized the sport--not just once but three times. In this definitive biography of Rickey--the man sportswriters dubbed "The Brain," "The Mahatma," and, on occasion, "El Cheapo"--Lee Lowenfish tells the full and colorful story of a life that forever changed the face of America's game. As the mastermind behind the Saint Louis Cardinals from 1917 to 1942, Rickey created the farm system, which allowed small-market clubs to compete with the rich and powerful. Under his direction in the 1940s, the Brooklyn Dodgers became truly the first "America's team." By signing Jackie Robinson and other black players, he single-handedly thrust baseball into the forefront of the civil rights movement. Lowenfish evokes the peculiarly American complex of God, family, and baseball that informed Rickey's actions and his accomplishments. His book offers an intriguing, richly detailed portrait of a man whose life is itself a crucial chapter in the history of American business, sport, and society.