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Only the Ball Was White : A History of Legendary Black Players and All-Black Professional Teams by Robert Peterson (1992, Trade Paperback)

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About this product

Product Information

Early in the 1920s, the New York Giants sent a scout to watch a young Cuban play for Foster's American Giants, a baseball club in the Negro Leagues. During one at-bat this talented slugger lined a ball so hard that the rightfielder was able to play it off the top of the fence and throw Christobel Torrienti out at first base. The scout liked what he saw, but was disappointed in the player's appearance. "He was a light brown," recalled one of Torrienti's teammates, "and would have gone up to the major leagues, but he had real rough hair." Such was life behind the color line, the unofficial boundary that prevented hundreds of star-quality athletes from playing big-league baseball. When Only the Ball Was White was first published in 1970, Satchel Paige had not yet been inducted into the Hall of Fame and there was a general ignorance even among sports enthusiasts of the rich tradition of the Negro Leagues. Few knew that during the 1930s and '40s outstanding black teams were playing regularly in Yankee Stadium and Brooklyn's Ebbets Field. And names like Cool Papa Bell, Rube Foster, Judy Johnson, Biz Mackey, and Buck Leonard would bring no flash of smiling recognition to the fan's face, even though many of these men could easily have played alongside Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Hack Wilson, Lou Gehrig--and shattered their records in the process. Many baseball pundits now believe, for example, that had Josh Gibson played in the major leagues, he would have surpassed Babe Ruth's 714 home runs before Hank Aaron had even hit his first. And the great Dizzy Dean acknowledged that the best pitcher he had ever seen was not Lefty Grove or Carl Hubbell, but rather "old Satchel Paige, that big lanky colored boy." In Only the Ball Was White, Robert Peterson tells the forgotten story of these excluded ballplayers, and gives them the recognition they were so long denied. Reconstructing the old Negro Leagues from contemporary sports publications, accounts of games in the black press, and through interviews with the men who actually played the game, Peterson brings to life the fascinating period that stretched from shortly after the Civil War to the signing of Jackie Robinson in 1947. We watch as the New York Black Yankees and the Philadelphia Crawfords take the field, look on as the East-West All-Star lineups are announced, and listen as the players themselves tell of the struggle and glory that was black baseball. In addition to these vivid accounts, Peterson includes yearly Negro League standings and an all-time register of players and officials, making the book a treasure trove of baseball information and lore. A monumental and poignant book, Only the Ball Was White reminds us that what was often considered the "Golden Age" of baseball was also the era of Jim Crow. It is a book that must be read by anyone hoping not only to understand the story of baseball, but the story of America.

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Oxford University Press, Incorporated
ISBN-10
0195076370
ISBN-13
9780195076370
eBay Product ID (ePID)
47902

Product Key Features

Book Title
Only the Ball Was White : a History of Legendary Black Players and All-Black Professional Teams
Author
Robert Peterson
Format
Trade Paperback
Language
English
Topic
Baseball / History, United States / 20th Century, Baseball / General, Ethnic Studies / African American Studies
Publication Year
1992
Genre
Sports & Recreation, History, Social Science
Number of Pages
416 Pages

Dimensions

Item Length
5.5in
Item Height
1in
Item Width
8.6in
Item Weight
0 Oz

Additional Product Features

Lc Classification Number
Gv863.A1p47 1992
Reviews
"[A] thorough, well-documented book....A worthy and fascinating addition to anyone's baseball library."--The New York Times Book Review"Peterson...[is] to be congratulated not only for an original subject but an excellent book for anyone who enjoys reading baseball history."--The Sporting News"Filled with the fascination that comes from discovering an unknown, complex, forgotten continent."--Newsweek"Fascinating....One of the truly important sociological contributions to the growing literature of baseball."--The Washington Post Book World"Highly recommended."--Library Journal, "Fascinating....One of the truly important sociological contributions to the growing literature of baseball."--The Washington Post Book World, "Filled with the fascination that comes from discovering an unknown, complex, forgotten continent."--Newsweek, "[A] thorough, well-documented book....A worthy and fascinating addition to anyone's baseball library."--The New York Times Book Review "Peterson...[is] to be congratulated not only for an original subject but an excellent book for anyone who enjoys reading baseball history."--The Sporting News "Filled with the fascination that comes from discovering an unknown, complex, forgotten continent."--Newsweek "Fascinating....One of the truly important sociological contributions to the growing literature of baseball."--The Washington Post Book World "Highly recommended."--Library Journal, "Peterson...[is] to be congratulated not only for an original subject but an excellent book for anyone who enjoys reading baseball history."--The Sporting News, "[A] thorough, well-documented book....A worthy and fascinating addition to anyone's baseball library."--The New York Times Book Review, "[A] thorough, well-documented book....A worthy and fascinating addition to anyone's baseball library."-- The New York Times Book Review "Peterson...[is] to be congratulated not only for an original subject but an excellent book for anyone who enjoys reading baseball history."-- The Sporting News "Filled with the fascination that comes from discovering an unknown, complex, forgotten continent."-- Newsweek "Fascinating....One of the truly important sociological contributions to the growing literature of baseball."-- The Washington Post Book World "Highly recommended."-- Library Journal
Table of Content
PrefacePart I: Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory1. This Was Negro Baseball2. Pioneers in Black and White3. Early Black Professional Teams4. Jim Crow Scores on the Squeeze PlayPart II. Way Down in Egypt Land5. Giants in those DAys6. The Black Wagner7. The Negro Leagues8. Rube from Texas9. On the Field and Off10. The Travelin' Man11. Podunk Today, Hickory Switch Tomorrow12. Josh13. Freshening Winds of FreedomPart III. And the Walls Came Tumbling Down14. Emancipation Proclamation15. The Ninth InningPart IV. Of Those Who've Gone Before16. Lost LegendsEpilogueAppendix A League Standings Year by YearAppendix B East-West All-Star GamesAppendix C All-Time Register of Players and Officials
Copyright Date
1992
Lccn
92-003645
Dewey Decimal
796.357/08996073
Intended Audience
Trade
Dewey Edition
20
Illustrated
Yes

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item 1 Only the Ball Was White: A History of Legendary Black Players and All
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Most relevant reviews

5 out of 5 stars
by cf3968032Aug 13, 2021
Great book, good price!
Just started to read the book and it’s very compelling. The old pictures are amazing! Can’t wait to finish.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
4 out of 5 stars
by sixpack2149Jan 05, 2021
Great Book
The pages are aged and there are some highlights/pen marks in the book, but the content is legible and it is a great book.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
5 out of 5 stars
by mk612Sep 13, 2016
Only the Ball Was White
Very nice
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned

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