Category Archive: Books

Books on the topics of the Negro Leagues

Jan 05 2012

The Game novel examines baseball and race

From the Woodlands Villager: Having crafted his World War II novel through 16 years of detailed research, Woodlands author Franklin Kless admits it was a unique writing experience when a short story about America’s favorite past time suddenly dawned on him three years ago.“People don’t believe me when I tell them, but it just popped …

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Nov 07 2011

Of Monarchs and Black Barons

New in 2012 from author James A. Riley: Of Monarchs and Black Barons: Essays on Baseball’s Negro Leagues. The first African American to play in baseball’s recognized major leagues, William Edward White, appeared in 1879, followed by brothers Fleetwood and Welday Walker in 1884. The fourth African American, Jackie Robinson, did not make his major …

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Dec 28 2010

Barnstorming to Heaven: Syd Pollock and His Great Black Teams

A rare insider’s perspective on baseball’s great barnstorming age.

Dec 28 2010

The Negro Leagues: African-American Achievers

The Negro Leagues is a story filled with unforgettable personalities, improbably performances, and magic moments. Most of all, it is a story excellence in the pursuit of our national pastime.

Dec 28 2010

Nice Guys Finish First: The Autobiography of Monte Irvin

Monte Irvin is an American Hero. With courage, belief and talent, he overcame great obstacles to realize his dream. And in this powerful autobiography, he tells the remarkable story of how he became a Hall of Fame baseball player and a man Americans can admire.

Dec 28 2010

Buck Leonard: The Black Lou Gehrig : The Hall of Famer’s Story in His Own Words

This is Buck’s story in his own words, tracing his life from his humble beginnings to the present. Not only an eyewitness account of the history of the Negro leagues told by one of the all-time greats, it is also a saga of the black experience, vividly illustrating what it was like to be a black American in the years before our country’s social conscience was awakened.

Dec 27 2010

Dandy, Day and the Devil

Based on exhaustive research and personal interviews, this publication is a trilogy examining the lives and careers of Negro League stars of Ray Dandridge, Leon Day and Willie Wells.

Dec 26 2010

Josh Gibson: The Power and the Darkness

Josh Gibson: THE POWER AND THE DARKNESS by Mark Ribowsky From the publisher: It is said that Josh Gibson is the only man ever to have hit a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium. Some claim he hit as many as seventy-five home runs in a season. All agreed that he was a frightening hitter …

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Dec 26 2010

The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues

This landmark reference volume (James A. Riley, Carroll & Graf, 1994, updated version publishing in January, 2002) is recognized as the most comprehensive work chronicling this era of baseball history.