Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution
By Neil Lanctot
4.5/5
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About this ebook
The story of black professional baseball provides a remarkable perspective on several major themes in modern African American history: the initial black response to segregation, the subsequent struggle to establish successful separate enterprises, and the later movement toward integration. Baseball functioned as a critical component in the separate economy catering to black consumers in the urban centers of the North and South. While most black businesses struggled to survive from year to year, professional baseball teams and leagues operated for decades, representing a major achievement in black enterprise and institution building.
Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution presents the extraordinary history of a great African American achievement, from its lowest ebb during the Depression, through its golden age and World War II, until its gradual disappearance during the early years of the civil rights era. Faced with only a limited amount of correspondence and documents, Lanctot consulted virtually every sports page of every black newspaper located in a league city. He then conducted interviews with former players and scrutinized existing financial, court, and federal records. Through his efforts, Lanctot has painstakingly reconstructed the institutional history of black professional baseball, locating the players, teams, owners, and fans in the wider context of the league's administration. In addition, he provides valuable insight into the changing attitudes of African Americans toward the need for separate institutions.
Neil Lanctot
Neil Lanctot is an historian who has written extensively about baseball. He is the author of two books, most recently Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution. His writing has also appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun, and several other journals and anthologies. He lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
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Reviews for Negro League Baseball
5 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a fabulously well-researched history of the Negro Leagues, the "separate but not quite equal" baseball leagues in which black players played before white professional baseball deigned to let them play with white players. While they quickly died out after that, as late as 1984 at least one barnstorming team was still active. Be aware, however, that this is NOT the book to read if you want statistics, breathless reminiscences, or fawning portraits of Satchel Paige or Josh Gibson. While they are mentioned, this is a history of the leagues themselves and is focused more on the business end, and the main "characters" are the team owners and league executives. It's not a light read, but necessary for anyone who wants a deep understanding of the leagues. I wouldn't recommend this as someone's first or second read on the subject.