Featuring lively verse, fascinating facts, and archival photographs,
here is a celebration of the Negro Leagues and the great players who
went unrecognized in their time.
Imagine that you are an outstanding baseball player but banned from the
major leagues. Imagine that you are breaking records but the world
ignores your achievements. Imagine having a dream but no chance to make
that dream come true.
This is what life was like for African American baseball players before
Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier. Meet Josh
Gibson, called the black Babe Ruth, who hit seventy-five home runs in
1931; James Cool Papa Bell, the fastest man in baseball; legendary
Satchel Paige, who once struck out twenty-four batters in a single game;
and, of course, Jackie Robinson, the first black player in Major League
Baseball, and one of the greatest players of all time.
Written by acclaimed author Carole Boston Weatherford with a foreword by
Buck O'Neil, a Negro leagues legend whose baseball contributions spanned
eight decades, this book is a home run for baseball and history lovers,
and makes a great gift for both boys and girls.