Sam Lacy and Wendell Smith

Sam Lacy and Wendell Smith
Author: Wayne Dawkins
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2024-07-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1040041418

This dual biography highlights the transformative influence of Sam Lacy and Wendell Smith, two journalists who changed American sport and society through their calls to desegregate Major League Baseball and recognize Black baseball players. In a decade-long battle, Lacy and Smith tirelessly advocated for the inclusion of Black players in the major leagues, reporting in the Baltimore Afro-American and Pittsburgh Courier, respectively. Both sports writers covered players in the Negro Leagues, following off-season games in places like Mexico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. In 1947, Lacy’s and Smith’s work helped break through MLB’s racial barriers when Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. Over the coming years, Lacy and Smith, on individual career trajectories but sharing a common goal, would report on the dissolution of the Negro Leagues and future MVPs such as Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Elston Howard. The book considers the lasting legacies of these sports journalists, both recognized in the writers’ wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Through its thoughtful analysis of Lacy and Smith’s groundbreaking impact on America’s pastime, this book will appeal to students and general readers interested in sports history and journalism and Afro-American history.

Sam Lacy and Wendell Smith

Sam Lacy and Wendell Smith
Author: Wayne Dawkins
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2024-07-31
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781032233864

This dual biography highlights the transformative influence of Sam Lacy and Wendell Smith, two journalists who changed American sport and society through their calls to desegregate Major League Baseball and recognize Black baseball players. In a decade-long battle, Lacy and Smith tirelessly advocated for the inclusion of Black players in the major leagues, reporting in the Baltimore Afro-American and Pittsburgh Courier, respectively. Both sports writers covered players in the Negro Leagues, following off-season games in places like Mexico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. In 1947, Lacy's and Smith's work helped break through MLB's racial barriers when Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. Over the coming years, Lacy and Smith, on individual career trajectories but sharing a common goal, would report on the dissolution of the Negro Leagues and future MVPs such as Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Elston Howard. The book considers the lasting legacies of these sports journalists, both recognized in the writers' wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Through its thoughtful analysis of Lacy and Smith's groundbreaking impact on America's pastime, this book will appeal to students and general readers interested in sports history and journalism and Afro-American history.

Baseball's Great Experiment

Baseball's Great Experiment
Author: Jules Tygiel
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 452
Release: 1997
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780195106206

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.

Conspiracy of Silence

Conspiracy of Silence
Author: Chris Lamb
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 415
Release: 2021-10
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1496229371

The story behind the mainstream press’s efforts to preserve baseball’s color line and the efforts of Black and communist newspapers to end it.

Jackie Robinson: My Own Story

Jackie Robinson: My Own Story
Author: Jackie Robinson
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2016-01-18
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1786257831

Autobiography of baseball legend Jackie Robinson, beginning with his athletic career and dealing particularly with baseball and the first step toward equal participation by African Americans in this great sport. “I believe that a man’s race, color, and religion should never constitute a handicap. The denial to anyone, anywhere, any time of equality of opportunity to work is incomprehensible to me. Moreover, I believe that the American public is not as concerned with a first baseman’s pigmentation as it is with the power of his swing, the dexterity of his slide, the gracefulness of his fielding, or the speed of his legs.”—From Foreword by Branch Hickey

No Cheering in the Press Box

No Cheering in the Press Box
Author: Jerome Holtzman
Publisher: Henry Holt
Total Pages: 363
Release: 1995
Genre: Sportswriters
ISBN: 9780805038248

Interviews eighteen of the writers who dominated sports reporting in the interwar period, including Dan Daniel, Paul Gallico, Red Smith, Marshall Hunt, and John Kieran

Only the Ball was White

Only the Ball was White
Author: Robert Peterson
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 420
Release: 1992
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780195076370

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

Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America

Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America
Author: Sharon Robinson
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2016-11-29
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1338153706

A warm, intimate portrait of Jackie Robinson, America's sports icon, told from the unique perspective of a unique insider: his only daughter. Sharon Robinson shares memories of her famous father in this warm loving biography of the man who broke the color barrier in baseball. Jackie Robinson was an outstanding athlete, a devoted family man and a dedicated civil rights activist. The author explores the fascinating circumstances surrounding Jackie Robinson's breakthrough. She also tells the off-the-field story of Robinson's hard-won victories and the inspiring effect he had on his family, his community. . . his country! Includes never-before-published letters by Jackie Robinson, as well as photos from the Robinson family archives.

A Good Master Well Served

A Good Master Well Served
Author: Lawrence William Towner
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2019-07-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317731867

First published in 1998. Early American historians are finding connections between the bonded status of African American slaves, European indentured servants, convicts, and sailors. An excellent starting point for this inquiry is this neglected classic by Lawrence Towner, former head of the Newberry Library in Chicago and editor of the William and Mary Quarterly. This comprehensive study of the lives and experiences of bonded laborers in colonial Massachusetts demonstrates the full sweep of their work and aspirations. Towner analyzes the legal status of all varieties of black and white bonded laborers. He explores their living and working conditions and discusses the cultural significance of work in their lives. The book also address gender issues in bonded labor. The author's approach provides a new understanding of the experiences of black and white workers in early America, and corrects a long-standing neglect of blacks in previous research. This edition makes this important work available in print for the first time, and includes an introductory essay by Alfred F. Young, "Dissertations and Gatekeepers: Why it took45 Years for a Ph.D. Thesis to be Published." (Ph.D. dissertation, Northwestern University; 1954)

Shades of Glory

Shades of Glory
Author: Lawrence D. Hogan
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2006
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780792253068

The result of a study commissioned by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and funded by a grant from Major League Baseball(, this richly illustrated, comprehensive history combines vivid narrative, visual impact, and a unique statistical component to re-create the excitement and passion of the Negro Leagues. 75 photos.