A Complete History of the Negro Leagues: 1884 to 1955 [Paperback]

MARK RIBOWSKY (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997

This first exhaustive history of the Negro leagues sheds new light and delves deeper than any previous work. Find out how black fans came to cherish their own heroes, why a trip to see a Negro league game was a statement of racial pride, and why much of black culture once centered on "blackball".

For over fifty years -- or up until that bright April day in 1947 when Jackie Robinson smashed the major leagues' color barrier -- the only ball fields where an African American could play organized baseball were the tarnished diamonds of the Negro leagues. On these fields, men such as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Cool Papa Bell played for such teams as the Kansas City Monarchs, the Homestead Grays, and the Pittsburgh Crawfords. Within this incredible tapestry, some of the greatest ballplayers of all time found true glory.

This is the story of an American epic -- rich, provocative, and unforgettable.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In their heyday, the Negro Leagues were an important part of black America, with games between black teams drawing as many as 40,000 fans in some large cities, and the players themselves as celebrated as musicians like Louis Armstrong or Duke Ellington. Mark Ribowsky's concise history masterfully evokes these long-gone days with portraits of such Hall of Fame players as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell. The story is bittersweet--though various incarnations of the Negro Leagues survived well into the 1950s, the end of the leagues was sealed when the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson in 1945. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Baseball apartheid existed until Jackie Robinson broke that barrier in 1947. Ironically, with the integration of major league baseball, the death knell was rung for "blackball." In this blunt look at the Negro leagues, Ribowsky (Don't Look Back) unsentimentally chronicles what he calls the penal colony of American baseball. Frozen out of the major as well as the minor leagues in the late 19th century, blacks were forced to form their own leagues. These leagues, which became "a black social requisite," produced some of the greatest players ever: the first genuine "blackball" star, Andrew "Rube" Foster, whose fastball and business instincts were always on target; the legendary Satchel Paige, "blackball's first major cult hero"; Josh Gibson, blackball's Babe Ruth; and a kid with a sweet swing who went by the sobriquet "Pork Chops"-Henry Aaron. Ribowsky pays special attention to the business of black baseball for its ingenious and often inspired financial manipulation and chides major league baseball about the fact that there are no black executives in the Hall of Fame. Ribowsky also looks at the hypocrisy of the white baseball hierarchy, who would not employ black players but who, like the New York Yankees, would rent out their stadiums to blacks at more than $100,000 a year. A no-nonsense look at a time when only the ball was white. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: Citadel; Carol Pub. Group Ed edition (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806518685
• ISBN-13: 978-0806518688
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,811,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Find another book on this subject, March 27, 2000

By 

Michael Gonsiska - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Complete History of the Negro Leagues 1884 to 1955 (Hardcover)

I very rarely not finish a book. I could not get through half of this one. There is nothing in it about the players of Negro baseball. Mark Ribowsky just wastes your time with his huge vocabulary (keep a dictionary handy, you will need it at least once a paragraph) & his exhaustive knowledge of the soap operas behind the scene of the leagues. He spends no time talking about actually players, teams or the games they played. I am a fan of baseball history, but found this book far removed from baseball and more oriented to the war of words between the early, explotive owners of the Negro league clubs. A history of the game this is not.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent and honest look at the Negro Leagues, August 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Complete History of the Negro Leagues 1884 to 1955 (Hardcover)

I got what I wanted from this book. It is an honest depiction of who and what the Negro Leagues were. Much of what I knew about the Negro Leagues prior to reading this book was based on "myths". I felt that Ribowsky did a good job of distinguishing myth from fact and compiled an excellent story.

At times the book is a little confusing when it comes to trying to understand who is who. But, the Negro Leaques survived during a very confusing time.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS!, November 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Complete History of the Negro Leagues: 1884 to 1955 (Paperback)

Avoid this book at all costs. It has little original research and is literally filled with dozens of factual errors. There are better books on this subject; this isn't one of them!