Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution [Hardcover]

Neil Lanctot (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2004

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Prodigiously researched and thoroughly unsentimental, Neil Lanctot's history of organized black baseball from 1933 through the early 1960s provides an enormously important historical corrective to feel-good versions of baseball integration."--New York Times

"Lanctot takes us beyond the ball field where the Paiges and Gibsons played in forced segregation, and into the commercial and social realities of baseball in black communities. . . . Lanctot offers a rich array of facts that history lovers can feast on."--Washington Post

"A fact-filled and thought-provoking book that should be of interest and use to scholars and lay readers interested in sports history, business history, and African American history."--Enterprise and Society

"A meticulously researched history that explores the economics, strengths, shortcomings, and legacy of the Negro Leagues."--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Without nostalgia, Lanctot offers a careful and balanced judgment on the Negro leagues, one that is likely to stand for some time."--New York Times

"Neil Lanctot has accomplished something I long thought impossible. He has produced an overview of the institution of black baseball as a business. . . . I doubt that there is a better researched and more exhaustive history of the Negro Leagues out there."--Rob Ruck, author of Sandlot Seasons: Sport in Black Pittsburgh

"This is a superb historical analysis of the Negro Leagues. . . . Lanctot provides, in my opinion, the most detailed and sophisticated examination of black baseball ever written."--David K. Wiggins, author of Glory Bound: Black Athletes in White America

From the Publisher

Neil Lanctot teaches history at the University of Delaware. He is the author of Fair Dealing and Clean Playing: The Hilldale Club and The Development of Black Professional Baseball, 1910-1932.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (April 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812238079
• ISBN-13: 978-0812238075
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,099,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing research, and a good story too, June 29, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution (Hardcover)

The author weaves together an amazing amout of historical research to tell an interesting story. All the important figures are here, Satchell Paige, Josh Gibson, etc., but he also introduces lesser known though equally interesting personalities, especially the owners. Never before has anyone told the whole story of the Negro Leagues like this, explaining why Negro League baseball was important as an institution to African American communities across the country.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Behind the scenes look at the history of the Negro Leagues, August 12, 2004

By 

Paul Tognetti "The real world is so much more... (Cranston, RI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution (Hardcover)

While most knowledgeable baseball fans have a passing acquaintance with Negro League Baseball, precious little ink has been devoted to the institution itself. Author Neil Lanctot has corrected this oversight with a downright fascinating and meticulously researched book. "Negro League Baseball" chronicles the history of the sport from its earliest origins until its ultimate demise in the early 1960's. From the outset there were a multitude of obstacles that the operators of most of these teams were simply never able to overcome. Poor administration, lack of suitable venues, constantly shifting franchises and raids from competing leagues were just some of the problems the Negro Leagues were up against. And when the leagues finally became profitable in the early to mid 1940's the spectre of integration in organized baseball and the shortsightedness of the league owners would ultimately seal the fate of this venerable black institution.
This is an absolutely fascinating story that you are sure to become engrossed in. The writing is first rate and as I mentioned earlier the book is extremely well researched. Sports fans and history buffs alike are certain to enjoy this one. Highly recommended!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic History In One Volume, August 1, 2006

By 

Bicycle Day - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution (Hardcover)

Neil Lanctot pens an outstanding history of Negro League Baseball and its historical significance in this brilliant one volume work.

There has been several important works on the Negro Leagues over the years, but none have been as inclusive on exploring the era as Lanctot. If the reader is looking for a book to quickly skim over, this is not the one to purchase. But you will be missing a vital book on a professional baseball league that has never received its true recognition.

It has angered me for many years that the Negro Leagues has become nothing more than a footnote in baseball history, seemingly "celebrated" a couple times a season with current pro baseball teams wearing "throwback" jerseys during games.

Lanctot's book should be a required reading for baseball's commissioner and other officials & then the steps should be taken to include the NLB statistics in "official" records, with additional classes of hall of fame inductees to follow the NLB Class of 2006.