From Publishers Weekly
A prodigious researcher, Bak ( And Cobb Would Have Caught It ) not only tracked down occasional references to black baseball in the white press of the 1920s and early '30s, but also interviewed surviving players and fans. His book is a plea for organized baseball to put Norman "Turkey" Stearnes (1901-1979) in the Hall of Fame, but Bak also depicts the Detroit Stars, a team in various Negro leagues that was more than competent but not great. He shows the many obstacles the Stars overcame, including franchise shifts and players jumping to other teams (as Stearnes did) and the crisis the club could not defeat, the Great Depression, which hit the Motor City harder than any other urban area. During his nine years with the Stars, Stearnes set almost all of the team's individual and career records and readers will most likely agree with Bak that he merits election to the shrine at Cooperstown. Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
One can count on two hands the number of worthwhile books dealing with the Negro Leagues; Bak's work certainly joins that number. As an introduction to a wide-ranging examination of Negro League baseball, he discusses the history of Detroit in general and its role as home for African Americans. The title is misleading: while Turkey Stearnes was unquestionably the stand-out of the Detroit Stars, Bak addresses the broader story of Negro League baseball in Detroit. Much of the related literature deals with great Negro League players or teams, but Bak, using thorough statistics and combining historical narrative with personal reminiscences, looks at an average team, to the benefit of both the baseball historian and fan. The publisher is to be saluted for making this book available. Highly recommended. For a related title, see The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball League , reviewed on p. 88.--Ed.
- William O. Scheeren, Hempfield Area H.S. Lib., Greensburg, Pa.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- William O. Scheeren, Hempfield Area H.S. Lib., Greensburg, Pa.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
