From the category archives:

Negro Leagues

A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast […]

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Something to look forward to. Recently received the Spring/Summer catalog from the University of Nebraska Press, publishers of my own 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. These folks traditionally come up with thoughtful and somewhat unusual topics, but for their upcoming season, there seems to be a higher number of pertinent titles […]

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Lest we forget: Charley Pride

December 15, 2020

The legendary country singer died last Saturday at the age of 86 from complications of Covid after attending the CMA Awards in Nashville. Here’s the obituary from The New York Times. Pride had legitimate baseball roots, pitching professionally in the Negro Leagues. He was also a part owner of the Texas Rangers for a time. […]

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Note: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]

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According to Bert Sugar’s Rain Delays, one of Willie Mays‘ literary collaborators had an ignominious interaction with his subject. “[A]t the end of the 1965 season, when [Charles] Einstein gave his subject a follow up call, after having taken notes with Mays throughout the season and after having identified himself over the phone, Mays said ‘Charlie […]

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Sort of.  

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The end of January already?? Where did the time go? Note: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally […]

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If African-American ballplayers had a terrible go of it, can you imagine what female African-American ballplayers had to deal with? From the New York Times‘ obituary by Daniel E. Slotnick Mamie Johnson, one of a handful of women to play in baseball’s Negro leagues in the early 1950s — and the only one known to […]

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These are my favorite posts, taking a look at what new baseball books are on the horizon. A few notes: Traditional print rules the land here here. There may be a Kindle edition involved, but no Kindle-only titles are included herein. Second, Amazon does not want top make my life easier. I practically never include […]

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Lest we forget: Bob Motley

September 16, 2017

Bob Motley, the last surviving Negro Leagues umpire, passed away Thursday at the age of 94. I had posted about Motley when he turned 91. He was the author of Ruling Over Monarchs, Giants, and Stars: True Tales of Breaking Barriers, Umpiring Baseball Legends, and Wild Adventures in the Negro Leagues, which he co-wrote with […]

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Because as soon as you write about it, it’s no longer untold, is it? Maybe it was before you told it, Sherman Jenkins, but now it’s not. So does that mean he has to change the title? “Aurora resident authors book about ‘untold’ baseball All Star, Globetrotter.” The book in question is Ted Strong Jr.: […]

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♦ As you know, I normally do not include books written for kids on this blog, but in this case — The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game — I’ve made an exception because of the special “teaching moment” involved and the fact that, unlike a lot of other titles […]

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Opinions vary

March 2, 2016

Graham Womack published this ranked list of the 25 greatest baseball books on The Sporting News site. When I wrote 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die, I made a decision not to put them in an order other than alphabetical to avoid having to defend my choices. Such a method invites arguments […]

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Bits and pieces, Feb. 18, 2016

February 18, 2016

♦ The Minnesota Spokesman Record, an African-America newspaper, posted this review of They Played for the Love of the Game: Untold Stories of Black Baseball in Minnesota, published by Frank M. White. ♦ The Lincoln (NE) Journal Star provided this piece on Roger Angell‘s memoir, This Old Man: All in Pieces. I still maintain this […]

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A number of authors of upcoming books will be taking their turn at bat at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse in Manhattan. All events are scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25: Roberta Newman and Joel Nathan Rosen, Black Baseball, Black Business: Race Enterprise and the Fate of the Segregated Dollar Thursday, March 3: Howard Megdal, […]

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One of the great ambassadors of the game, Monte Irvin passed away last night at the age of 96. Irvin was member of that generation of African-American ballplayers who suffered greatly as they integrated the game. Jackie Robinson was the first and most famous, and sometimes men like Irvin and Larry Doby don’t get the […]

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Bits and Pieces, Dec. 31, 2015

December 31, 2015

In a vain attempt to clear out my inbox, here is the final B&P for the year. Hope you’ve enjoyed learning about these things as much as I have. Don’t read anything political into the posting of this piece about “How Bernie Sanders brought professional baseball to Vermont,” via The Sporting News. From outsports.com, this […]

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Coming down the pike

November 24, 2015

Five new baseball titles from the University of Nebraska Press (“home” of 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die) in their Spring & Summer 2016 catalog, including: Hairs vs. Squares: The Mustache Gang, the Big Red Machine, and the Tumultuous Summer of ’72, by Ed Gruver Dodgerland: Decadent Los Angeles and the 1977–-78 […]

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I have a pretty set routine with the podcasts I listen to. On my Monday commute to work, it’s always (barring repeats and clip shows) Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me. On the Friday commute home from work it’s Pop Culture Happy Hour. Many of the others regulars — WTF, The Leonard Lopate Show, Fresh Air, […]

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Been following the adventures of Brad Balukjian, who’s traveling the country in search of his baseball heroes for a book project. He was a guest on a recent edition of Slate’s excellent sports podcast, Hang Up and Listen. We had a Bookshelf Conversation prior to his departure and I hope to have another one upon his […]

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