Black Baseball, 1858-1900

July 1, 2019

Long before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier or Satchel Paige pitched in the Negro leagues, generations of athletes competed in organized black baseball, beginning in the mid-19th century. Art historian and artist Brunson (Northern Illinois Univ.; The Early Image of Black Baseball) comprehensively chronicles the people, teams, and cities that make up this history, starting with the early barber and hotel waiter subcultures that gave rise to numerous teams. Profiles, organized by state and city, include well-known teams such as the Chicago Uniques and the St. Louis Black Stockings, along with lesser-known but equally important clubs such as the Utica Fearless, which was perhaps the longest-running black baseball organization in history. Each profile features informative quotes from local newspapers and citations to additional articles. This three-volume resource also offers club rosters, a directory of managers and promoters, a player register with biographies and further sources identified, and a chronology of games officiated by black umpires. In addition, extensive essays scattered throughout explore black minstrelsy, artwork depicting black baseball, black baseball's family networks, and other topics. VERDICT This title will be a hit among readers interested in 19th-century American cultural history and African American history, along with baseball fans wishing to know more about an important piece of the national pastime's early story.--Brian Sullivan, Alfred Univ. Lib., NY

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 15, 2019
In three volumes, this exceptional work documents the early history of Black baseball in the United States. Teams in the U.S. and some parts of Canada are profiled, beginning with the 1858 Jamaica, New York, Hensons, through 78 different teams in 20 states and the District of Columbia in 1900. Each team profile includes annual player rosters and biographies of the players, managers, and umpires. All entries cite original sources, primarily African American newspaper articles. Several excellent essays provide context, covering the value of baseball to company employees and how Black baseball was portrayed in the (predominantly white) media. Brunson writes that compiling the research took 25 years, and, even then, the majority-white indifference to Black baseball means that any number of teams, leagues, and players have probably been lost to history. Many of the rosters simply include a last name and the team played for, resulting in an entire page of players named Johnson who are only distinguished by the fact that they played on different teams in different states. Nonetheless, this groundbreaking reference source serves as a memoir of those who pioneered the sport, despite odds against them.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)