We are the Ship

Nelson, K. (2008). We are the ship NY: Hyperion

The history behind African Americans in the great game of baseball. First Inning. Many white players refused to play alongside Negroes. Team owners went as far as eliminating them from their teams. These players were forced to play in their own "Negro" leagues. Second Inning. "Negro baseball was fast! Flashy! Daring!" They were not afraid to play and did whatever it took to win. Third Inning. They took any chance they took to play because they didn't have that many opportunities but they were united and worked well together. Fifth Inning. The market crash was a huge hit to baseball. It was hard to stay afloat. Fifth Inning. The greatest baseball players in the world were Negro All-STARS. Despite the limitations of their exposure to playing ball, the best of the best were ALL-STARS. Sixth Inning. Latin America is responsible for some of the greatest baseball player to play in this country. Seventh Inning. When the Negro Leagues played the White Leagues, well let's say the White Leagues weren't known for their Sportsmanship Conduct where they would go as far as even freezing the balls so that they wouldn't travel far upon being hit. Not nice, huh? Eight Inning. Wartime heroes who were drafted continued to play ball in the service. There was nothing that was going to stop their love for the sport. Ninth Inning. Then along came Jackie Robinson and his perserverance earned him a spot in a White League Team...Extra Innings. The end of the Negro Leagues...and the rest was history.

Everyone is aware of the situation with seperate but not equal, segregation, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr. etc. How many people actually know much about other things that took place during this time, I for instance, did not even consider what the situation was with athleletes during this time. Although I'm not necessarily a baseball fan, I found thiss book quite interesting.

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