Peterson, Todd, ed. The Negro Leagues were Major Leagues: Historians Reappraise Black Baseball. Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishing Company, 2020. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy Todd Peterson has brought together an impressive array of authors to try to answer a long-debated question regarding the Negro Leagues. Historians, researchers, and the general fans have differing views of the…
Beer, Jeremy. Oscar Charleston: The Life and Legend of Baseball’s Greatest Forgotten Player. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2019. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy Author Jeremy Beer has written the first full biography of one of the greatest baseball players in history, Oscar Charleston. The story is long overdue, and Beer meets expectations, bringing to life…
Segrave, Kerry. 2019. Women and Bicycles in America, 1868-1900. Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishing Company, 2020. Pp. 230. 146 photos, notes, bibliography, index. $55.00 paperback. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy In Women and Bicycles in America, 1868-1900, author Kerry Segrave examines the growing bicycle craze in the late-nineteenth century and its effect women. Although the tricycle started…
Hernández, Lou. Bobby Maduro and the Cuban Sugar Kings. Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishing Company, 2018. Pp. 218. Bibliography and notes. $39.95 paperback. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy Lou Hernández provides a comprehensive biography of one of baseball’s most successful and overlooked executives, Bobby Maduro. Maduro had a long career in Cuban baseball before starting over again…
Smith, Averell “Ace”. The Pitcher and the Dictator: Satchel Paige’s Unlikely Season in the Dominican Republic. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2018. Pp. 240. 14 photographs, 6 illustrations, 2 tables, appendix, and index. $26.95 hardcover and eBook. $19.95 paperback. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy Author Averell Smith paints a vivid picture of a season in the…
Sayama, Kazuo and Bill Staples Jr. Gentle Black Giants: A History of Negro Leaguers in Japan. Fresno, CA: Nisei Baseball Research Project Press, 2019. Pp. 387. Appendices. $27.95 paperback. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy With Gentle Black Giants, Kazuo Sayama and Bill Staples Jr. together fill a huge gap in the literature. While Sayama first wrote…
Jenkins, Sherman. Ted Strong Jr.: The Untold Story of an Original Harlem Globetrotter and Negro Leagues All—Star. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2016. Pp. 204. Notes, bibliography, index. Pp. 204. $40.00 hardback. $38.00 eBook. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy Author Sherman Jenkins straightforwardly presents the story of Ted Strong Jr., following chronologically his career and life.…
Castle, George. Jackie Robinson West: The Triumph and Tragedy of America’s Favorite Little League Team. Connecticut: Lyons Press, 2016. Pp. 272. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy George Castle uses his research and writing skills to offer a readable, informative exploration of the lovable Little League team that rose to fame in 2014 – Jackie Robinson West (JRW).…
Congdon, Lee. Legendary Sports Writers of the Golden Age. Rowman and Littlefield, 2017. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy In Legendary Sports Writers of the Golden Age, Author Lee Congdon introduces the reader to four significant sports writers who began their careers in the 1920s and 1930s. Long considered the Golden Age of Sports for the athletes…
Shattuck, Debra A. Bloomer Girls: Women Baseball Pioneers. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2017. Pp. xiii +307. Appendices, notes, bibliography and index. Clothback $25.95. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy Debra Shattuck knocks it out of the park with her first book. Bloomer Girls: Women Baseball Pioneers fills a huge void in sports literature regarding women…
Sport in American History 