I thoroughly enjoyed Money Pitcher. Kashatus tells Bender’s story through lively, accessible writing. He refuses to get bogged down in statistics, but at the same time gives baseball fans all the sports trivia they’ll want. And by exploring not just the height of Bender’s fame, but also his early years and post-majors career, Kashatus draws out some very important—and counterintuitive—conclusions.”
—Philip Deloria, University of Michigan
“Chief Bender’s extraordinary life took him from White Earth to the Hall of Fame. That much we knew. Now comes Bill Kashatus to tell us the rest. This extraordinary book puts us alongside Bender on his troubled and triumphant journey through America’s shameful treatment of its native people.”
—Dave Kindred, Sporting News
“In many ways, American Indian players were the first pioneers to integrate major league baseball. And of these integrators, Charles Albert Bender was among the first and certainly the greatest, a cornerstone of the Philadelphia Athletics’ championship teams. Money Pitcher, Bill Kashatus’s well-written and well-researched biography, tells Bender’s story at length, from his early days on the White Earth Reservation, to his glory days as a World Series hero, to his last days as a Philadelphia pitching coach. This is a great life story, sensitively told by Kashatus.”
—Jeff Powers-Beck, author of The American Indian Integration of Baseball
“William Kashatus has been telling interesting baseball stories for some years now and . . . he does what he does best: put it all in perspective.”
—Dan Smith, Blue Ridge Business Journal
“Like Kashatus’ recent book about Richie Allen and the 1964 Philadelphia Phillies, the Bender book has to do with a lot more than baseball.”
—Dan Smith, Blue Ridge Business Journal
“Money Pitcher is a book that is definitely a must-read for anyone interested in Native Americans during the Progressive Era and in Pennsylvania’s sports history.”
—Karen Guenther, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
“Money Pitcher is a pleasurable read. It will appeal to both sports fans and those with a general interest in Native American history. He consistently provides the reader with an understanding of the times that Bender lived through and the struggles he endured. I recommend this book for purchase by tribal libraries.”
—James Thull, Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education (TCJ)