Under Jackie's Shadow: Voices of Black Minor Leaguers Baseball Left Behind

by Mitchell Nathanson Narrated by Bill Andrew Quinn

Overview

The stories of thirteen Black Minor League baseball players during the post-Jackie Robinson era, from the 1960s to the mid-1970s, who were figuratively and literally left behind even as both baseball and the country claimed a newfound racial progressiveness.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

In his brilliant and important reckoning of baseball’s neglected Black heroes, Mitchell Nathanson masterfully illuminates their stories. I was immersed in the extraordinary lives of young athletes who boldly strived to more fully integrate the Major Leagues during the turbulent 1960s. Segregation and racism curved their love of the game, relegating their visions of glory to a field of dreams deferred. To be sure, the denial of their talents was baseball’s and America’s loss. Yet their memories are devoid of bitterness and regret. This book will inspire generations. It is a poignant story of what could have been and what may yet be.”—Chris Thomas King, author of The Blues: The Authentic Narrative of My Music and Culture


“Under Jackie’s Shadow is a journey over historical terrain strewn with the wreckage of Black players’ lives and dreams too often dashed against the ramparts of discriminatory traditions and consigned to oblivion. Under Jackie’s Shadow compels us to look at this hidden and lost history, to acknowledge and come to grips with its impact on the men most directly involved and its implications relative to what MLB was as an institution, what America was as a society, and what in some significant measure America is still burdened with as a nation today.”—Harry Edwards, author of The Revolt of the Black Athlete

Library Journal

★ 03/29/2024

Jackie Robinson's signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 is often referred to as the event that broke baseball's color barrier. When being honored for that achievement 25 years later, Robinson remarked that he would be even more pleased if there were Black executives managing baseball teams. Inspired by Robinson's statement, sports law professor Nathanson (Villanova Univ. School of Law; The Ten-Minute Collapse: Black Friday and the Fall of the 1977 Phillies) asked many Black athletes who played in Minor League Baseball in the 1960s and 1970s to write about their own experiences with the mostly white executives and coaches in the game. The resulting 13 stories in this book paint a powerful, disturbing portrait of a culture of racism in baseball, and Nathanson shows that it's a widespread problem that continues to deny many Black players opportunities they deserve. The expertly written stories will surprise, sadden, and anger many readers. VERDICT This is a powerful work that shouldn't be missed. While it focuses mostly on lesser-known aspects of the culture of Minor League Baseball, it could become a referendum on the state of racism in the United States today. Highly recommended.—Steve Dixon

JULY 2024 - AudioFile

The author has compiled oral histories of minor league ballplayers from the 1960s and '70s who didn't make the big time due, in part, to systemic racism. Bill Andrew Quinn's deep voice has a serious tone that is appropriate for these stories. Each ballplayer details specific instances of how managers and owners kept them down through unfulfilled promises. Quinn keeps his speech consistent from player to player. The author went to great lengths to keep these first-person accounts accurate. The individuals are different, but their stories all resonate with the same message. M.B. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940191404042
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	05/07/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged

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