Awards

• Runner-up for Literary Award (Sports) 2012

Overview

The colliding histories of black and Latin ballplayers in the major leagues have traditionally been told as a story of their shameful segregation and redemptive integration. Jackie Robinson jumped baseball's color line to much fanfare, but integration was painful as well as triumphal. It gutted the once-vibrant Negro Leagues and often subjected Latin players to Jim Crow racism. Today, Major League Baseball tightens its grasp around the Caribbean's burgeoning baseball academies, while at home it embraces-and exploits-the legacy of the Negro Leagues. Award-winning historian Rob Ruck explains the catalyst for this sea change while breaking down the consequences that cut across society. By looking at this history from the vantage point of black America and the Caribbean, Raceball unveils a fresh and stunning truth- baseball has never been stronger as a business, never weaker as a game.

Full Product Details

9780807048054

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Reviews

&ldquo;One of our greatest historians of sport has given us a gift for the ages: a history of baseball that captures its multicultural dynamics in original and profoundly illuminating ways.&#160;Synthesizing a lifetime of pathbreaking research, Raceball presents a brilliant new account&mdash;in black, white, and brown&mdash;of what can no longer be regarded as merely the national game.&rdquo;<br> &mdash;Marcus Rediker, author of The Slave Ship

In sum, the book provides a substantive and provocative introduction to an important aspect of the American national pastime and its social, economic and international implications. -- The Americas: A Quarterly Review of Inter-American Cultural History <br> Rob Ruck pioneered historical research and writing about black and Latin baseball, and Raceball proves that Ruck remains at the top of his game. Incorporating personal interviews with many former players and personalities, such as Harold Tinker, Ted Page, Mal Goode, and August Wilson, who have since passed away, Ruck relies on their voices from the grave and his deep knowledge of black and Latin baseball to make his narrative truly sing. --Brad Snyder, author of A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood's Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports and Beyond the Shadow of the Senators: The Untold Story of the Homestead Grays and the Integration of Baseball <br> Some are well-versed when it comes to the Negro Leagues. Otherso

Rob Ruck pioneered historical research and writing about black and Latin baseball, and @lt;i@gt;Raceball @lt;/i@gt;proves that Ruck remains at the top of his game. Incorporating personal interviews with many former players and personalities, such as Harold Tinker, Ted Page, Mal Goode, and August Wilson, who have since passed away, Ruck relies on their voices from the grave and his deep knowledge of black and Latin baseball to make his narrative truly sing. --Brad Snyder, author of @lt;i@gt;A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood's Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports @lt;/i@gt;and @lt;i@gt;Beyond the Shadow of the Senators: The Untold Story of the Homestead Grays and the Integration of Baseball@lt;/i@gt;@lt;br@gt; @lt;br@gt; Some are well-versed when it comes to the Negro Leagues. Others are aficionados about the rise of Latinos in baseball. But Rob Ruck is one of the few writers who can be called an expert in both fields. Perceptive and insightful, @lt;i@gt;Raceball@lt;/i@gt; is a ple

Author Information

Rob Ruck teaches at the University of Pittsburgh. Author of Sandlot Seasons- Sport in Black Pittsburgh and The Tropic of Baseball- Baseball in the Dominican Republic, he made the Emmy Award-winning documentary Kings on the Hill- Baseball's Forgotten Men. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Maggie Patterson, his coauthor for Rooney- A Sporting Life.

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