Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues

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Written by John Holway and Rachel Borst

Publisher: Hastings House
Publication Date: April 2001

These two volumes contribute a good deal to the ongoing examination of the Negro Leagues. Holway, one of the deans of black baseball history, provides the most complete statistical accounting yet of the game's segregated half. The obvious by-product of painstaking research, The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues presents a quick overview of African American participation from 1859 to 1882 and then an annual accounting through 1948, the year after Jackie Robinson entered the major leagues. Holway's contribution is noteworthy, covering won-loss records, batting records, and pitching performances. Textual commentary is sprinkled throughout, as are useful lists of lifetime batting and pitching leaders. But the story remains incomplete because of the paucity of written accounts, incomplete box scores, and a general failure on the part of black baseball management and journalists alike to provide a historical record for the most statistically conscious of all sports. McNeil's (The Dodgers Encyclopedia) undertaking is different, as he seeks to determine which Negro League participants should be included in the National Baseball Hall of Fame; at present, 17 have been admitted. Cool Papas and Double Duties calls on both former Negro Leaguers and black baseball historians to select those candidates, then offers a final selection and biographies of those chosen. Biz Mackey, Turkey Stearnes, Dick Lundy, Mules Suttle, and Hilton Smith received the greatest number of votes; Stearnes and Smith, in fact, have subsequently been elected to the hall. McNeil's work also presents all-time Negro League all-star teams, with corresponding biographies. Enjoyable to course through, this book frequently enlightens but will in no way stop baseball fans and scholars from debating the various merits of the top performers.

Last Updated on Monday, 10 August 2009 14:05