The Negro Leagues In New Jersey

This work examines the historical significance of the state of New Jersey in the Negro League legacy, especially the black baseball players, teams, owners and managers, and their struggles against not just segregation, and their accomplishments. The book includes photographs, appendices (records of New Jersey Negro League teams, 1923-1948, and a chronology), notes, a bibliography of research sources, an annotated list of suggested further readings, and an index.

The result of a study commissioned by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and funded by a grant from Major League Baseball(, this richly illustrated, comprehensive history combines vivid narrative, visual impact, and a unique statistical component to re-create the excitement and passion of the Negro Leagues. 75 photos.

At his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, former Negro League player Buck Leonard said, "Now, we in the Negro Leagues felt like we were contributing something to baseball, too, when we were playing.... We loved the game.... But we thought that we should have and could have made the major leagues." The Negro Leagues had some of the best talent in baseball but from their earliest days the players were segregated from those leagues that received all the recognition. This history of the Negro Leagues begins with the second half of the 19th century and the early attempts by African American players to be allowed to play with white teammates, and progresses through the "Gentleman's Agreement" in the 1890s which kept baseball segregated. The establishment of the first successful Negro League in 1920 is covered and various aspects of the game for the players discussed (lodgings, travel accommodations, families, difficulties because of race, off-season jobs, play and life in Latin America). In 1960, the Birmingham Black Barons went out of business and took the Negro Leagues with them. There are many stories of individual players, owners, umpires, and others involved with the Negro Leagues in the U.S. and Latin America, along with photos, appendices, notes, bibliography and index.

Briefly traces the history of the Negro Baseball League, and identifies over four thousand of its players.

The story of black professional baseball provides a remarkable perspective on several major themes in modern African American history: the initial black response to segregation, the subsequent struggle to establish successful separate enterprises, and the later movement toward integration. Baseball functioned as a critical component in the separate economy catering to black consumers in the urban centers of the North and South. While most black businesses struggled to survive from year to year, professional baseball teams and leagues operated for decades, representing a major achievement in black enterprise and institution building. Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution presents the extraordinary history of a great African American achievement, from its lowest ebb during the Depression, through its golden age and World War II, until its gradual disappearance during the early years of the civil rights era. Faced with only a limited amount of correspondence and documents, Lanctot consulted virtually every sports page of every black newspaper located in a league city. He then conducted interviews with former players and scrutinized existing financial, court, and federal records. Through his efforts, Lanctot has painstakingly reconstructed the institutional history of black professional baseball, locating the players, teams, owners, and fans in the wider context of the league's administration. In addition, he provides valuable insight into the changing attitudes of African Americans toward the need for separate institutions.

The Real Story of the Negro Leagues is an account that has needed to be told since before 1920. With the new revelation of Major League Baseball accepting Negro League statistics, it makes this book even more relevant today. There are a multitude of players who toiled in anonymity simply because of the color of their skin. This book brings to light the people who made the Negro Leagues happen, as well as the players and executives who allowed it to flourish. There are Negro League players who have become household names, while others, who had a major influence in its success, have gotten ignored over time. Most people believe that Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play Major League Baseball. He wasn’t. Jackie actually signaled the end of Negro League baseball. Jackie’s accomplishments were monumental, but there is a rich history that led up to that moment. That rich history is where we will begin. The struggles these great players faced and degradation they had to endure is a testament to the resolve of these individuals. Their love and desire for the great game of baseball made them tackle obstacles others would never attempt. This is a story of triumph over all odds. This is “the real story of the Negro Leagues.”

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues, this bookhonors the life of Effa Manley, the trailblazing female co-owner of baseball’s Newark Eagles. The first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, there was no one like Effa Manley in the sports world of the 1930s and 1940s. She was a sophisticated woman who owned a baseball team. She never shrank from going head to head with men, who dominated the ranks of sports executives. That her life story remained unchronicled for so long can only be attributed to one thing: her team, the Newark Eagles, belonged to the Negro Leagues. In Queen of the Negro Leagues: Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles, Negro Leagues Centennial Edition, James Overmyer brings to light new details regarding Effa Manley’s fascinating story, including previously-unknown information about her childhood and family. Overmyer wonderfully portrays Effa Manley’s trailblazing life, her championship baseball team, and a thriving black community in Newark that took the Eagles into their hearts. In addition, this book contains updates regarding the Negro Leagues, its talented rank of players, and Manley’s induction into the Hall of Fame. This important work shines the spotlight on a previously unsung segment of baseball history. Drawing extensively from Eagle team records and Manley’s scrapbook, Queen of the Negro Leagues is the definitive biography of a groundbreaking female sports executive.

Commissioned by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum with funding from Major League Baseball, this work chronicles the Negro Leagues era, combining on-field reportage with historical context.

This baseball league that was made up of African American players and run by African American owners ushered in the biggest change in the history of baseball. In America during the early twentieth century, no part was safe from segregation, not even the country's national pastime, baseball. Despite their exodus from the Major Leagues because of the color of their skin, African American men still found a way to participate in the sport they loved. Author Varian Johnson shines a spotlight on the players, coaches, owners, and teams that dominated the Negro Leagues during the 1930s and 40s. Readers will learn about how phenomenal players like Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and of course, Jackie Robinson greatly changed the sport of baseball.

For over fifty years - or up until that bright April day in 1947 when Jackie Robinson smashed the major leagues' color barrier - the only ball fields where an African-American could play organized baseball were the tarnished diamonds of the Negro baseball leagues. On these fields, men such as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, and John Henry Lloyd played for teams such as the Kansas City Monarchs, the Homestead Grays, the Chicago American Giants, and the Pittsburgh Crawfords.