Early Black Baseball in Minnesota
Early Black Baseball in Minnesota

Author: Todd Peterson

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2014-01-10

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 078645752X

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Though they played in the years before Rube Foster formed the first Negro League, the St. Paul Gophers and their bitter crosstown rivals, the Minneapolis Keystones, had the talent, bench depth, and determination to rival many of those later, better known teams. (The Gophers, in fact, beat Chicago's celebrated Leland Giants in 1909, laying claim to blackball's western championship.) Focusing on these two clubs, author Peterson lays out the early history of African American baseball in the Upper Midwest. Included are new statistics and more than 50 rarely seen photographs.

They Played for the Love of the Game
They Played for the Love of the Game

Author: Frank M. White

Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society

Published: 2016-02-01

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 1681340054

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A century before Kirby Puckett led the Minnesota Twins to World Series championships, Minnesota was home to countless talented African American baseball players, yet few of them are known to fans today. During the many decades that Major League Baseball and its affiliates imposed a strict policy of segregation, black ballplayers in Minnesota were relegated to a haphazard array of semipro leagues, barnstorming clubs, and loose organizations of all-black teams—many of which are lost to history. They Played for the Love of the Game recovers that history by sharing stories of African American ballplayers in Minnesota, from the 1870s to the 1960s, through photos, artifacts, and spoken histories passed through the generations. Author Frank White’s own father was one of the top catchers in the Twin Cities in his day, a fact that White did not learn until late in life. While the stories tell of denial, hardship, and segregation, they are highlighted by athletes who persevered and were united by their love of the sport.

Swinging for the Fences
Swinging for the Fences

Author: Steven R. Hoffbeck

Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9780873515177

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Swinging for the Fences tells the great stories of baseball's past, from establishment of the color line and the early formation of the barnstorming teams to dazzling hits by black heroes that led the Twins to victory over the Cardinals in 1987. Each chapter focuses on one key player and gives readers an intimate look at the national pastime as it has evolved over the last century. These are stories of the bonds that formed between players, of legendary moments in baseball's past, and of real people whose love of the game kept them playing against tough odds. Featured here are Hall of Famers like Willie Mays, Roy Campanella, and Kirby Puckett and great players like Walter Ball, John Wesley Donaldson, and Bud Fowler, who, because of their race, never made the stats books.

Baseball in Minnesota
Baseball in Minnesota

Author: Stew Thornley

Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 9780873515511

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From the early days of town ball to the latest seasons of the Twins and Saints, Stew Thornley offers the ultimate history of the Great American Pastime in the North Star State.

Town Ball
Town Ball

Author: Armand Peterson

Publisher: U of Minnesota Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 436

ISBN-13: 9780816646753

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An in-depth study of the magical era of amateur baseball in Minnesota, from 1945 to 1960, looks at the social and economic factors that contributed to the sport's success, profiles some of the teams and their players, and includes a collection of anecdotes, vintage photographs, and statistics.

Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins

Author: Dennis Brackin

Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group USA

Published: 2010-03-12

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1610602692

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A treasury of Twin Cities baseball history packed with photos from the archives. Major League Baseball came to the Minnesota prairie in the spring of 1961, and ever since, the Minnesota Twins have held a cherished place in the hearts of sports fans throughout the region. With Hall of Famers like Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, and Kirby Puckett and beloved characters from Billy Martin to Kent Hrbek to Joe Mauer, the history of the Twins encompasses highs and lows, heroes and goats, but always nonstop excitement. Minnesota Twins: The Complete Illustrated History provides an in-depth and entertaining look at the team, its players, its stadiums, and the memorable moments through the years. Illustrated with photos from the Star Tribune’s archives, it is the ultimate celebration of a beloved franchise.

Black Baseball Entrepreneurs, 1860-1901
Black Baseball Entrepreneurs, 1860-1901

Author: Michael E. Lomax

Publisher: Syracuse University Press

Published: 2003-04-01

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9780815607861

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Here is the first in-depth account of the birth of black baseball and its dramatic passage from grass-roots venture to commercial enterprise. In the late nineteenth century resourceful black businessmen founded ball teams that became the Negro Leagues. Racial bias aside, they faced vast odds, from the need to court white sponsors to negotiating ball parks. With no blacks in cities, they barnstormed small towns to attract fans, employing all manner of gimmickry to rouse attention. Drawing on major newspapers and obscure African-American journals, the author explores the diverse forces that shaped minority baseball. He looks unflinchingly at prejudice in amateur and pro circles and constant inadequate press coverage. He assesses the impact of urbanization, migration, and the rise of northern ghettoes, and he applauds those bold innovators who forged black baseball into a parallel club that appealed to whites yet nurtured a uniquely African American playing style. This was black baseball's finest hour: at once a source of great ethnic pride and a hard won pathway for integration into the mainstream.

Curveball
Curveball

Author: Martha Ackmann

Publisher: Chicago Review Press

Published: 2010-06-01

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 1569766843

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2011 Selection for the Amelia Bloomer Project. From the time she was a girl growing up in the shadow of Lexington Park in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Toni Stone knew she wanted to play professional baseball. There was only one problem--every card was stacked against her. Curveball tells the inspiring story of baseball's "female Jackie Robinson," a woman whose ambition, courage, and raw talent propelled her from ragtag teams barnstorming across the Dakotas to playing in front of large crowds at Yankee Stadium. Toni Stone was the first woman to play professional baseball on men's teams. After Robinson integrated the major leagues and other black players slowly began to follow, Stone seized an unprecedented opportunity to play professional baseball in the Negro League. She replaced Hank Aaron as the star infielder for the Indianapolis Clowns and later signed with the legendary Kansas City Monarchs. Playing alongside some of the premier athletes of all time including Ernie Banks, Willie Mays, Buck O'Neil, and Satchel Paige, Toni let her talent speak for itself. Curveball chronicles Toni Stone's remarkable career facing down not only fastballs, but jeers, sabotage, and Jim Crow America as well. Her story reveals how far passion, pride, and determination can take one person in pursuit of a dream.

How Baseball Happened
How Baseball Happened

Author: Thomas W. Gilbert

Publisher: Godine+ORM

Published: 2020-09-15

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 1567926886

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The untold story of baseball’s nineteenth-century origins: “a delightful look at a young nation creating a pastime that was love from the first crack of the bat” (Paul Dickson, The Wall Street Journal). You may have heard that Abner Doubleday or Alexander Cartwright invented baseball. Neither did. You may have been told that a club called the Knickerbockers played the first baseball game in 1846. They didn’t. Perhaps you’ve read that baseball’s color line was first crossed by Jackie Robinson in 1947. Nope. Baseball’s true founders don’t have plaques in Cooperstown. They were hundreds of uncredited, ordinary people who played without gloves, facemasks, or performance incentives. Unlike today’s pro athletes, they lived full lives outside of sports. They worked, built businesses, and fought against the South in the Civil War. In this myth-busting history, Thomas W. Gilbert reveals the true beginnings of baseball. Through newspaper accounts, diaries, and other accounts, he explains how it evolved through the mid-nineteenth century into a modern sport of championships, media coverage, and famous stars—all before the first professional league was formed in 1871. Winner of the Casey Award: Best Baseball Book of the Year