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.

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.

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.

Baseball's Great Experiment
Baseball's Great Experiment

Author: Jules Tygiel

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 452

ISBN-13: 9780195106206

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Offers a history of African American exclusion from baseball, and assesses the changing racial attitudes that led up to Jackie Robinson's acceptance by the Brooklyn Dodgers.

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.

African Americans in Minnesota
African Americans in Minnesota

Author: David Vassar Taylor

Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press

Published: 2009-06-26

Total Pages: 116

ISBN-13: 0873516532

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A chronicle of the rich history of Blacks in the state through careful analysis of census and housing records, newspaper records, and first-person accounts.