The Negro leagues were major leagues : historians reappraise black baseball Cover Image

Book

The Negro leagues were major leagues : historians reappraise black baseball / edited by Todd Peterson.

Peterson, Todd, 1963- (editor.).

Summary:

"How good was Negro League Baseball (1920-1948)? Some experts maintain that the quality of play was equal to that of the American and National Leagues. Some believe the Negro Leagues should be part of Major League Baseball's official record and that more NL players should be in the Hall of Fame. Skeptics contend that while many players could be rated highly, NL organizations were minor league at best. Drawing on the most comprehensive data available, including stats from more than 2,000 interracial games, this study finds that black baseball was very good indeed. Negro leaguers beat the big leaguers more than half the time in head-to-head contests, demonstrated stronger metrics within their own leagues and excelled when finally allowed into the majors. The authors document the often duplicitous manner in which MLB has dealt with the legacy of the Negro Leagues, and an appendix includes the scores and statistics from every known contest between Negro League and Major League teams." -- Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9781476665146
Physical Description: vii, 315 pages ; 26 cm
Publisher: Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2020.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Baseball is the music of mathematics / Larry Lester -- The case for the Negro Leagues / Todd Peterson -- Measuring equality : a statistical comparison of the Negro Leagues to the Major Leagues based on the 1925 season / Richard J. Puerzer -- Gray area : homestead vs. the minor leagues / Scott Simkus -- The color of money : salaries and performance in pre- and post-integration baseball / Michael Haupert -- Winning in the crucible of white-hot competition / Jeffery S. Williams -- The top ten reasons why the Negro Leagues should be declared a major league / Ted Knorr -- Hotel resorts and the emergence of the black baseball professional : riverine and maritime communities, 1867-1890 / James E. Brunson III -- Leading off : the Cuban giants / Tony Kissel -- Rube Foster : Negro League giant / Robert C. Cottrell -- John Donaldson : restoring the legacy of segregated baseball's greatest pitcher / Pete Gorton -- THe measure of failure : Atlanta baseball and community development in the 1930s and 1970s / Thomas Aiello -- Changing the way they do business : Jackie Robinson, iIntegration and the origins of organizational culture in organized baseball / Michael E. Lomax -- Separate but unequal / Philip J. Lowry -- Monuments : the shaping of Negro Leagues public memory / Josh Howard -- Appendix I: NLB vs. MLB, 1885-1924 -- Appendix II: NLB vs. MLB All-Stars, 1902-1948 -- Appendix III: NLB vs. MLB batting, pitching and fielding statistics, 1886-1948 -- Appendix IV: Batting and pitching statistics of Negro leaguers in MLB and Triple A -- Appendix V: Black minor league batting and pitching leaders, 1946-1975 -- Appendix VI: MLB/NLB throwback games, 1994-2017.