Fact Friday: The Negro Leagues: Celebrating Baseball's Unsung Heroes by Matt Doeden

Image: Lerner Publishing

Happy Friday! Fact Friday features The Negro Leagues: Celebrating Baseball's Unsung Heroes by Matt Doeden. This book is part of the Spectacular Sports Series. Clocking in at 64 pages, this work of expository nonfiction provides a broad view of the history of Negro League baseball, but is a nice introduction for those not ready to take on We are the Ship. 

In the years following the Civil War, some baseball teams were integrated, but with the rise of Jim Crow, Black players were forced out and formed their own teams, often barnstorming their way around the country in search of teams to play. Eventually, teams became tied to cities and rivalries grew, such as the one between the Kansas City Monarchs and the Homestead Grays. The text is accompanied by many period photos of players both posed and in action.