Blackball Stars: Negro League Pioneers

A young John B. Holway saw his first NLB game in 1943. And years later, Holway the writer & researcher brought the game back to life in a series of articles and books. Originally published in 1988, Blackball Stars is a biography of 27 of the greatest players & executives in the history of baseball. It is rich in photographs and statistics, while setting the record straight on the talents of such stars as Bullet Joe Rogan, Chino Smith, Cristobal Torriente, Joe Mendez and Dobie Moore. Included is a statistical index of all-star teams, Cuban & Mexican league champions, NLB statistical leaders by season and NLB all-time statistical leaders in numerous categories. Over the years, Holway has personally interviewed more than 70 former players and - with the help of the Society of American Baseball Research - reconstructed batting & pitching stats through a variety of media sources. His outstanding oral history, Voices From the Great Black Baseball Leagues, was published in 1975. And I need to give a shout to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. It is well worth planning a trip around visiting the facility a couple times. There is a growing awareness on NLB (and the Cuban and Mexican leagues) & the rich heritage it proudly carried when faced with white hatred. It is authors like Holway who set the foundation for the great books that are now being published.