Playing America's Game: Baseball, Latinos, and the Color Line » (1st Edition)

Adrian Burgos Jr., is Assistant Professor of History at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.He was a contributing author to Shades of Glory: The Negro Leagues and the Story of African American Baseball (2006), served onthe Screening and Voting Committees for the National Baseball Hall of Fame's 2006Special Election on the Negro Leagues, and consulted on the Hall's ¡Béisbol_Baseball! The Shared Pastime project.

"Adrian Burgos is one of best young historians currently working the baseball beat. This is essential reading, not just for baseball aficionados, but anyone interested in the history of American race and ethnic relations."—Jules Tygiel, author of Extra Bases: Reflections on Jackie Robinson, Race, and Baseball History

"Playing America's Game is a terrific addition to the growing literature in Latino history. It is the most comprehensive and nuanced treatment of Latinos and professional baseball."—Vicki L.Ruiz, author of From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth-Century America

Robert C. Cottrell - Library Journal

In recent years, a series of top-notch books (e.g., Alan M. Klein's Baseball on the Border: A Tale of Two Laredos) has greatly added to our knowledge of Latin American baseball. Now Burgos (history, Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) offers his own encyclopedic treatment of Latinos and baseball, covering the topic from the late 19th century to the present. Burgos presents the story of players like Vincent Nava, baseball's "first brownplayer," who endured racial insensitivity and outright "racist taunts," and Louis Castro, the first Latino to play in the major leagues in the 20th century. He also points to darker-skinned stars, such as Jose Mendez and Cristóbal Torriente, who were prohibited from playing organized baseball. Gradually and inconsistently, a smattering of Latinos made it to the big leagues, but even the collapse of the Jim Crow barrier failed to prevent players like Vic Powers and Roberto Clemente from enduring racial prejudice. Nevertheless, by the 1980s, Major League Baseball was increasingly internationalized and now includes many Latinos. Burgos's coverage of this important baseball story is recommended for general readers.

List of Illustrations     ix
Preface     xi
Acknowledgments     xvii
Introduction: Latinos Play America's Game     1
The Rise of America's Game and the Color Line
A National Game Emerges     17
Early Maneuvers     34
Holding the Line     53
Latinos and the Racial Divide
Baseball Should Follow the Flag     71
"Purest Bars of Castilian Soap"     88
Making Cuban Stars     111
Becoming Cuban Senators     141
Playing in the World Jim Crow Made     162
Beyond Integration
Latinos and Baseball's Integration     179
Troubling the Waters     198
Latinos and Baseball's Global Turn     227
Saying It is So-Sa!     243
Conclusion: Still Playing America's Game     261
Pioneering Latinos     269
Notes     275
Selected Bibliography     321
Index     345