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ONLY THE BALL WAS WHITE Only the Ball Was White, by Robert Peterson, Oxford University Press, Published 1970, re-issued 1999. Reviewed by James Floto. When it comes to writing about Negro League baseball, you might say Robert Peterson is the godfather. Lots of excellent books have been written on this once-overlooked subject since "Only The Ball Was White" was published in 1970, but this is where modern research on the Negro Leagues and their semi-pro antecedents began. Half history, half player profiles, "Only The Ball" is a masterpiece of black baseball history. The book was written with the passion of the tumultuous era in which it was written, yet it is thoroughly researched and for all its many strong points, the most important aspect is that it puts so many aspects of black ball -- and black life in the U.S. -- in historical perspective. Take for example the institution known as "pay schools." In the turn-of-the-century South, black people were not allowed in public schools. Many black people of the previous generation had been educated by Northerners who came South and founded small country schools. As the noose of Jim Crow segregation tightened in the 1890s, pay schools were established. For a nickel or a dime a week, a dozen or so local children would meet, usually in the pitcher's home, and learn the fundamentals. Most black communities, no matter how small, had some sort of baseball team. More often than not they were rural teams. Often the games were played on "skin diamonds," which were carved out of a cow pasture or some unused field. No fences or backstops, and full of rocks. If they were lucky, the boys' mothers sewed them uniforms. They would play all the local teams, almost always on Saturday. That was the only time anyone, child or adult, had time for a game. They worked six days a week and Sunday baseball was prohibited. After the game, it was common to pass the hat. There were leagues for little boys and bigger boys, as well as men's teams. These adult teams served as feeder teams for what was to become the Negro Leagues. People nowadays complain that Little League is taken too seriously. Well, imagine how seriously these weekly battles for sharecroppers and their boys were taken. The pride of each little village was at stake; there was little else going in the lives of these people and this was one of the few respites in the life of hard-worked, impoverished country folk. Yet many of the early players of the Negro Leagues came out of these leagues.Meanwhile, in the cities, black communities were growing, especially with the black migration of World War One, when tens of thousands of Southern blacks came north in search of factory jobs. The factories had black and white teams, and black neighborhoods had their own leagues. Soon semi-pro teams, backed by big-time gamblers, insurance company owners, musicians like Louie Armstrong, even funeral home directors--in other words they few people in the ghetto who had money, backed teams. Eventually the semi-pro teams were unified by the brilliant Rube Foster, former star pitcher, winning manager who gave tips to John McGraw, impresario and businessman, founded the Negro National League in 1920 and the major league version of the Negro Leagues was born. This book has wonderful old photographs and comments from many Negro Leaguers who have since died. Mr. Peterson got them in time: the loquacious Dave Malarcher and the great Bill Yancey, plus Hall of Famers Judy Johnson and Buck Leonard. Mr. Peterson got the ball rolling for the serious study of black baseball. Get this one if you have any interest in the Negro Leagues or African American history. We are very fortunate indeed that this seminal work has been re-issued. Leave feedback on our message board. |
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