1954 : the year Willie Mays and the first generation of black superstars changed major league baseball forever Cover Image

1954 : the year Willie Mays and the first generation of black superstars changed major league baseball forever / by Bill Madden.

Summary:

"Jackie Robinson heroically broke the color barrier in 1947. But how--and, in practice, when--did the integration of the sport actually occur? Bill Madden shows that baseball's famous "black experiment" did not truly succeed until the coming of age of Willie Mays and the emergence of some star players--Larry Doby, Hank Aaron, and Ernie Banks--in 1954. And as a relevant backdrop off the field, it was in May of that year that the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled, in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, that segregation be outlawed in America's public schools. Featuring original interviews with key players and weaving together the narrative of one of baseball's greatest seasons with the racially charged events of that year, 1954 demonstrates how our national pastime--with the notable exception of the Yankees, who represented white supremacy in the game--was actually ahead of the curve in terms of the acceptance of black Americans, while the nation at large continued to struggle with tolerance"-- Provided by publisher.

Describes the 1954 World Series, when two black players went with their division-winning teams, the New York Giants and the Cleveland Indians, to fight for the championship, seven years after Jackie Robinson broke the color line.

Record details

ISBN: 0306823322
ISBN: 9780306823329
Physical Description: xiii, 290 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Edition: 1st Da Capo Press edition
Publisher: Boston, MA : Da Capo Press, a member of Perseus Books Group, 2014.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-268) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Chapter 1 Power to the (Other) People 9 -- Chapter 2 Bill Veeck Leaves the Stage in the American League's Winds of Change 21 -- Chapter 3 Waiting for Willie 35 -- Chapter 4 Dodger Blues 55 -- Chapter 5 Ernie and Hank 69 -- Chapter 6 Casey's Spring of Discontent 87 -- Chapter 7 Leo's Midas Touch 107 -- Chapter 8 Indian Summer 127 -- Chapter 9 A Tree Dies (Slowly) in Brooklyn 155 -- Chapter 10 Twilight of the Gods 187 -- Chapter 11 Dem Wuz Some Gints 209 -- Chapter 12 Dusty and "The Catch" 229.