After Jackie: Pride, Prejudice, and Baseball's Forgotten Heroes: An Oral History

by Cal Fussman

Book Overview

To commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the breaking of baseballs color barrier, an exploration of Jackie Robinsons impact and legacy by the people whose lives were transformed by his courageWhen... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1933060182
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: ESPN
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

An excellent addition to one's baseball library

Author Cal Fussman interviewed more than 60 former major leaguers, reporters, relatives and celebrities for this oral history of "pride, prejudice and baseball's forgotten heroes." Those interviewed include Henry Aaron, Dick Allen, Felipe Alou, Larry Doby, Monte Irvin, Frank Robinson, Don Newcombe and Carl Erskine. As Frank Robinson said, "Jackie gave blacks permission to dream." Players who followed him were still abused, humiliated and discriminated against, but they knew they had a chance to make it to the majors. Although Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, blacks faced many obstacles through the late 1960s. Indeed, Jackie Robinson showed the way for others. Frank Robinson said, "If Jackie had faltered on or off the field, blacks couldn't make it. There would be no Aaron, Willie Mays or Ernie Banks." The book includes a chapter on Latino ballplayers, who faced many of the same obstacles as blacks. While many of the segments are brief, there are some longer ones. And, those tend to me the most insightful. The best interviews are those with Newcombe, Erskine, Frank Robinson and Dick Allen. The most shocking anecdote is probably the one told by former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite. This is another book that baseball fans should read to fully appreciate what Jackie Robinson did and the impact he had on those who followed him.

Good Historical Read

Being a fan of baseball & Black history, I loved it. It has interviews with living Negro League players, their widows & or children, other celeb rities who lived through that era and white ballplayers as well. It is full of insight from a lot of different viewpoints.

This Oral History Tells A Real Story

This nation's leaders in fields such as politics, sports and history do a great job with race. You see, they mostly race away from the real questions and answers surrounding slavery, prejudice and the lies from the past that are taught as fact today. Race fast enough and the truth may just get left far behind. That is what makes After Jackie: Pride, Prejudice, and Baseball's Forgotten Heroes - An Oral History, as important a book as you can read this year, or ever. It gives you a foundation to discuss with your children true American history from the voices of true heroes. Each person chronicled by author Cal Fussman - either in recent interviews or through past public statements - lived through the racial hatred that did not cease after Jackie Robinson donned the uniform of the Brooklyn Dodgers. That is because of the race away from the hard questions and tough answers. "The more I spoke with the men who came after Jackie, the more certain I became of one thing: The only way to unlearn is to learn," writes Fussman. "The surest way for us to move forward is to know where the old have been." And to put one issue in perspective - Major League Baseball's "Glory Road" - it really isn't "ancient" history. The first all-minority starting lineup - blacks and Latin players - was filled out by manager Danny Murtaugh on September 1, 1971, when his Pittsburgh Pirates played the Philadelphia Phillies. For the record, the Pirates won the World Series that season. Former Dodgers star, Lou Johnson - whose life is equally uplifting and chilling due to the prejudice of society - captures the powerful message of the book through a story of sharing: "The other day I was at my mother-in-law's funeral and there was a kid who was wearing a jersey with No. 42 on it. He had no idea what the 42 meant. In the heart of the hood, and this kid had no idea. "I put my arm around this kid and I showed him my world championship ring. I said, 'It was No. 42 who got me this ring.' "And then I told him about No. 42." It is not enough to simply remember the past. Without a true comprehension of history, a society is doomed to repeat the same mistakes - in various degrees - over and over again. And that will unfortunately make No. 42 just another number.