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January 02, 2008
Adrian Burgos Jr., PhD'00
Playing America's Game: Baseball, Latinos, and the Color Line, University of California Press, 2007.
The book: Although largely ignored by historians of both baseball in general and the Negro leagues in particular, Latinos have been a significant presence in organized baseball from the beginning. This benchmark study on Latinos and professional baseball from the 1880s to the present, tells a compelling story of the men who negotiated the color line at every turn—passing as "Spanish" in the major leagues or seeking respect and acceptance in the Negro leagues. Adrian Burgos draws on archival materials from the United States, Cuba and Puerto Rico as well as Spanish- and English-language publications and interviews with Negro league and major league players.
The author: Adrian Burgos Jr. is assistant professor of history at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He was a contributing author to "Shades of Glory: The Negro Leagues and the Story of African American Baseball" and served on committees for the National Baseball Hall of Fame's 2006 special election of Negro leagues.
Posted by tobiaslw at January 2, 2008 11:49 AM