The Negro Leagues: Celebrating Baseball's Unsung Heroes (Spectacular Sports) by Matt Doeden

The Negro Leagues: Celebrating Baseball's Unsung Heroes (Spectacular Sports) Reviews

• 
  Scott

  Good, high-level overview of the history of Negro League Baseball.
• 
  Vani

  Rating: 3.5 stars
  
  A disclaimer before I talk about what I think of this book. I have no clue about baseball since I'm not a sports fan and it's not a popular game in Malaysia, where I live. Our favourite national team sports are football (soccer to Americans) and badminton. As such, I have no understanding of baseball's rules and terminologies beyond batters, catchers, pitchers, and bases, learned through years of watching sports movies from the US.
  
  Having said that, we live in a time when the value of black lives and people of colour, in general, is back in the spotlight. I write this amid demonstrations in the US and other places in the world where systemic racism continues to claim and destroy lives following George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis. When I saw that the National Library of Malaysia added this book to its Overdrive collection, I thought, "Hey, what better time to read it," and started listening.
  
  I'm glad I did. It's a story of how segregated baseball leagues came about. It talks of the black players who found recognition for their exceptional talent despite low pay, racist taunts from managers, team owners, other players, and sports fans, and the need to turn their matches into performances to interest fans. Records kept during this period are incomplete, making accurate comparisons with Major League Baseball players of the time difficult at best. But these sportsmen and a sportswoman made their mark on baseball and were inducted into the Hall of Fame in the 70s. I felt sad for and inspired by them. The book ends on a positive note but makes it clear there is a lot of work to be done to make baseball truly equitable, especially with falling participation rates from the black community.
• 
  Paul

  Happened to see this on a Juvenile shelf in the library. It’s probably written at the middle school level, but the information, stories, and photos were great. I’ve read about the Negro Leagues before but still learned new things. If you are a baseball fan you will love this book.
  
  One of the favorite things I learned was about Satchel Paige. More than a decade after retiring, and at the age of 59, he returned for one game and pitched 3 scoreless inning against the Red Sox! When asked about pitching at that age he replied, “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?”
  
• 
  Molly Dettmann

  I thought this was a thorough and solid children's nonfiction read about the history of race relations in regards to baseball. I liked the bios about the baseball players. Young sports and history fans will enjoy this one.
• 
  Yusur A

  Great and succinct intro into the history of the NNL
• 
  Natalie

  Short and to the point to give a good frame of reference and history.
• 
  John Winkelman

  This was a very short audiobook, but I thought it was very interesting and informative.
• 
  HollyBerry31

  Good for a short review but not great if you don’t already know key names. League of there own still the best I have read
• 
  Lea

  Very brief overview. Disappointed this was written by a white male. Will look for an own voices book on the subject. Good for younger folks looking to get a brief history of the negro leagues.
• 
  Kevin Wilkie

  Extremely short. Picked up a few tidbits of information though that I was not aware of.
• 
  Mr. Wakiki

  A short... probably middle school book does a good job of listing some key points about the Negro Legaues
  
• 
  Mark Nenadov

  A nice, brief read about "Negro League" baseball for kids. It gives a window into some of the amazingly talented baseball players that never got to play in the major league, and some that eventually did.
• 
  Tiphanie Vickers

  Great read for Black History!
• 
  Mac Love

  Great introduction to the lesser known baseball leagues of the pre-integration era of American Baseball
• 
  Brenda Kahn

  Nice overview of the history of the Negro Leagues, though not as well-written, more reportorial.
• 
  Jessica

  Short and did give some interesting facts, but I just felt like there was a lot left out or lacking.
• 
  Tim Duff

  Short history of the Negro Leagues and their best players.
• 
  Rachel

  For a children's book, it was an amazing historical book about the Negro league. Baseball fans will appreciate this book as it talks about a time when the world was segregated. I knew very little about this history in baseball, and it is truly fascinating.
• 
  Darren

  D
• 
  Erin Logan

  The Negro Leagues played a huge role in integration in sports and setting the stage for the way the modern baseball game is played. This book takes a look at integrated leagues, segregation in baseball, formation of all-black leagues, and ends with information on current players. I loved that this book included information on females who played in the Negro Leagues and current information on Mo'ne Davis, a girl who recently broke baseball barriers. This is a fast read and would be perfect to brush up on baseball history before Opening Day!