Color blind: the forgotten team that broke baseball's color line

Description

"When baseball swept America in the years after the Civil War, independent, semipro, and municipal leagues sprouted up everywhere. With civic pride on the line, rivalries were fierce and teams often signed ringers to play alongside the town dentist, insurance salesman, and teen prodigy. In drought-stricken Bismarck, North Dakota during the Great Depression, one of the most improbable teams in the history of baseball was assembled by one of the sport’s most unlikely champions. A decade before Jackie Robinson broke into the Major Leagues, car dealer Neil Churchill signed the best players he could find, regardless of race, and fielded an integrated squad that took on all comers in spectacular fashion. Color Blind immerses the reader in the wild and wonderful world of early independent baseball, with its tough competition and its novelty. Dunkel traces the rise of the Bismarck squad, focusing on the 1935 season and the first National Semipro Tournament. This is an entertaining, must-read for anyone interested in the history of baseball"--amazon.com.;Preface: Before 42 -- Coming together. Prairieland of opportunity ; Grasshoppers and hickory sticks ; Birth of a salesman ; Worlds apart ; Over the color line ; Throwing fire ; Showtime ; Nameless dread -- Playing together. Come and gone ; Feeling the heat ; Marriages and separations ; Cat and moose ; Long rifle rides again ; "A riotous opera of extra-base hits..." -- Tested together. Little man, big idea ; Gunfight at the cowtown corral ; Big gun ; The Erle of Oklahoma ; Last team standing ; "Plenty of barn room" ; Endings ; Deep smoke winding. Preface: Before 42 -- Coming together. Prairieland of opportunity Grasshoppers and hickory sticks Birth of a salesman Worlds apart Over the color line Throwing fire Showtime Nameless dread -- Playing together. Come and gone Feeling the heat Marriages and separations Cat and moose Long rifle rides again "A riotous opera of extra-base hits..." -- Tested together. Little man, big idea Gunfight at the cowtown corral Big gun The Erle of Oklahoma Last team standing "Plenty of barn room" Endings Deep smoke winding.