The Right Time: John Henry "Pop" Lloyd and Black Baseball

by Wes Singletary

Although he never played a day in the white major leagues, John Henry "Pop" Lloyd was one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived. A shortstop who could take over a game with his glove or his bat, Lloyd dominated early black baseball, drawing comparisons to the most celebrated National Leaguer of his day, Honus Wagner, who declared it a privilege to be mentioned with Lloyd. Beginning his career years before the first Negro National League was established, Lloyd played for a dizzying number of teams, following the money, as he'd put it, throughout the country and sometimes past its borders, doing several stints in Cuba. He was seemingly ageless, winning two batting titles in his 40s and playing at the highest levels of blackball until he was 48. (He would continue to coach and play semi-pro baseball for another ten years.) Admired by teammates and opponents alike for his generosity and quiet strength, Lloyd was also one of the most beloved figures in white or black baseball.

234 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2011

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book thru Library Thing’s Early Reviewers Program. This was a very quick read about John Henry “Pop” Lloyd, one of the greatest black baseball players who ever lived. He never got to play in the “white” major leagues; he made quite a name for himself as an excellent shortstop. This book covers his early years before the Negro National League and his early games in Cuba. I enjoyed how the author did extensive research for the book, as per the notes listed in the back of the book. The portrayal of the discrimination that went on during this time period was described in horrific detail. I highly recommend this book to all readers, I got a lot out of this book and I appreciate the opportunity to read it.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I am a big baseball fan, I didn't know much about baseball and baseball players in the "negro leagues" other than "Cool Papa" Bell and Satchel Paige prior to reading this book. The book's author, Wes Singletary, does an excellent job of bringing the action to live for you while painting it against the background of the time in which the events unfolded. Because of this book, I have a much greater appreciation for black baseball in the early twentieth century. My only lament is that, because there is little video of these players and because they were not allowed to compete in the Major Leagues, we will never really know how great they really were. All we can do is stop, wonder, and appreciate what they did in the circumstances they were given.

[Phil · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book said that it was going to tell the story of John Henry Lloyd and Black Baseball. What it did was recap exhaustively almost every game of several seasons of black baseball during which John Henry Lloyd played, along with occasional pauses to randomly work in stories of lynchings in Florida.

The author admitted that the majority of his information came from box scores and the occasional newspaper recap of a game, and the book read exactly that way. It was boring, and told very little about the man on the cover, or black baseball as such.

I'd move right along and find a better book.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wes Singletary writes an interesting biography on John Henry "Pop" Lloyd in The Right Time. The book is the story of how prolific Lloyd was even though he was never allowed to play in the White baseball leagues. He garnered the respect of players of his time and the interest of the baseball fans in ours.