Pretend the Ball Is Named Jim Crow: The Story of Josh Gibson

by Dorian Hairston

Joshua "Josh" Gibson (1911–1947) is a baseball legend―one of the greatest power hitters in the Negro Leagues, and in all of baseball history. At the height of his career, this trailblazing athlete suffered grueling physical ailments, lost his young wife who died giving birth to their twins, and endured years of Jim Crow–era segregation and discrimination―all the while breaking records on the ball field.

Dorian Hairston's debut poetry collection explores the Black American experience through the lens of Gibson's life and seventeen-year baseball career, which culminated in his posthumous election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. Hairston brilliantly reconstructs the personas of Gibson and others in his orbit whose encounters with white supremacy interweave with the inevitability of losing loved ones. By alternating between the perspectives of Gibson, members of his family, and contemporary Black baseball players, Hairston captures the complexity and the pain of living under the oppressive weight of grief and racial discrimination.

Emotive, prescient, and absorbing, these powerful poems address social change, culture, family, race, death, and oppression―while honoring and giving voice to Gibson and a voiceless generation of African Americans.

Genres: Poetry, Baseball, Sports

118 pages, Hardcover

Published February 6, 2024

Reviews

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Josh Gibson is undoubtedly one of the best players who toiled in the Negro Leagues before Black players were integrated into Major League baseball. There have been books and other publications illustrating Gibson’s life and career, but none of them do so as eloquently as this book by Dorian Hairston.

Instead of writing in regular text, Hairston tells Gibson’s story through poetry and it is powerful. There are several people who are telling the story. Gibson himself is of course the primary character, but his wife Helen (who sadly died while giving birth to their twin children Josh Jr and Helen) and the man credited with discovering Gibson, Hooks Tinker, are also voices heard in the book.

It is also a book about much more than baseball. That is why I used the word “voices” as while Gibson’s baseball career is described, this collection of poems will tell the reader about the struggles of Black people, both on the diamond and elsewhere. The introduction by Hairston is also powerful in its description of not only the struggles of Blacks in society but also the role baseball’s color barrier played in this period. This is one of the best collections of poetry I have ever read and is one that whether one is interested in baseball, the history of racial relations in the United States, or poetry, it is one to add to a reader’s library.

I wish to thank University Press of Kentucky for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

[Reecie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this book to every person out there. It captures the life of Josh Gibson in a way that has never been presented before. Dorian does a phenomenal job at bringing in perspectives of people in Josh’s life to complete this story about love, death, happiness, grief, and baseball.

[Zay Pinto · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has been a collection I’ve wanted to read for a couple of years now, so my expectations were piqued. However, I recognize now that maybe they were too high. This poem collection is about Josh Gibson, a Negro League legend and Hall of Famer. Much of his story was unbeknownst to me because he played a century ago.

The collection includes various perspectives ranging from Gibson himself, his wife, his children, and his competition. My favorite poems were done through personification, bringing inanimate objects from the game of baseball to life. The ending had an interesting tie of the author's connection with Gibson at his grave, which I didn’t expect to read.

Unfortunately, much of the collection felt bland to me. The myriad of perspectives sometimes dulled the general narrative. Additionally, there were many sexual innuendos that I didn’t really grasp as advancing the storyline. I was disappointed to find very few standout poems. This is nothing like the sports-driven historical collection, The Big Smoke by Adrian Matejka.

[Chris]

Dorian Hairston played baseball for the University of Kentucky and then, was inspired to write a biography (of sorts) about one of baseball’s greats, Josh Gibson. This collection of poems about Gibson’s life imagines the catcher and slugger from the perspective of his family and colleagues and as Gibson himself might have.
Overarching is the sorrow, palpable to this reader, of the segregation in the United States of black and white, for no other reason than color. Hairston poems make it clear that, regardless of the joys, sorrows, bravado, or disappointments in Gibson’s life, this societal inequality and injustice weighed on every moment.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Dorian at the Kentucky Book Fair and I was intrigued by the book. I am not much of a poetry reader, but I love to read anything about the Negro Leagues. Dorian's poems told from the viewpoints of different people in Gibson's life made it read more like a biography, but you also get a glimpse of the racism the players faced and the hints of sadness that they were not allowed to play in the major leagues. The final poem of Dorian at Josh's gravesite will tug at your heartstrings.

[Victoria Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging and emotional take on the life, family, career, and challenges of Josh Gibson. Many of the poems tug at the heart strings, some make you laugh, and some are downright jaw-dropping. Hairston took creative liberties that expose and explore the experiences of himself and many other Black ballplayers both historically and today.

[Dr. Reno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hairston deftly brings to life an important but sometimes forgotten (at least to casual fans) figure in baseball history with carefully crafted voices from his life woven together with a commentary on racism, privilege, and loss.

[Samantha Poston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetry collection is so lovely and so powerful. I am by no means a baseball scholar. But I connected deeply with this exploration of how black excellence gets written out of history. The final poem brought me to tears. It's an all around excellent read.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely stellar performance! “Living Will,” “Walk Off,” and “Battle of the Greatest,” were a few of my favorites!

[Kevin Arey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a collection of poems loosely telling the life of Negro League legend and Hall of Fame Josh Gibson

It was a great read! Highly recommend it!

[Samantha Poston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetry collection is so lovely and so powerful. I am by no means a baseball scholar. But I connected deeply with this exploration of how black excellence gets written out of history. The final poem brought me to tears. It's an all around excellent read.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful collection

This book is an amazing recounting of Josh Gibson through multiple voices. It is a really beautifully written anthology. Must read