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The Wendell Smith Reader: Selected Writings on Sports, Civil Rights and Black History
With the world's eyes on Jackie Robinson, there were not many who noticed the sportswriter who traveled by the baseball star's side in 1946-47. Wendell Smith was a pioneer not only in writing, but in broadcast media as well, with a career that spanned 1937-1972 and included more than 1,500 written pieces.
After an extensive biographical sketch, this work presents a collection of Smith's writings. Chapters are organized to present him as one who chronicled Black history, traveled extensively, challenged racism, noted progress in racial relations, criticized friends, praised enemies, and bid farewell to notable figures who passed before him. Black athletes covered in his writings include Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, Ernie Banks, and many more. When necessary, the editor provides commentary to provide context or illustrate key points.
After an extensive biographical sketch, this work presents a collection of Smith's writings. Chapters are organized to present him as one who chronicled Black history, traveled extensively, challenged racism, noted progress in racial relations, criticized friends, praised enemies, and bid farewell to notable figures who passed before him. Black athletes covered in his writings include Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, Ernie Banks, and many more. When necessary, the editor provides commentary to provide context or illustrate key points.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 4, 2023
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June 6, 2024
You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at my new blog, Mr. Book's Book Reviews.
Thank you McFarland for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Mr. Book just finished The Wendell Smith Reader: Selected Writings On Sports, Civil Rights and Black History, by Wendell Smith and edited by Michael Scott Pifer.
With the Negro Leagues being in the baseball news so much recently, I was excited to be able to read an anthology of Wendell Smith’s writings. I was familiar with Smith as his name was frequently mentioned in other books about the years leading up to the breaking of the color line, but I had never actually read any of his work.
Smith was very involved in advocacy journalism. He was an advocate of integrating the majors leagues, desegregating housing accommodations in Florida and Arizona and other civil rights issues. But, instead of only editorializing and arguing for positions, he was also a master journalist and reporter of the facts.
I had not known that Smith was once told by a Tigers scout that he couldn’t be signed because he was black. Instead, the scout signed the pitcher that Smith had beaten in that game, along with one of his teammates. This had been the first time that Smith realized that baseball had a color line and it had a big influence on his decision to become a sportswriter.
About the first 1/5 of the book was interesting biographical information on Smith. But, the real strength of the book was the reprinting of his columns.
Smith was one of the people who recommended Jackie Robinson to Branch Rickey. There is a chapter of columns about Robinson in the book.
This book contains more than just Smith’s writings about baseball. There are also columns on other civil rights matters and other sports covered, such as columns on Joe Louis, hockey, Bill Russell, Lew Alcindor, as he was known at the time, and others.
One of the best columns of the book was the one that Smith wrote protesting Indians manager Jimmy Dykes suspending pitcher Mudcat Grant in late September 1960, for the remainder of the season, for being critical of the national anthem. I do not recall ever hearing that story before.
Like any good writer, Smith did not hesitate to criticize even those that he admired and supported. There is a chapter in the book of columns in which he was critical of people like Branch Rickey, Joe Louis and the Negro League owners.
One sign of good sportswriting is if the author can interest me in sports that I don’t have any interest in. I lost interest in boxing and the NBA (which I have been known to refer as the “National Boringball Association” and when it comes to college basketball, all I care about is Syracuse) close to 40 years ago. So, when a book can still interest in stories in those sports, I know it is good writing. This book fares very well in that metric. And that could have been what put it over the top to earn an A. Goodreads requires grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews, and Goodreads.
Mr. Book originally finished reading this on June 6, 2024.
Thank you McFarland for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Mr. Book just finished The Wendell Smith Reader: Selected Writings On Sports, Civil Rights and Black History, by Wendell Smith and edited by Michael Scott Pifer.
With the Negro Leagues being in the baseball news so much recently, I was excited to be able to read an anthology of Wendell Smith’s writings. I was familiar with Smith as his name was frequently mentioned in other books about the years leading up to the breaking of the color line, but I had never actually read any of his work.
Smith was very involved in advocacy journalism. He was an advocate of integrating the majors leagues, desegregating housing accommodations in Florida and Arizona and other civil rights issues. But, instead of only editorializing and arguing for positions, he was also a master journalist and reporter of the facts.
I had not known that Smith was once told by a Tigers scout that he couldn’t be signed because he was black. Instead, the scout signed the pitcher that Smith had beaten in that game, along with one of his teammates. This had been the first time that Smith realized that baseball had a color line and it had a big influence on his decision to become a sportswriter.
About the first 1/5 of the book was interesting biographical information on Smith. But, the real strength of the book was the reprinting of his columns.
Smith was one of the people who recommended Jackie Robinson to Branch Rickey. There is a chapter of columns about Robinson in the book.
This book contains more than just Smith’s writings about baseball. There are also columns on other civil rights matters and other sports covered, such as columns on Joe Louis, hockey, Bill Russell, Lew Alcindor, as he was known at the time, and others.
One of the best columns of the book was the one that Smith wrote protesting Indians manager Jimmy Dykes suspending pitcher Mudcat Grant in late September 1960, for the remainder of the season, for being critical of the national anthem. I do not recall ever hearing that story before.
Like any good writer, Smith did not hesitate to criticize even those that he admired and supported. There is a chapter in the book of columns in which he was critical of people like Branch Rickey, Joe Louis and the Negro League owners.
One sign of good sportswriting is if the author can interest me in sports that I don’t have any interest in. I lost interest in boxing and the NBA (which I have been known to refer as the “National Boringball Association” and when it comes to college basketball, all I care about is Syracuse) close to 40 years ago. So, when a book can still interest in stories in those sports, I know it is good writing. This book fares very well in that metric. And that could have been what put it over the top to earn an A. Goodreads requires grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews, and Goodreads.
Mr. Book originally finished reading this on June 6, 2024.
July 12, 2023
Wendell Smith was the Jackie Robinson of sports writers. He broke the color barrier in journalism around the same time as Robinson. The is short biographical essay of his life coupled with a collection of his columns in Pittsburgh and Chicago. It was quite interesting to read and a poignant reminder of an era when we were blessed with actual journalists who covered sports. Reading it this week as news broke that The NY Times was closing its sports department made for a thoughtful reading experience.
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