The Black Aces: Baseball's Only African-American Twenty-Game Winners

by Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Pat O'Brien, Tom Sabellico

For most of the first half of the twentieth century, African-Americans were excluded from Organized Baseball. But their love of the game, and their desire to play could not be denied. Despite that ban, "blackball" was being played in just about every cow pasture and field available throughout the country. Black players criss-crossed the country in Negro League games and on barnstorming tours, bringing baseball to places where the Major Leagues never dreamed of going. Many gifted athletes never got the chance to compete in the Majors, until the door was finally opened in 1947 with the signing of Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby. Once given that chance to compete, African-Americans showed the country that they were deserving of the opportunity. Many became superstars, but, on the mound, only 13 African-Americans ever reached the magic plateau of twenty wins in a season. This book tells the story of those thirteen men and a few of their predecessors, the obstacles they faced, and the determination they showed to succeed. But it is a story about so much more than just baseball. Against the backdrop of their grit and determination, it reflects the story of all African-American baseball players through the creation of the Negro Leagues, the evolution of the game, and the parallel integration of baseball and America.

Genres: Baseball

496 pages, Paperback

First published August 16, 2007

Reviews

[Jim Blessing · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book about the then 13 African-American Major League pitchers, who have won 20 games in a season. It was a surprisingly small group (it's now 15) since the color line in baseball was broken in 1947. The author, Mudcat Grant, was the first American League winner of 20 games. I bought the book at a Spring Training game in Arizona off of Ferguson Jenkins, who was one of the 13 and a member of Baseball's Hall of Fame. Fergy autographed the book.