What Were the Negro Leagues?

What was...?

by Varian Johnson, Stephen Marchesi (Illustrator)

In America during the early twentieth century, no part was safe from segregation, not even the country's national pastime, baseball. Despite their exodus from the Major Leagues because of the color of their skin, African American men still found a way to participate in the sport they loved. Author Varian Johnson shines a spotlight on the players, coaches, owners, and teams that dominated the Negro Leagues during the 1930s and 40s. Readers will learn about how phenomenal players like Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and of course, Jackie Robinson greatly changed the sport of baseball.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Sports, Baseball, African American, Childrens

112 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 24, 2019

Reviews

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very impressive players. I am happy to have learned more about them.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children's history book. Very easy. Very informative. Even has black and white photos of the times and players.

[Denise Lauron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great information for young readers to understand about the Negro Leagues. Many young people do not understand how important these players were to the early years of baseball and this book points them in the right direction.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in baseball's history. It is a great start.

[Gideon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked that there was an entire chapter about Jackie Robinson. Titled: Jackie Robinson

[June Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed reading many books in this WHOHQ Series from Penguin Workshop. This one is no exception!

I have been a baseball fan for many decades. We like to listen to baseball on the radio during the spring, summer, and autumn; and this extraordinary year without baseball has been, well--strange.

When I recently learned that 2020 is the centennial of the Negro baseball leagues I wondered if our library had any middle-grade books which I could read and review. Our library reopened a couple of weeks ago for curbside pickup, so I'm back in business as far as accessing library materials. Yay! This book came up in the catalog under 'in-processing'. I put a hold on it and was able to pick it up late last week.

In 1845 in the United States 'standardized' baseball began. Written rules were written for the New York Knickerbocks baseball team. "In 1969, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first baseball club to pay its members for playing." (page 8)

Black people were not allowed to play in leagues with whites. Here the author discusses segregation and the reasons why white players did not want to play with black players at this time.

There was one exception to this rule noted by the author. In 1878, John 'Bud' Fowler became a professional player on a white team. Bud Fowler was a great fielder and batter. He was also an innovator in the field of baseball equipment. He was prompted to make himself some shin guards using some wooden slats to protect himself from the many white players who were "intentionally spiking his legs with their spiked shoes". (page 10)

The narrative follows the journey of black players and teams through the end of the nineteenth century and into the beginning of the twentieth century.

In February, 1920, the Negro National League (NNL) was formed with Rube Foster as its first president. The league was made up of "seven black-owned teams and one white-owned team". (page 38) Over the next few years attendance at the NNL games increased, and "the Negro National league became one of the most successful black-owned business in the country". (page 44)

The author documents the growth of the Negro Leagues inthe 1920s along with the decline of the NNL in 1931, due, in part, to the Great Depression. The second Negro National League was founded in 1933 by Gus Greenlee.

In 1937 a new Negro American League, NAL, was formed. In 1945 one the NAL teams, the Monarchs, hired Jackie Robinson. ". . . he would change the course of both Major League Baseball and Negro League Baseball forever". (page 70)

Several of the ending chapters are devoted to the biography of Jackie Robinson and details of his historic breaking of the color barrier in baseball in 1947 when he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers as the first black player in the major leagues.

One of my favorite features of this book was the set of twenty-four historical black and white photos of many of the key figures in Negro league baseball. There are photos of such greats as Jackie Robinson, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Oscar Charleston, James 'Cool Papa' Bell, and many more. These photos brought these men to life for me, and I know young readers will enjoy seeing them too.

The Back Matter, as always in this series, is awesome. There is a section entitled, 'Diversity in Baseball', a list of Negro League Hall of Famers who have been inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, timelines of the Negro Leagues and the World, and a Bibliography.

This is another educational, inspiring, and excellent installment in this series. Highly-recommended for baseball fans of all ages, fans of diverse non-fiction, American history, sports history, and fans of cultural history.

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[Georgie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this and also What is the Civil rights Movement by Sherri L Smith yesterday and today after watching an interview with both authors yesterday. I was eager to read both because I'm fascinated by both topics. Neither book disappointed. They did what the authors said they wanted to happen...made me want to read more. I'm a school librarian and will recommend both to my students. Next up: what was the Harlem Renaissance and Who we're the Tuskegee Airmen

[Leath Y · Rating 2 out of 5]

what were the negro leagues by varian johnson. the league was quickly becoming a success as well.in 1920 the opening game between.the Indianapolis abc and the chicago American giants drew a crowd of six thousand. I would recommend this to a friend that likes 112 page books. and I gave it 2 stars because the book was boring.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Read

I love how Who HQ breaks down different events, people, and parts of history to make it easier to understand and learn from. They have great children's books that are actually great for all ages to have a better understanding of worldwide history, people, and inventions.
This book is no exception!

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief history of the Negro Leagues. Talks about its inception to when the players were brought into the National Leagues. Talks about the struggles and the personalities.

Pretty good. Lots of names. More a look at the personalities who steered it.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the popular children’s series “WHOHQ” – I found this in a LFL and read the same day. As big baseball fans, this was a good history of the Negro Leagues and offered a lot of information that even I – who is much older than the target audience – didn’t know.

[Gavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOLOLLLOOOLOOOOOOLOOOLLOL

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an amazing book. I learned things from it that I never would have known without reading it. I highly suggest that anyone you like sports should read it too.

[Dana Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't even really like baseball that much, but I found this to be an informational, interesting, and inspirational book.

[Barb Middleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information but a bit dry.

[Laura Serrao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing special. I didn’t want to rate it any less bc I didn’t believe that it fair simply bc baseball is incredibly boring to me. But I did not enjoy it.

[Chelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a lot about the Negro Leagues! I really enjoyed how much the Kansas City Monarchs were mentioned throughout the book as that is not very far from here.

[Calvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

While certainly meant for children, the author told a clear story and was very factual in his approach. A nice read.

[Krys · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating history I was unaware of! Loved the illustrations.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Racism and segregation make me very angry. I am glad they didn't let it stop them from playing sports.