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Comeback Season: My Unlikely Story of Friendship with the Greatest Living Negro League Baseball Players
The uplifting, unlikely, and inspirational true story of the friendships formed between Cam Perron—a white, baseball-obsessed teenager from Boston—and hundreds of former professional Negro League players, who were still awaiting the recognition and compensation that they deserved from Major League Baseball more than fifty years after their playing days were over. Featuring the players’ fascinating stories and original photographs.
Cam Perron always loved history, and from an early age, he had a knack for collecting. But when he was twelve and bought a set of Topps baseball cards featuring several players from the Negro Leagues, something clicked.
Cam started writing letters to former Negro League players in 2007, asking for their autographs and a few words about their careers. He got back much more than he expected. The players responded with detailed stories about their glory days on the field, and the racism they faced, including run-ins with the KKK. They explained how they were repeatedly kept out of the major leagues and confined to the historic but lower-paying Negro Leagues, even after Jackie Robinson—who got his start in the Negro Leagues—broke the color barrier. By the time Cam finished middle school, letters had turned into phone calls, and he was spending hours a day talking with the players.
In these conversations, many of the players revealed that their careers had been unrecognized over time, and they’d fallen out of touch with their former teammates. So Cam, along with a small group of fellow researchers, organized the first annual Negro League Players Reunion in Birmingham, Alabama in 2010. At the celebratory, week-long event, fifteen-year-old Cam and the players—who were in their 70s, 80s, and 90s—finally met in person. They quickly became family.
As Cam and the players returned to the reunion year after year, Cam became deeply involved in a complicated mission to help many players get pension money that they were owed from Major League Baseball. He also worked to get a Negro League museum opened in Birmingham, and stock it with memorabilia.
Sports fans—and anyone who enjoys a heartfelt story—will have their eyes opened by this book about unlikely friendships, the power of memories, and just how far a childhood interest can go.
Cam Perron always loved history, and from an early age, he had a knack for collecting. But when he was twelve and bought a set of Topps baseball cards featuring several players from the Negro Leagues, something clicked.
Cam started writing letters to former Negro League players in 2007, asking for their autographs and a few words about their careers. He got back much more than he expected. The players responded with detailed stories about their glory days on the field, and the racism they faced, including run-ins with the KKK. They explained how they were repeatedly kept out of the major leagues and confined to the historic but lower-paying Negro Leagues, even after Jackie Robinson—who got his start in the Negro Leagues—broke the color barrier. By the time Cam finished middle school, letters had turned into phone calls, and he was spending hours a day talking with the players.
In these conversations, many of the players revealed that their careers had been unrecognized over time, and they’d fallen out of touch with their former teammates. So Cam, along with a small group of fellow researchers, organized the first annual Negro League Players Reunion in Birmingham, Alabama in 2010. At the celebratory, week-long event, fifteen-year-old Cam and the players—who were in their 70s, 80s, and 90s—finally met in person. They quickly became family.
As Cam and the players returned to the reunion year after year, Cam became deeply involved in a complicated mission to help many players get pension money that they were owed from Major League Baseball. He also worked to get a Negro League museum opened in Birmingham, and stock it with memorabilia.
Sports fans—and anyone who enjoys a heartfelt story—will have their eyes opened by this book about unlikely friendships, the power of memories, and just how far a childhood interest can go.
1 pages, Audio CD
First published March 30, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
April 7, 2021
Though the breakdown of the color barrier in Major League Baseball was necessary and inevitable, it came at a cost to the Negro Leagues, which until then had been vibrant showcases of Black excellence. In the mid- to late-1940s, when some of the best Black players left for the majors, their fans went with them, causing attendance at Negro League games to shrivel. Players who didn’t get tapped for the majors saw their careers sidelined.
It was those former Negro League players who deeply fascinated a young Cam Perron after he first learned about them through baseball cards.
See the rest of my review in the Christian Science Monitor.
It was those former Negro League players who deeply fascinated a young Cam Perron after he first learned about them through baseball cards.
See the rest of my review in the Christian Science Monitor.
March 31, 2021
This book is about a white teenager who details the journey of how he came to be a well known Negro Leagues researcher. Overall, this book does what it sets out to do. He details how he came to be a collector, how he got in contact with current, then former major league players and ultimately former Negro Leagues players. He details how he tracked them down via online directories, asked them for autographs, and with some befriending them. He ultimately would help many get their pensions from Major League Baseball. This is an amazing thing, because many of these guys live in poverty and need every penny they can get. He also helped to set up annual reunions for former Negro Leaguers, and got these guys in touch with each other over the phone as well. Some hadn't seen each other in as much as fifty years!
My favorite thing about this book is learning more about the players. Some of them in their own words. I wish this would've been a bigger part of this book. I wasn't too keen, however, on the fact that some of the quotes from researchers or Cam's mom took up so much space. It would've been much better if these were summarized. Also, more of his relationships with the players. These guys just didn't magically trust a 14 year old kid who randomly calls them on the phone. How did he build that trust with these guys who are in some cases 65 years older or more than him. That's what I wanted out of this. Also, this is co-written with a Pulitzer Prize journalist. Yet it sounds more like a book written with a junior high student. It dragged on in some cases and I guess I just expected tighter writing with that caliber of co-author.
Thank you to Gallery Books, authors Cam Perron and Nick Chiles, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
My favorite thing about this book is learning more about the players. Some of them in their own words. I wish this would've been a bigger part of this book. I wasn't too keen, however, on the fact that some of the quotes from researchers or Cam's mom took up so much space. It would've been much better if these were summarized. Also, more of his relationships with the players. These guys just didn't magically trust a 14 year old kid who randomly calls them on the phone. How did he build that trust with these guys who are in some cases 65 years older or more than him. That's what I wanted out of this. Also, this is co-written with a Pulitzer Prize journalist. Yet it sounds more like a book written with a junior high student. It dragged on in some cases and I guess I just expected tighter writing with that caliber of co-author.
Thank you to Gallery Books, authors Cam Perron and Nick Chiles, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
March 31, 2021
I've been really torn over how to rate this book.
This story was more of a memoir / biography of Cam, and came across almost like an infomercial for his brand. Don't get me wrong, his brand has some good things about it. He helped many former players receive their pensions from MLB. He has obviously made some connection with many of them. He's young and bringing this history to a new generation while some people involved got to witness it and see their history celebrated.
AND! Almost no Negro Leagues scholarship deals with the period in which most of these players played - AFTER "integration" by Jackie Robinson in 1947. More of this please!!!!
But.
Something here just doesnt sit quite right. Much is made throughout the book of the selfless nature of the project, how Dr. Revel turned down payment from MLB, and that absolutely nobody was taking advantage if the players. But, then a couple of examples:
Halfway through the book when Cam talks about contacting Charlie Dees. He tells how Charlie Dees doesnt sign autographs often. That makes his autograph rare, and that he knows that collectors will pay over $100 for his autograph. See, it's not just about Charlie Dees, but also about Charlie Dees being the last holdout to complete a set of autographs. When he talks to Charlie, Mr. Dees says “It’s fifty dollars an autograph. Whitey Ford charges fifty dollars; I charge fifty dollars.” The next line: "I thought to myself, Whoa, Charlie, Whitey Ford is in the Hall of Fame— you are no Whitey Ford." Cam then talks him down to $30 an autograph, knowing that the autograph is worth more than that, and than the $50 that he just insulted.
Later, he speaks of Frank Marsh, who was skeptical of Cam and Dr. Revel, saying he believed they were profiting off their endeavors. Cam avers that this couldn't be further from the truth, but that the concern was understandable since Marsh may have heard about people swindling Cool Papa Bell or "just had a lifelong distrust of white people." Apparently Marsh "lightened up" after they helped him get the pension that he expected to qualify for.
More lightly.
There's not much of the Negro Leagues or its players here. There are bits where some get a few pages to tell a story. Each of these follow a pattern: basic outline of life, anecdote about playing in the Negro Leagues, and Cam is awesome! In total, these accounts make up a very small portion of the book. The first two pieces of these vignettes *were* awesome, and I wanted more. The last would have been much improved in the way the whole book would have been improved - SHOW us these relationships between the players and Cam. I didn't leave the book feeling like I knew many players very well or the type of friendship they had with Cam and Cam had with them. There are things like - he and I room together every year at the reunion. He helped me get my pension. Nothing that actually *shows* the relationship the way we get the powerful stories about playing in the Negro Leagues.
And the writing style is a bit tedious. It is very rambly, and not much different in writing style than the paper Cam included that he wrote when he was 14.
On some of the themes here that make me uncomfortable - I highly recommend reading this book regarding power dynamics like the one Cam has here:
Check out this book on Goodreads: Long Past Slavery: Representing Race in the Federal Writers' Project https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Thank you to authors Cam Perron and Nick Chiles, publisher Gallery Books, and Netgalley for an advanced ebook in exchange for my honest opinion
This story was more of a memoir / biography of Cam, and came across almost like an infomercial for his brand. Don't get me wrong, his brand has some good things about it. He helped many former players receive their pensions from MLB. He has obviously made some connection with many of them. He's young and bringing this history to a new generation while some people involved got to witness it and see their history celebrated.
AND! Almost no Negro Leagues scholarship deals with the period in which most of these players played - AFTER "integration" by Jackie Robinson in 1947. More of this please!!!!
But.
Something here just doesnt sit quite right. Much is made throughout the book of the selfless nature of the project, how Dr. Revel turned down payment from MLB, and that absolutely nobody was taking advantage if the players. But, then a couple of examples:
Halfway through the book when Cam talks about contacting Charlie Dees. He tells how Charlie Dees doesnt sign autographs often. That makes his autograph rare, and that he knows that collectors will pay over $100 for his autograph. See, it's not just about Charlie Dees, but also about Charlie Dees being the last holdout to complete a set of autographs. When he talks to Charlie, Mr. Dees says “It’s fifty dollars an autograph. Whitey Ford charges fifty dollars; I charge fifty dollars.” The next line: "I thought to myself, Whoa, Charlie, Whitey Ford is in the Hall of Fame— you are no Whitey Ford." Cam then talks him down to $30 an autograph, knowing that the autograph is worth more than that, and than the $50 that he just insulted.
Later, he speaks of Frank Marsh, who was skeptical of Cam and Dr. Revel, saying he believed they were profiting off their endeavors. Cam avers that this couldn't be further from the truth, but that the concern was understandable since Marsh may have heard about people swindling Cool Papa Bell or "just had a lifelong distrust of white people." Apparently Marsh "lightened up" after they helped him get the pension that he expected to qualify for.
More lightly.
There's not much of the Negro Leagues or its players here. There are bits where some get a few pages to tell a story. Each of these follow a pattern: basic outline of life, anecdote about playing in the Negro Leagues, and Cam is awesome! In total, these accounts make up a very small portion of the book. The first two pieces of these vignettes *were* awesome, and I wanted more. The last would have been much improved in the way the whole book would have been improved - SHOW us these relationships between the players and Cam. I didn't leave the book feeling like I knew many players very well or the type of friendship they had with Cam and Cam had with them. There are things like - he and I room together every year at the reunion. He helped me get my pension. Nothing that actually *shows* the relationship the way we get the powerful stories about playing in the Negro Leagues.
And the writing style is a bit tedious. It is very rambly, and not much different in writing style than the paper Cam included that he wrote when he was 14.
On some of the themes here that make me uncomfortable - I highly recommend reading this book regarding power dynamics like the one Cam has here:
Check out this book on Goodreads: Long Past Slavery: Representing Race in the Federal Writers' Project https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Thank you to authors Cam Perron and Nick Chiles, publisher Gallery Books, and Netgalley for an advanced ebook in exchange for my honest opinion
February 14, 2021
Cam Perron, a white teenager from the Boston area, started his most successful project by doing what many teenage boys do – collect items such as baseball cards. This hobby became something bigger when Cam received cards for players from the Negro Leagues. Intrigued by their history, he started searching for these men to connect to get their autographs. These requests for autographs turned into regular correspondence with some of them. As Cam talked and wrote to them, some of the stories these players shared ended with wishes to connect with old friends and teammates. Cam obliged as well as he could and eventually he and these players became like one big family, culminating in the creation of a Negro Leagues museum in Birmingham, Alabama. Cam’s story is an engrossing and wonderful story that is a joy to read.
At the beginning of Cam’s interest in connecting with these players was met with some skepticism as many of these men, having endured years of racism when playing the game they loved, did not respond. Those that did, however, ended up being overjoyed to see someone recognize them and wishing to listen to their stories. While Cam writes about his connections at this time with joy, it is clear, as he describes later, that he wanted to do more than just have friendships with these players. He teams up with a Negro Leagues researcher, Dr. Layton Revel, in order to find documentation to prove that these players did play long enough to collect a pension from Major League Baseball. Cam and Dr. Revel were successful in doing this for several players.
Their efforts gained the attention of the media and even more former Negro League players, which made Cam and Dr. Revel even more determined to not only gain pensions for those who earned them, but also to have a reunion of these players while they were still alive at the museum dedicated to them. It should be noted that this is separate from the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City – this is a different museum, where the main attraction is a large case of baseball, each one signed by a player from the later era of the Negro Leagues.
This is one aspect of both Cam’s project and the book that is quite different from other books and research on the Negro Leagues. Many of the players highlighted in the book played in the Negro Leagues after the integration of the Major Leagues. Because of the unwritten quotas for Black players set by teams and also the view that the Negro Leagues were prime developing grounds for future Major League players, the players of this era may not be as recognizable to the regular fan, but make no mistake, these players were excellent at the game, they loved playing, and their stories are just as entertaining and enlightening as those of the more famous Negro League stars.
One of the players whose story is featured in the book is James “Cowboy” Atterbury who played in for the Philadelphia Stars in 1962 and 1963. While his story is one that is uplifting because he got that chance to play professionally with the Stars, it is also one that sadly displays the racism and the discrimination he and other Negro League players, even as late as the 1960s. Cam lets the players tell their stories themselves frequently in the book which is a great decision on his part. It made the book a fantastic account of not only the players and the Negro Leagues after integration of the Major Leagues, but also an uplifting book of friendships that go well beyond baseball. One doesn’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this book.
I wish to thank Gallery Books for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
At the beginning of Cam’s interest in connecting with these players was met with some skepticism as many of these men, having endured years of racism when playing the game they loved, did not respond. Those that did, however, ended up being overjoyed to see someone recognize them and wishing to listen to their stories. While Cam writes about his connections at this time with joy, it is clear, as he describes later, that he wanted to do more than just have friendships with these players. He teams up with a Negro Leagues researcher, Dr. Layton Revel, in order to find documentation to prove that these players did play long enough to collect a pension from Major League Baseball. Cam and Dr. Revel were successful in doing this for several players.
Their efforts gained the attention of the media and even more former Negro League players, which made Cam and Dr. Revel even more determined to not only gain pensions for those who earned them, but also to have a reunion of these players while they were still alive at the museum dedicated to them. It should be noted that this is separate from the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City – this is a different museum, where the main attraction is a large case of baseball, each one signed by a player from the later era of the Negro Leagues.
This is one aspect of both Cam’s project and the book that is quite different from other books and research on the Negro Leagues. Many of the players highlighted in the book played in the Negro Leagues after the integration of the Major Leagues. Because of the unwritten quotas for Black players set by teams and also the view that the Negro Leagues were prime developing grounds for future Major League players, the players of this era may not be as recognizable to the regular fan, but make no mistake, these players were excellent at the game, they loved playing, and their stories are just as entertaining and enlightening as those of the more famous Negro League stars.
One of the players whose story is featured in the book is James “Cowboy” Atterbury who played in for the Philadelphia Stars in 1962 and 1963. While his story is one that is uplifting because he got that chance to play professionally with the Stars, it is also one that sadly displays the racism and the discrimination he and other Negro League players, even as late as the 1960s. Cam lets the players tell their stories themselves frequently in the book which is a great decision on his part. It made the book a fantastic account of not only the players and the Negro Leagues after integration of the Major Leagues, but also an uplifting book of friendships that go well beyond baseball. One doesn’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this book.
I wish to thank Gallery Books for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
March 11, 2021
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Comeback Season is a memoir and history of Cam Perron's involvement with baseball fandom which led to his befriending by many former Negro League Baseball players and the establishment of a hall of fame museum in Birmingham, Alabama. Due out 30th March 2021 from Simon & Schuster on their Gallery Books imprint, it's 272 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.
This is one of those engaging real life stories which I really felt on a deep emotional level. The fact that the author chose to let the athletes speak for themselves added a lot of impact. I was often uncomfortable reading their matter-of-fact stories of absolutely horrible racism and inequality (I got chills reading about "Cowboy" Atterbury and teammates' encounter face to face with the KKK). Their stories of perseverance and dignity in the face of daunting odds are inspiring. I'm so glad that the author and others worked very hard to document and negotiate the pensions many of them were owed by major league baseball.
Four and a half stars. I would heartily recommend this to sports fans (especially the ones who love knowing minutiae about their favorite athletes and teams), readers of biography and memoirs, fans of history. This would also make a good acquisition for public or school library use.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Comeback Season is a memoir and history of Cam Perron's involvement with baseball fandom which led to his befriending by many former Negro League Baseball players and the establishment of a hall of fame museum in Birmingham, Alabama. Due out 30th March 2021 from Simon & Schuster on their Gallery Books imprint, it's 272 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.
This is one of those engaging real life stories which I really felt on a deep emotional level. The fact that the author chose to let the athletes speak for themselves added a lot of impact. I was often uncomfortable reading their matter-of-fact stories of absolutely horrible racism and inequality (I got chills reading about "Cowboy" Atterbury and teammates' encounter face to face with the KKK). Their stories of perseverance and dignity in the face of daunting odds are inspiring. I'm so glad that the author and others worked very hard to document and negotiate the pensions many of them were owed by major league baseball.
Four and a half stars. I would heartily recommend this to sports fans (especially the ones who love knowing minutiae about their favorite athletes and teams), readers of biography and memoirs, fans of history. This would also make a good acquisition for public or school library use.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
June 4, 2021
This book is a good book but a difficult one to rate. The difficulty is from the start, it's more on me but I thought it would be more of a history of the Negro Leagues. But it seems to play out as more of an autobiography of Cam Perron. However, I do like the author understanding he is talking about the Negro Leagues as a white man. And I appreciated him letting Negro players or others in his story share their own stories in their own words. As another reviewer said, it becomes problematic sometimes because I believe he has done good work for the Negro Leagues but doesn't he also profit from it with the autographs, interviews and the book itself. As he mentions in the book, the players were taken advance of throughout their careers and it just feels Cam Perron does it to some extent. Maybe, it would have been better for him to have created a collection of histories of the players he interacted with (i.e. careers, life after baseball, etc)
April 15, 2021
I won this book through GoodReads first read program.
This is the story about a teenage white boy from Boston and how he developed great relationships with former players from the Negro League. This is really the autobiography of Cam Perron. He talks about how he got involved in collecting baseball memorabilia and how that led him to getting in touch with former players from the Negro Leagues who weren't really the star players we all know about. He writes about how those relationships developed over the years, how he was able to help many Negro League players get Major League pensions and how the Birmingham Negro League Baseball Museum was started, developed, and begun. He also writes about the yearly reunion for former Negro League players which happens every year in Birmingham. He along with two other older white men got the reunions going and the former players love them.
I am a big baseball fan and a fan of history. Cam was able to live out the dream by contacting these players and becoming friends with them. Not a lot of money in what he did but certainly an opportunity to do what he loved. Maybe the book will bring even more former players out of the woodwork, although the number of former players still alive are dwindling everyday.
This is the story about a teenage white boy from Boston and how he developed great relationships with former players from the Negro League. This is really the autobiography of Cam Perron. He talks about how he got involved in collecting baseball memorabilia and how that led him to getting in touch with former players from the Negro Leagues who weren't really the star players we all know about. He writes about how those relationships developed over the years, how he was able to help many Negro League players get Major League pensions and how the Birmingham Negro League Baseball Museum was started, developed, and begun. He also writes about the yearly reunion for former Negro League players which happens every year in Birmingham. He along with two other older white men got the reunions going and the former players love them.
I am a big baseball fan and a fan of history. Cam was able to live out the dream by contacting these players and becoming friends with them. Not a lot of money in what he did but certainly an opportunity to do what he loved. Maybe the book will bring even more former players out of the woodwork, although the number of former players still alive are dwindling everyday.
November 17, 2020
This is the second book I've read this year concerning Black athletes and the difficulties (that word is a poor choice, but I can't think of a better one right now) they endured for the love of the game. In the earlier book, Black Olympic athletes at the 1936 Games in Germany had to deal with Hitler and his "master race." In COMEBACK SEASON, we get more joy as Negro League baseball players share their experiences with a teenage Cam Perron, who turned a niche collecting hobby into relationships with surviving members of teams and in the process helped some of them get the recognition -- and sometimes a pension -- the players deserved.
COMEBACK SEASON is an engaging read. I'm not a sports fan but I was drawn into the book from the first page and found myself interested in not only how Cam Perron found himself looking into the Negro leagues and their history but also reaching out to the players in those leagues, forming bonds that have endured, helping organize reunions, and founding a museum dedicated to the players in those leagues.
Highly recommended!
I received an eARC from Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster through NetGalley, and for that I thank them. All opinions are mine.
COMEBACK SEASON is an engaging read. I'm not a sports fan but I was drawn into the book from the first page and found myself interested in not only how Cam Perron found himself looking into the Negro leagues and their history but also reaching out to the players in those leagues, forming bonds that have endured, helping organize reunions, and founding a museum dedicated to the players in those leagues.
Highly recommended!
I received an eARC from Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster through NetGalley, and for that I thank them. All opinions are mine.
April 29, 2021
This book reminded me strongly of the movie version of The Help, it should be an amazing story about the black struggle is just a young white hero story. Often in the book the author repeats how he did this just for the intrinsic value of helping these old ball players but then why write a book about how wonderful he is. Example, he doesn't even start talking about the Negro League until chapter four, before that we had to hear about how he was a Red Sox fan and started a baseball card collection. It felt more like a giant advertisement for his own business he runs. I have no doubt that these guys really do love him like a son and the work that he does is clearly valuable to him but I just want to know more about them and their incredible stories in the Negro League than a millennial from Boston. If he truly wanted to do this for them and not himself, this would be a collection of their stories not his.
Thank you to Gallery Books, authors Cam Perron and Nick Chiles and NetGalley for gifting me this copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to Gallery Books, authors Cam Perron and Nick Chiles and NetGalley for gifting me this copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
June 8, 2021
This book was incredible. There have been many historical accounts of the Negro Leagues of Baseball in recent years, but none that highlight the importance of black joy and excellence alongside the post-integration struggles of negro league players. This book highlights the racism that continued to plague both MLB and Negro League players post integration as well as the financial struggles of the men who made the sport great as they fought for pensions, visibility, and acknowledgement.
Although the book starts with Cam Perron's perspective of a white teenager, curious about this history and experiences of the players of this league, he does a really marvelous job of working through the natural distrust of his intentions to give a powerful platform to the players to tell their story without his reaction, interpretation, or lens. I especially loved the story of James “Cowboy” Atterbury and the Philadelphia Stars in the early 1960s. It was a remarkable picture of what the post integration league looked like, how to history of segregation got him there, and where it would take us in the future if we refused to see the harms and trauma (as well as the triumphs and resiliency).
I give this book 5/5 stars and will be recommending it to all the baseball and history lovers in my life. It was powerful and enjoyable narrative non-fiction and it reads well despite the difficult subject matter.
Although the book starts with Cam Perron's perspective of a white teenager, curious about this history and experiences of the players of this league, he does a really marvelous job of working through the natural distrust of his intentions to give a powerful platform to the players to tell their story without his reaction, interpretation, or lens. I especially loved the story of James “Cowboy” Atterbury and the Philadelphia Stars in the early 1960s. It was a remarkable picture of what the post integration league looked like, how to history of segregation got him there, and where it would take us in the future if we refused to see the harms and trauma (as well as the triumphs and resiliency).
I give this book 5/5 stars and will be recommending it to all the baseball and history lovers in my life. It was powerful and enjoyable narrative non-fiction and it reads well despite the difficult subject matter.
September 22, 2021
I just had family in town to see the local sights. This was a great light read to enjoy during the staycation.
The book is exactly what it says it is. A white kid who is into baseball and grunge decides to get into Negro League baseball memorabilia. Through his research he starts talking to old ball players and becoming friends with them. He then figures out a way to use his research skills to get these guys MLB pensions. He pulls all of this off while he's still in high school.
Some people will want this book to be more about the Negro Leagues, but that's not at all what that subtitle promises. The writer delivers exactly what they said they would.
As a kid, I had a similar fascination with this era in baseball. I read many books on the topic. To my surprise, the brief sections on baseball history in this book taught me things about the Negro Leagues I didn't know anything about.
It's a short read and well worth the time if you're a memorabilia or baseball fan. Good fun.
The book is exactly what it says it is. A white kid who is into baseball and grunge decides to get into Negro League baseball memorabilia. Through his research he starts talking to old ball players and becoming friends with them. He then figures out a way to use his research skills to get these guys MLB pensions. He pulls all of this off while he's still in high school.
Some people will want this book to be more about the Negro Leagues, but that's not at all what that subtitle promises. The writer delivers exactly what they said they would.
As a kid, I had a similar fascination with this era in baseball. I read many books on the topic. To my surprise, the brief sections on baseball history in this book taught me things about the Negro Leagues I didn't know anything about.
It's a short read and well worth the time if you're a memorabilia or baseball fan. Good fun.
April 7, 2021
Cam Perron, a white preteen from the northeast fell in love with baseball and more specifically collecting baseball cards. This passion led him to researching various professional leagues, when he discovered the Negro Baseball League and thus the many phenomenal athletes who played in that league. Cam began researching, collecting cards, and ultimately formed lifelong friendships with many of the players. Notably, Cam was an advocate for establishing pensions for many of the players, creating a yearly Negro League reunion which led to many players reconnecting after years apart, and he was a pivotal part in the creation of the Negro Southern League Museum in Birmingham, AL.
May 17, 2021
This was a solid look into the author’s (Cam Perron) life experience in finding Negro League players to hear and preserve their stories. The relationships he builds along the way are quite unique (The title summarizes it well). I found it pretty sad how neglected these American historical figures stories have been over the years. Thanks to Cam’s dedication many of these players are getting just a small piece of the recognition they deserve.
April 23, 2021
I'm not really into baseball, but this story is amazing!! Hearing what these players had to go through is heartbreaking, and Cam's story itself is unique and interesting. Definitely would recommend to any history fans.
June 13, 2021
A delightful mixture of in-their-own-words retellings of the lives of players from the Negro Leagues with Cam's own great adventure as he reaches out to and is embraced by the Negro League baseball community.
Want to read
June 10, 2021Read this book to go on this journey with the Authors and Negro League Players. It is thought provoking, heart warming and a wonderful story of friendship and admiration. Recommend everyone read this book. Loved it.
February 5, 2023
I originally saw Cam Perron on Real Sports and was blown away how this young man helped preserve the history of the game. When he wrote this book, I had to have it. What he was able to accomplish for so many former Negro League Players makes for a truly amazing story.
December 3, 2024
The title of the book made no sense whatsoever, Comeback Season? There is no season within the book, I kept anticipating there to be more team involvement within the book. Once I accepted that it was a great story.
May 23, 2021
I read this book in one day! I was so impressed with Cam Perron and his story. Cam started collecting Negro League autographs at a young age. He found that personal letters and phone calls especially help him in his mission. He quickly developed friendships with many of these players. He started documenting the stories and began seeking more league players. Over time Cam was instrumental in helping the players to receive pensions and started yearly reunions. What was especially impressive is that alot of the work for the Negro League that Cam was involved in took place during his High School and College years. Highly recommend this book. Thank You Goodread!
May 13, 2021
An insightful and personal look at the history of the Negro Leagues in baseball told through the interactions of the author with many former players.
April 29, 2021
I imagine it is difficult sometimes to decide which storyline to use as a book’s main focus. Stories from those who played in the Negro Leagues? The development of the Negro League Museum in Birmingham and/or the annual player reunion? The MLB Pension and detective work to document service time? Or how a white boy in Boston area got involved in all those things (and more)?
There are history books already telling some of the stories from and about the Negro Leagues. The Museum tells its own story. And while the pension for Negro League players has been covered in various articles it may not warrant a book.
I admit I expected more about the baseball experiences of the players and the leagues (I learned there were several.) But the story of Cam himself is a suitable thread to pull together the various compelling story lines. It is a good read that I fled through in a short time.
While I would have enjoyed more historical stories (like how you can steal two bases on one pitch without any error or a recounting of the pitcher who struck out 24 batters in one game) it is good to leave the reader wanting more.
You will get a good sense of what it was like for young, white Cam to build unlikely friendships with aging/aged Negro League players and the way those friendships affected all.
It’s worth the read and five stars.
There are history books already telling some of the stories from and about the Negro Leagues. The Museum tells its own story. And while the pension for Negro League players has been covered in various articles it may not warrant a book.
I admit I expected more about the baseball experiences of the players and the leagues (I learned there were several.) But the story of Cam himself is a suitable thread to pull together the various compelling story lines. It is a good read that I fled through in a short time.
While I would have enjoyed more historical stories (like how you can steal two bases on one pitch without any error or a recounting of the pitcher who struck out 24 batters in one game) it is good to leave the reader wanting more.
You will get a good sense of what it was like for young, white Cam to build unlikely friendships with aging/aged Negro League players and the way those friendships affected all.
It’s worth the read and five stars.
May 21, 2021
You know, I really wanted to like this book. Our protagonist did important work, calling attention to neglected players in not just the Negro Leagues, but other organized and semi-organized Black Baseball institutions, and managed to be instrumental in getting several players pensions from Major League Baseball (players who could document four years service in the Negro Leagues are eligible to receive these pensions), and he did this work at an absurdly young age. He seems like an all around good egg. But this is exactly the sort of book that always turns me back to reading fiction.
Several suspect passages, particularly in the chapter on the History of Black Baseball in America, ground my gears: Base Ball in the 1840's was not "played mostly by white, wealthy gentleman amateurs"; it was played mostly by white, affluent gentleman amateurs, such as apothecaries and law clerks (and possibly the odd scrivener: I feel that I would gladly read "Bartleby at the Bat", which would of necessity be a koan). I have no idea where the first game between two Black ball clubs was played, on September 28, 1860, but I know it wasn't at Brooklyn's Elysian Fields, because there was no such place.
Also, he claims to be embarrassed by the "style and substance" of a paper he submitted to a conference on the Negro Leagues which was published when he was fourteen; in reality, there isn't that much difference between his style in that paper, and his style in the rest of this book.
And finally, I could have used a whole lot more oral histories of the Negro League players whom he has befriended over the years, and a whole lot less of what he has been up to since graduating from Tulane University, which substantially had the feel of an infomercial.
Several suspect passages, particularly in the chapter on the History of Black Baseball in America, ground my gears: Base Ball in the 1840's was not "played mostly by white, wealthy gentleman amateurs"; it was played mostly by white, affluent gentleman amateurs, such as apothecaries and law clerks (and possibly the odd scrivener: I feel that I would gladly read "Bartleby at the Bat", which would of necessity be a koan). I have no idea where the first game between two Black ball clubs was played, on September 28, 1860, but I know it wasn't at Brooklyn's Elysian Fields, because there was no such place.
Also, he claims to be embarrassed by the "style and substance" of a paper he submitted to a conference on the Negro Leagues which was published when he was fourteen; in reality, there isn't that much difference between his style in that paper, and his style in the rest of this book.
And finally, I could have used a whole lot more oral histories of the Negro League players whom he has befriended over the years, and a whole lot less of what he has been up to since graduating from Tulane University, which substantially had the feel of an infomercial.
June 20, 2024
What an incredible young man!
June 13, 2021
Comeback Season is a book for collectors and young entrepreneurs looking for a little inspiration.
The story here centers on Cam, a young white boy from Boston who finds himself enraptured by the stories of the few remaining players of the Negro Leagues. First and foremost a collector of memorabilia, Cam quickly discovers that the rarity of autographs from these players who were treated so poorly by Major League Baseball means they can fetch much, much higher prices than the Red Sox and Bruins players who seem to view autograph signings as their least favorite chore. But along the way, something unexpected happens, and this kid who got into the game for the money (which is extremely apparent over the course of the book) begins to actually care about the players he is low-key exploiting.
While Cam never stopped collecting memorabilia and flipping it for huge profit, he did re-center a lot of his energy on helping the players once he came to realize the dire financial circumstances many found themselves in. He tells of how his research helped qualify players for pensions, connect them to lost friends and family, and bring respect and notoriety to forgotten careers. And he did it on the side with very little compensation, oftentimes at a loss. I appreciate that for his public speaking engagements, he often brought along an actual player. These are all great things to be celebrated, and it is especially laudable that he accomplished all of this in middle and high school. But it is exceptionally uncomfortable to read this book and soak in all of the privilege this young man has and only slowly begins to somewhat acknowledge. This young man is clearly making six figures a year by the time he gets out of college--likely more than these players are getting in lumpsum back-pensions. And he doesn't seem to feel any type of way about that. In fact, he complains at one point about a player requesting $50 for an autograph and brags about talking him down to $30 and then turning around and flipping it for $150. How much cognitive dissonance does it take to paint yourself as the hero in this story? Pay the man his due.
Overall, I could have done with a lot with more baseball and player profiles and a lot less self-appreciation and colorblind mentality. It astonishes me that for all of Cam's work to become the leading authority on Negro Leaguers, he uses that platform to write a book about himself and further enrich himself, rather than to write about the Negro League or the people who played in it and share revenue. Hard pass.
My appreciation to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the eARC in exchange for the review.
The story here centers on Cam, a young white boy from Boston who finds himself enraptured by the stories of the few remaining players of the Negro Leagues. First and foremost a collector of memorabilia, Cam quickly discovers that the rarity of autographs from these players who were treated so poorly by Major League Baseball means they can fetch much, much higher prices than the Red Sox and Bruins players who seem to view autograph signings as their least favorite chore. But along the way, something unexpected happens, and this kid who got into the game for the money (which is extremely apparent over the course of the book) begins to actually care about the players he is low-key exploiting.
While Cam never stopped collecting memorabilia and flipping it for huge profit, he did re-center a lot of his energy on helping the players once he came to realize the dire financial circumstances many found themselves in. He tells of how his research helped qualify players for pensions, connect them to lost friends and family, and bring respect and notoriety to forgotten careers. And he did it on the side with very little compensation, oftentimes at a loss. I appreciate that for his public speaking engagements, he often brought along an actual player. These are all great things to be celebrated, and it is especially laudable that he accomplished all of this in middle and high school. But it is exceptionally uncomfortable to read this book and soak in all of the privilege this young man has and only slowly begins to somewhat acknowledge. This young man is clearly making six figures a year by the time he gets out of college--likely more than these players are getting in lumpsum back-pensions. And he doesn't seem to feel any type of way about that. In fact, he complains at one point about a player requesting $50 for an autograph and brags about talking him down to $30 and then turning around and flipping it for $150. How much cognitive dissonance does it take to paint yourself as the hero in this story? Pay the man his due.
Overall, I could have done with a lot with more baseball and player profiles and a lot less self-appreciation and colorblind mentality. It astonishes me that for all of Cam's work to become the leading authority on Negro Leaguers, he uses that platform to write a book about himself and further enrich himself, rather than to write about the Negro League or the people who played in it and share revenue. Hard pass.
My appreciation to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the eARC in exchange for the review.
July 10, 2025
It was fine, it just wasn’t what I was expecting. Originally I was looking for a book just about the negro leagues and its history in general, when I came across this book, which to me, was supposed to be a historical account of the negro leagues and interviews by players so there was a first hand account. Which, in all fairness, it didn’t contain some of. But in my opinion in was much more of an autobiography of Cam, with the history sprinkled in for context.
Cam started off doing negro league research young, and using the internet and research methods was able to contact several negro league players and help them get major league pensions, which is fantastic. He also does a good job on focusing on the racism and prejudice these players faced on a regular basis. But in some type of way in comes off as a white savior complex, which, I’ll admit I could be reading too much into. But at the end of the book one of the players says that some players don’t like “some white kid telling them what to do” which I though was interesting seeing as he makes it seem like almost every relationship was really good and friendly no matter what. It also sat with me the wrong way that he at one point asked for autographs and flipped them for his business. He even compared a player saying that he was “no Whitey Ford” and haggled him on the price of an autograph when he specially talks about the financial desperation a lot of these players are in.
Overall I think the book was good, it went by quickly and wasn’t too long. It wasn’t difficult to read seeing as at some point the author says, albeit as a younger person, that he doesn’t like to read or write much. No, I don’t think the author is acrually racist I just think it’s important when you’re dealing with race to pay attention to these kind of things. I would give it a read but don’t be expecting a full comprehensive history of the league.
Cam started off doing negro league research young, and using the internet and research methods was able to contact several negro league players and help them get major league pensions, which is fantastic. He also does a good job on focusing on the racism and prejudice these players faced on a regular basis. But in some type of way in comes off as a white savior complex, which, I’ll admit I could be reading too much into. But at the end of the book one of the players says that some players don’t like “some white kid telling them what to do” which I though was interesting seeing as he makes it seem like almost every relationship was really good and friendly no matter what. It also sat with me the wrong way that he at one point asked for autographs and flipped them for his business. He even compared a player saying that he was “no Whitey Ford” and haggled him on the price of an autograph when he specially talks about the financial desperation a lot of these players are in.
Overall I think the book was good, it went by quickly and wasn’t too long. It wasn’t difficult to read seeing as at some point the author says, albeit as a younger person, that he doesn’t like to read or write much. No, I don’t think the author is acrually racist I just think it’s important when you’re dealing with race to pay attention to these kind of things. I would give it a read but don’t be expecting a full comprehensive history of the league.
June 19, 2024
How does a white kid from the middleclass Boston suburbs become the hero of surviving Negro League Players? It's an unlikely story, to say the least. As a 12 year old, Perron--already an odd duck--became obsessed with collecting Negro League memorabilia by tracking down and calling former Negro League players. He seemed to have a knack for getting these guys to talk and to sign baseballs. He ended up reaching out to Dr. Leyton Revel, a doctor in the Dallas area with a similar passion who had founded the Center for Negro League Baseball Research. Dr. Revel realized Perron can find players his research center can't and partnered with Perron. Revel and Perron (and others) ultimately spearheaded the opening of the Negro Southern League Museum in Birmingham, Alabama along with launching an annual reunion of Negro League ball players beginning in 2010 (when Perron was all of 15 years old). Equally remarkable and of great benefit to these players is that Perron partnered with Revel to find evidence of these players having played at least 4 years in the Negro Leagues making them eligible for a pension from Major League Baseball. For so many of these players, the financial windfall was life-changing. This is a remarkable story. Even if you have no interest in the Negro Leagues or with baseball in general, this is a remarkable story. A teenager made all this happen, and it’s not one of those stories where his parents really did it, or his parents invested thousands of dollars. No, this is a persistent kid with a phone and a keyboard and a genuine passion for what these Negro League Players did. Great story.
August 18, 2022
While I believe the attention author Cam Perron gained for bringing together former Negro League players was only given to him because of the combined novelty of his age and race, the things he did (like helping track down needed documentation for these aging ball players to receive a pension from MLB) are indeed worthy of praise. It's just a shame that he seems to get more attention than these ballplayers ever received.
While not the best written memoir--at times it's amateurish--the story is compelling. Unfortunately, it has these little detours that feel gross (like after genuinely connecting with a former Negro League player, turning around and selling his autograph at a profit) or like a white savior narrative (when he wants credit given to him for tracking down a hard-to-find player). When does memorabilia collection turn into dehumanization? And when is the story of a young white kid doing something (mostly) selfless for aging Black people who experienced financially devastating prejudice allowed to be called truly heroic vs. the stereotypical white savior narrative?
People coming to this book to learn more about the Negro Leagues will find it is more about the lives of aging former-players than what their experiences on the field. It could have used less of the author's personal story and more of the stories of the players he connected with, stories deeper than the few pages we get from just a handful of the players.
While not the best written memoir--at times it's amateurish--the story is compelling. Unfortunately, it has these little detours that feel gross (like after genuinely connecting with a former Negro League player, turning around and selling his autograph at a profit) or like a white savior narrative (when he wants credit given to him for tracking down a hard-to-find player). When does memorabilia collection turn into dehumanization? And when is the story of a young white kid doing something (mostly) selfless for aging Black people who experienced financially devastating prejudice allowed to be called truly heroic vs. the stereotypical white savior narrative?
People coming to this book to learn more about the Negro Leagues will find it is more about the lives of aging former-players than what their experiences on the field. It could have used less of the author's personal story and more of the stories of the players he connected with, stories deeper than the few pages we get from just a handful of the players.
March 11, 2023
Wow! Like simply wow. What a book. What a story. I am so glad I picked this book up. I am so glad I got to read about this fascinating epic journey. I mean as a baseball fan I can definitely appreciate all that transpired. I mean it is truly a story that everyone needs to hear about—even though the focus is baseball, there is more to it. The way the author tells his story as a child & how this came to fruition just makes you keep reading. You don't want to put the book down. It really is such a touching story. How this kid's fascination w/ the Negro League Players is astonishing. The connections made w/ so many people is heartwarming & how these players came together after not seeing one another for decades is miraculous. Being able to actually help not just bring players together but make an annual event out of it was special. The support they showed for each other & being able to help in many ways was phenomenal too. What was created here is like nothing else, you can't help but be moved by all of it. I am so astonished by all the things told in the book & the fact w/out certain people it never would have become what it is. So love this book! So go read this & spread the story to others. You will thank me later.
July 17, 2021
Excellent story! Cam Perron first learned about the Negro Leagues while in Middle School in Boston. Interested in getting autographs, he began to track down the players. To his surprise, he found them not only vastly more willing to share autographs and stories with young fans, but that they were often unaware that anyone knew who they were. In the decades since the Negro Leagues folded, many former players were living in poverty and obscurity. Over the next few years Cam and a small group of fellow researchers tracked many of them down and did what they could to help them out--arranging autograph signings and reunions that would re-connect them with former teammates and bring in a little money. This led to an annual Negro League' Reunion and a Negro League Museum in Birmingham, Alabama. Cam and his allies also were instrumental not just in pushing MLB to pay pensions to former Negro League players but in finding the necessary documentation for those players to claim the pension. If you love baseball, history, and quest to right a terrible wrong, this is the book for you!
July 6, 2021
As a young boy Cam Perron got super into collecting and eventually became obsessed with collecting autographs from Negro League baseball players. By the time he was in middle school his attempts at obtaining autographs through letters and phone calls resulted in friendships with some of the players and other collectors and researchers. Ultimately it led to this young white boy from Massachusetts becoming deeply involved in working to get Negro League players pensions from the MLB, helping create reunions to bring the players back together, and establishing a Negro League museum in Birmingham. It was a very sweet story about friendships forged in the most unlikeliest of places.
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