As star players for the 1955 World Champion Brooklyn Dodgers, and prior to that as the first black players to be candidates to break professional baseball’s color barrier, Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella would seem to be natural allies. But the two men were divided by a rivalry going far beyond the personality differences and petty jealousies of competitive teammates. Behind the bitterness were deep and differing beliefs about the fight for civil rights. Robinson, the more aggressive and intense of the two, thought Jim Crow should be attacked head-on; Campanella, more passive and easygoing, believed that ability, not militancy, was the key to racial equality. Drawing on interviews with former players such as Monte Irvin, Hank Aaron, Carl Erskine, and Don Zimmer, Jackie and Campy offers a closer look at these two players and their place in a historical movement torn between active defiance and passive resistance. William C. Kashatus deepens our understanding of these two baseball icons and civil rights pioneers and provides a clearer picture of their time and our own.Purchase the audio edition.
Format:
CONTRIBUTORS: William C. Kashatus
EAN: 9780803246331
COUNTRY: United States
PAGES:
WEIGHT: 0 g
HEIGHT: 229 cm
PUBLISHED BY: University of Nebraska Press
DATE PUBLISHED: 2014-04-01
CITY:
GENRE: SOCIAL SCIENCE / Ethnic Studies / American / African American Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Discrimination, SPORTS & RECREATION / Baseball / History
WIDTH: 152 cm
SPINE:
Book Themes:
Relating to African American / Black American people, Social discrimination and social justice, Ethnic studies, Ethnic groups and multicultural studies, Social and cultural history, History of sport, Baseball
"While much has been published about each player, the team, and the integration of baseball, never until now has this topic received its deserved treatment. This is an original and important book."—Spitball, "Using their racial and social attitudes as a springboard, Kashatus has written a superb narrative of sports, race, and politics in the 1950s and '60s."—Publishers Weekly, "Enhancing our understanding of attitudes toward integration and race relations at a pivotal stage of American history through this story of baseball, this book is highly recommended as social and sports history."—Library Journal starred review, "Robinson and Campanella were trailblazers. Both were passionate, strong-minded men who excelled in baseball and had definite ideas about handling race relations in the game. Kashatus has provided a nice narrative that explains how both men were successful at achieving their goals—on and off the field."—Bob D'Angelo, Tampa Tribune, "A fascinating story."—Aethlon
William C. Kashatus is the author of many books, including September Swoon: Richie Allen, the ’64 Phillies and Racial Integration.
