Pitching for the Stars

The author of the memoir Our White Boy tells his story for younger readers: in 1959 Carl Sedberry, team manager of the Wichita Falls/Graham Stars successfully recruits their first white player, pitcher Jerry Craft. During the next two years, the team plays baseball together in the West Texas Colored League while listening to their manager’s observations about sports and life, experiences that will change them forever. Craft relates an unlikely story of respect, character, humor, and ultimately friendship with Mr. Sedberry and his boys as the teammates pulled together to succeed in a game they all loved.

Jerry Craft s real-life journey with the Stars comes alive. Its brisk pacing, play-by-play action, and fluid delivery make for a substantial and satisfying slice of a bygone era in baseball and the segregated South. An especially fine addition to Texana collections for middle readers and up. Very nicely done! -- Dr. Roger Leslie, North Shore Senior High Library, Galena Park ISD", Praise for "Our White Boy"The story of how a young white man in rural Texas learned firsthand not only about how profoundly painful and limiting segregation was for both whites and blacks but also how segregation could promote black pride and entrepreneurialism. This is a wonderful book in every respect. . . . Highly recommended. All readers. Choice Reviews Online", Jerry Craft's real-life journey with the Stars comes alive. Its brisk pacing, play-by-play action, and fluid delivery make for a substantial and satisfying slice of a bygone era in baseball and the segregated South. An especially fine addition to Texana collections for middle readers and up. Very nicely done! -- Dr. Roger Leslie, North Shore Senior High Library, Galena Park ISD

Jerry Craft, rancher and former mayor of Jacksboro, Texas, was the first white man to play in the West Texas Colored League, during the summers of 1959 and 1960. A pioneer in the national cable television industry, he lives in Jacksboro and operates ranches in Texas and New Mexico. Kathleen Sullivan, who holds degrees from Baylor University and Arizona State University, has taught at the University of Texas at Arlington and Southern Methodist University. A member of the Sport Literature Association and the Society for American Baseball Research, she lives in Arlington, Texas.