"In a year in which no team ever led the league by as many as four games, these three teams, [the Cleveland Indians, the Boston Red Sox, and the New York Yankees], eventually found themselves in a tie with just nine days to go, and the season had to be extended to decide the race."--Cover.

The second volume in the series from the game's best historians

The riveting story of four men—Larry Doby, Bill Veeck, Bob Feller, and Satchel Paige—whose improbable union on the Cleveland Indians in the late 1940s would shape the immediate postwar era of Major League Baseball and beyond. In July 1947, not even three months after Jackie Robinson debuted on the Brooklyn Dodgers, snapping the color line that had segregated Major League Baseball, Larry Doby would follow in his footsteps on the Cleveland Indians. Though Doby, as the second Black player in the majors, would struggle during his first summer in Cleveland, his subsequent turnaround in 1948 from benchwarmer to superstar sparked one of the wildest and most meaningful seasons in baseball history. In intimate, absorbing detail, Luke Epplin's Our Team traces the story of the integration of the Cleveland Indians and their quest for a World Series title through four key participants: Bill Veeck, an eccentric and visionary owner adept at exploding fireworks on and off the field; Larry Doby, a soft-spoken, hard-hitting pioneer whose major-league breakthrough shattered stereotypes that so much of white America held about Black ballplayers; Bob Feller, a pitching prodigy from the Iowa cornfields who set the template for the athlete as businessman; and Satchel Paige, a legendary pitcher from the Negro Leagues whose belated entry into the majors whipped baseball fans across the country into a frenzy. Together, as the backbone of a team that epitomized the postwar American spirit in all its hopes and contradictions, these four men would captivate the nation by storming to the World Series--all the while rewriting the rules of what was possible in sports.

This book chronicles the history of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and the stories of the first women to play professional baseball in a league of their own. In 1941, the world was at war, and with able-bodied American men fighting overseas, professional baseball was in danger of becoming a quaint relic—until women stepped up to the plate. In this heartwarming illustrated history, the League's story is told by the ones who know it best: the players. Author Anika Orrock collects a variety of funny, charming, wince-worthy, and powerful vignettes told by the players themselves about their time playing the American pastime. • Features stories of grit and perseverance against all odds, told by the players themselves • Filled with player statistics, historical beats, headlines, and more; and fully illustrated in Anika's vibrant style • A visually engaging, readable women-led history book Written in an approachable manner and beautifully illustrated, The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League is a one-of-a-kind story told through the women's own voices and their own perspectives. This book ultimately proves that the incredible women of the AAGPBL truly were in a league of their own. • A unique celebration of a specific moment in women's and sports history • A great read for experienced and new sports fans alike, readers young and old, baseball fans • Perfect accompaniment to books like Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky, Strong is the New Pretty by Kate T. Parker, and Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries who Shaped Our History . . . and Our Future! by Kate Schatz

Showcasing two influential decades of home runs, stolen bases, and national heroes, David Lee Poremba invites us to take an in-depth look back through the history of baseball in The American League: The Early Years. Poremba has collected over 200 images and captions in this new volume that documents the fledgling American League and its charismatic teams, from its creation in 1901 to its lively rebirth as America's Pastime in 1920. Founded nearly a century ago when Western League President Ban Johnson renamed the circuit in 1900, the American League defied the norm. Amidst the struggles to name a National League president and the expiration of the National Agreement which governed the baseball world, Johnson leapt into open competition for players and fans. Seen in this extensive photographic collection are the historic players lured away from the National League and into the higher paying American League, including Ty Cobb, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, "Wee" Willie Keeler, Cy Young, Nap Lajoie, and many others. With the introduction of the cork-centered baseball in 1910 and the advent of the Sultan of Swat, Babe Ruth, the game of baseball would change forever.

Thoroughly researched and beautifully written, this biography chronicles the life of the second black player to reach the Major Leagues: Hall of Famer and seven-time All Star, Larry Doby.