This book traces the history of the league from the early days of Professional Black Baseball and the formation of leagues to Post-Integration decline.

The first fifty years of America’s most popular spectator sport have been strangely neglected by historians claiming to tell the “complete story” of pro football. Well, here are the early stories that “complete story” has left out. What about the awful secret carried around by Sid Luckman, the Bears’ Hall of Fame quarterback whose father was a mobster and a murderer? Or Steve Hamas, who briefly played in the NFL then turned to boxing and beat Max Schmeling, conqueror of Joe Louis? Or the two one-armed players who suited up for NFL teams in 1945? Or Steelers owner Art Rooney postponing a game in 1938 because of injuries? These are just a few of the little-known facts Dan Daly unearths in recounting the untold history of pro football in its first half century. These decades were also full of ideas and experimentation, such as the invention of the modern T formation that revolutionized offense, unlimited player substitution, and soccer-style kicking, as well as the emergence of televised pro football as prime-time entertainment. Relying on obscure sources, original interviews, old game films and statistical databases, Daly’s extensive research and engaging stories bring the NFL’s formative years—and pro football’s folk roots—to life.

This text gives readers the chance to experience the unique character and personalities of the African American game of baseball in the United States, starting from the time of slavery, through the Negro Leagues and integration period, and beyond. For 100 years, African Americans were barred from playing in the premier baseball leagues of the United States—where only Caucasians were allowed. Talented black athletes until the 1950s were largely limited to only playing in Negro leagues, or possibly playing against white teams in exhibition, post-season play, or barnstorming contests—if it was deemed profitable for the white hosts. Even so, the people and events of Jim Crow baseball had incredible beauty, richness, and quality of play and character. The deep significance of Negro baseball leagues in establishing the texture of American history is an experience that cannot be allowed to slip away and be forgotten. This book takes readers from the origins of African Americans playing the American game of baseball on southern plantations in the pre-Civil War era through Black baseball and America's long era of Jim Crow segregation to the significance of Black baseball within our modern-day, post-Civil Rights Movement perspective.

From an award-winning graphic artist and baseball historian comes a strikingly original illustrated history of baseball’s forgotten heroes, including stars of the Negro Leagues, barnstorming teams, semi-pro leagues, foreign leagues, and famous players like Shoeless Joe Jackson, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, and Joe DiMaggio before they achieved notoriety. From a young age, Gary Cieradkowski had a passion for baseball’s unheralded heroes. Inspired by his father and their shared love of the sport, Cieradkowski began creating “outsider” baseball cards, as a way to tell the little-known stories of baseball’s many unsung heroes—alongside some of baseball’s greatest players before they were famous. The League of Outsider Baseball is a tribute to all of those who’ve played the game, known and unknown. Shining a light into the dark corners of baseball history—from Mickey Mantle’s minor league days to Negro League greats like Josh Gibson and Leon Day; to people that most never knew played the game, such as Frank Sinatra, who had his own ball club in 1940s Hollywood; bank robber John Dillinger, who was a promising shortstop and took time out between robberies to attend Cubs games; and even a few US presidents—this book is a rich, visual tribute to America’s pastime. Meticulously researched, beautifully illustrated using a unique, vintage baseball-card-style, and filled with a colorful and rich cast of characters, this book is a prized collector’s item and will be cherished by fans of all ages.

The life of a Negro League baseball player, segregation and a missed opportunity to play Major League baseball is combined with Negro League trivia, facts, a list of Negro League teams and surviving players - a wealth of baseball information.

The biography of Oscar Charleston, a Negro Leagues legend and one of baseball’s greatest and most unjustifiably overlooked players.

Tells the forgotten story of Black star-quality athletes excluded from professional baseball because of the big league's color line.