The Negro Leagues Revisited: Conversations with 66 More Baseball Heroes
Kelley, who has authored six previous baseball books, interviews 66 former Negro League players, many now in their 80s and 90s, about their game, their league,^Band their lives. Among the highlights are a discussion with Ted Rasberry, who was--at various times--an owner (of the Kansas City Monarchs), a player, a traveling secretary, a manager, and even the vice president of the Negro American League. Many of the men interviewed played in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s against the legends of the Negro Leagues (Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, and Willie Wells). They recall those encounters with the same reverence that today's "cup-of-coffee" players will remember their days on the field with Cal Ripken Jr. or Mark McGwire. Despite all the hardships and indignities they endured, these men make clear that they were, above all else, ballplayers. Almost to a man, they say they'd do it again. Wonderful reading for baseball fans.Wes LukowskyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved