Overview

The integration of Major League Baseball in 1945 marked a pivotal milestone in America's struggle for racial equality. While many accounts celebrate the Black ballplayer who heroically broke the big league's color barrier and the White executive who defied its segregationist policy, the real story is far richer. As this book explains, there was a civil rights movement long before Martin Luther King, Jr. ""had a dream,"" and pressuring the national pastime to open its doors to African American players was one of its stated goals. Drawing on newly uncovered sources, this book tells the story of a broad coalition--activists, journalists, trade unions, politicians, and ordinary citizens--who fought discrimination on and off the field during World War II. In addition to highlighting the long-overlooked contributions of A. Philip Randolph, Walter White, Vito Marcantonio, Joe Cummiskey, Paul Robeson, Philip Murray, Henry A. Wallace, Ben Davis, Jr., Claude Lightfoot, and others, the book also reveals how Jackie Robinson's signing ignited the legendary feud between Branch Rickey and Larry MacPhail.

Full Product Details

9781476695358

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Crook has uncovered an important story around the integration of baseball that has not been fully examined or understood. Opening the Door for Jackie sheds new light on one of the seminal moments in baseball and American history.""--Daniel R. Levitt, author of Intentional Balk: Baseball's Thin Line Between Innovation and Cheating ""It is the rare history book that brings together fresh research and terrific writing. Rarer still is the book that combines a deep understanding of labor history and the American left with a passion for the history of our national pastime and its particular legends and lore.""--Walter Johnson, professor of History at Harvard University and author of The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States

""With newly unearthed documentation, Crook dismantles the familiar myths surrounding Jackie Robinson's historic rise to the big leagues, offering a more nuanced and revelatory account. Prepare to rethink what you thought you knew--and enjoy the journey of discovery.""--Larry Lester, author and historian ""Crook has uncovered an important story around the integration of baseball that has not been fully examined or understood. Opening the Door for Jackie sheds new light on one of the seminal moments in baseball and American history.""--Daniel R. Levitt, author of Intentional Balk: Baseball's Thin Line Between Innovation and Cheating ""It is the rare history book that brings together fresh research and terrific writing. Rarer still is the book that combines a deep understanding of labor history and the American left with a passion for the history of our national pastime and its particular legends and lore.""--Walter Johnson, professor of History at Harvard University and author of The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States

Author Information

After a career in advertising and television, Keith Evan Crook earned his master's degree in history from Harvard. He lives in Stamford, Connecticut.

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