How baseball become segregated
Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in the sport of baseball has been told, and retold. However, have you ever wondered when and exactly how baseball decided to exclude black players? Swanson advances the reader beyond the passé “gentleman’s” agreement established reasoning.
This book addresses the segregation issue during the reconstruction period with a survey of the relevant sources of the era, and the influencers – such as Col. Tom Fitzgerald, Henry Chadwick, Arthur Gorman and Nicholas Young. This book explains the hostilities and objections to Moses Fleetwood Walker playing professional baseball and his eventual exile from the sport.
The author explains the history of the Philadelphia Pythians, and describes the impact of civil rights activist and sportsman Octavius Catto’s 1871 assignation. The book dissects the coverage the media played in shaping public opinion of the sport. This work points out that it wasn’t uncommon for violence to break out at a game, and that black ball players often had to participate in games armed for fear of their lives.
“When Baseball Went White” establishes Philadelphia as a hotbed in baseball during this uneasy era and demonstrates the mechanics of segregation. Swanson sustains the spirit of black baseball, and the stereotypical challenges and the rampant racism teams often faced.
©2014 Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska (P)2025 Redwood Audiobooks
By: Ryan A. Swanson
Narrated by: Marlin May
Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
Release date: 10-28-25
