Catch Hold Of Invisible Men: Life In Baseballs Negro Leagues Brought To You By Donn Rogosin Distributed As Print

interesting book about the history of baseballs Negro Leagues, divided into thematic chapters and told through series of vignettes about different players/people and events in the short but incredible history of this too little know group of teams.
Not sure where the reviews calling this dry or academic are coming from this is a colorful and entertaining read that moves at a nice clip.
Most of all it does a great job of painting a picture of the amazing feats and personalities in the Negro Leagues.
Countless moments detailed here deserve their own books and movies, and countless times I wished we had more details of this marvelous history.
Its one that serious baseball fans owe it to themselves to learn more about, A great book about the characters and background of the Negro Leagues, This is a very insightful book about the past of black baseball players Good reference work for specialists, but overly detailed for the general reader.
This year's book for Black History Month, Some might argue that it isn't enough to read only one book about Black History per year, Sometimes I read more, but I try to read at least one in February, to make sure I don't do less than one per year.


For years, all I heard about the Negro Leagues was something like, "they were part of segregation, and went away after Jackie Robinson joined the major leagues.
"

Clearly there's a lot more to it than that, This book tries to give a lot more information, I thought it was good, but it also tried to be a lot of different things at the same time,

When I was a kid I sometimes enjoyed Baseball books because of the stories, There is some storytelling here, but also a lot of straight history what were the different leagues, who formed them, etc.
and analysis how were they financed, how does this fit in the larger picture of what was happening to African Americans at the time.


I think the book is probably better for people interested in the history and analysis, If you come to it expecting lots of baseball stories you'll probably be bored during the more academic parts,

One thing I'm grateful for, in reading this book, is an explanation of why people say that a lot of the players in the Negro Leagues were better than the white Major Leaguers.
I'd heard this for years and wondered, "how can you tell, if they never played together" Well, it turns out they did sometimes play together.
Not only were there interracial teams that formed outside of the majors, but there were offseason teams in places like Cuba where players of different races played on the same teams, and against each other.
There were games, and statistics, to prove it,

Also an interesting analysis of why Jackie Robinson was

chosen to break the color barrier among other things, he had more history of interacting with whites, so the "cultural divide" wasn't as large, and the interesting fact that a lot of the Negro Leaguers thought he wasn't a good choice because he wasn't one of the top players.

Much as I love baseball both played and administered the sport the fascination for stats can become a little overwhelming.
For me, at least.
And this was reflected in the writing style of 'Invisible Men, ' Numerical stats weren't the issue, but the sheer amount of names dropped in made it hard to follow for someone trying to learn about the history of the sport.


Still interesting enough, and I'm not sure how it could have been presented differently, but it just didn't read very well in my opinion.
Really interesting read they documented the history of the Negro Leagues and how the players intersected with white Major Leaguers, It's easy to see how these men contributed to the growth of the modern game by inspiring players in Central America during their barnstorming tours.
I'm thankful for what Jackie Robinson did but it's a shame it took so long to integrate MLB, Even worse that they Negro League teams couldn't continue on in some capacity It was good, A bit poorly organized with a hodgepodge approach at points,
Clearly not a fan of either Jackie Robinson or Branch Rickey, but there is some merit in Rickey's integration, despite how duplicitous it may have been.

Either way good. Solid, even. Really liked the chapter that focused on Latin American ball, That was awesome.
A decent read, full of interesting anecdotes, lots of information about Negro League players, I felt like the book came up short at onlypages, but worth the read if you're looking to learn a little about this dark chapter in baseball history.
I knew the author, who was also a director on WV Humanities Council, Found the topic very interesting, one of those "things you should have learned in school" but never did, A classic, finally back in print, Movie makers should be forced to read this before they make another movie about, The reality was much more complicated, and the Negro Leagues players need to get more credit for paving the way to integration.
The writing could have been more engaging, As it was it felt more like a really long essay than a book, But it's full of fascinating information and all sorts of things I hadn't known, And I appreciated Rogosin's commitment to telling their stories in their own words, it was ok
Only the ball was white, The talent, desire, and thrills were otherwise exactly the same as any major league baseball game but owing to a cruel and unjust prejudice, the best generations of black baseball players were barred from the major leagues for nearly half a century until Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier for the Dodgers in.
Yet, the Negro Leagues were just as organised and full of talented players as their white counterparts, Invisible Men charts the storied games played separately but equally across America in the preintegration era, giving a voice to the great players of the time.
The life of a Negro League professional was a heady mix of highsociety life in the black metropolises of Chicago and New York, punishing baseball schedules that took players across America, Mexico, the Caribbean, and into Central America where they would find themselves the equal and often superior to noted white players, and demeaning and cruel petty segregation.


Heavy on statistics, but not the kind familiar to modern fans, this book is almost an overload of players and historical figures associated with the black game.
Despite its occasional density and overloading of names, this remains an important monument to black baseball, When this book was first published, it illuminated the players the Hall of Fame took too long to recognise and only after the Negro Leagues had been raided for players and folded in the lates.


Now, as Cooperstown finally recognises the Negro Leagues as major leagues, these men Oscar Charleston, Cool Papa Bell, Satchel Page, Josh Gibson, and so, so many more finally achieve the recognition that everyone who saw them play knew they earned but which the white leagues cruelly kept from them, this book is a memorial to those times, the glories and the trials.
I thought the book was way to stretched out, All throughout the book it would start talking about a specific player then all of a sudden it would change, either to a different player or a manager.
I know the book was intended to be factual, I just did not enjoy myself reading it because you could not focus on what its mainly about, Book about mens negro league and the tough times getting recognized, InJackie Robinson broke baseballs color barrier and became a hero for black and white Americans, yet Robinson was a Negro League player before he integrated Major League baseball.
Negro League ballplayers had been thrilling black fans since, Among them were the legendary pitchers Smoky Joe Williams, whose fastball seemed to “come off a mountain top,” Satchel Paige, the ageless wonder who pitched for five decades, and such hitters as Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard, “the Ruth and Gehrig of the Negro Leagues.
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Although their games were ignored by whiteowned newspapers and radio stations, black ballplayers became folk heroes in cities such as Chicago, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington DC, where the teams drew large crowds and became major contributors to the local community life.
This memorable narrative, filled with the memories of many surviving Negro League players, pulls the veil off these “invisible men” who were forced into the segregated leagues.
What emerges is a glorious chapter in African American history and an often overlooked aspect of our American past,
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