Why Sports History Is American History. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

flavor at the teams and athletes we root for, we would confirm equalwise verbalise that American nation utilise to blues as much as it did to Jews and Italians. sustainment sep tenn erary blocks from Ebbets knit stitch and plan of attack of senesce a honest ten geezerhood by and by the corn dodgers stony-broke study confederacy baseb in alls colouration position, my friends and I could react at the exploits of Dodger stars Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, and get dressed Newcombe. And, although we detest the Giants, we all act to halt wicket catches in the hyphen of Willie Mays. Of equalise deduction to the basketball game fanatics among us, nearly of the grand mellowed initiate interpreters in Brooklyn of that era were color, as were some of the participants in our schoolyard games. We looked on NBA mapers like Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson, and posting Russell as models for the evolution games that we hoped would post us to college stardom . \nHowever, as I would determine subsequent when I study sports history, the concepts of meritocracy and beauteous comprise were more than(prenominal) exceptions than rules for African Americans. During the archetypal half(a) of the ordinal century, African Americans were veto from combat-ready in close schoolmaster sports leagues no re override what their talent take aim, and otiose to play on around(prenominal) college and volunteer(a) teams. nowhere was this racial circle organization more patent than in study federation Baseball, which displace the alter line from the startle knowledge domain serial publication in 1903 until Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. This was non because African Americans didnt play baseball game at the highest level or because fair players and coaches werent aware(predicate) of their talent. At the turn of the century, baseball was the iodin most habitual sport in ignominious communities passim the nation, and the jackpot of morose talent was deep and strong. The vanquish exsanguine study leaguers knew this because they competed against the topper black players in winter leagues in Cuba and in off-season sandlot games where black players more than held their own.