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A catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, Sukeforth was sent as a scout to the Negro Leagues. While checking out the Kansas City Monarchs, Sukeforth noticed one player who sat out the entire game, but obviously had potential. That was Jackie Robinson, who later became the first black player in the major leagues. "What Clyde Sukeforth brought to baseball was a philosophy that anybody should be given a chance to play baseball if they had the ability, regardless of their color," said Don Newcombe, another Negro League player Sukeforth recruited. Prior to his death, Sukeforth was the oldest living Dodger player. He died September 3 at age 98. From This is True for 3 September 2000 Suggestions for further reading:
 List Price: $18.99 Amazon Price: $12.72  By: Dan Gutman List Price: $15.99 Amazon Price: $6.99  By: Jack Morelli List Price: $19.95 Amazon Price: $10.77 Editorial Review: First published as trading cards in 1990, these out-of-print watercolor images by award-winning artist Mark Chiarello are now collected for the first time in book form, along with incisive text by Jack Morelli and 39 brand-new images created especially for this book, including portraits of Satchel Paige, Hank Aaron, and Jackie Robinson. The legendary Negro Leagues are regarded with reverence and awe, and play a vital role in black history. The publication of these cards marked the first time most of these players ever appeared on baseball cards.  By: Joe Posnanski List Price: $24.95 Amazon Price: $16.47 Editorial Review: When Legendary Negro League player Buck O'Neil asked sports columnist Joe Posnanski how he fell in love with baseball, Posnanski had to think about it. From that question was born the idea behind BASEBALL AND JAZZ. Posnanski and the 94 year old O'Neil decided to spend the 2005 baseball season touring the country in hopes of stirring up the love that first drew them to the game. This book is just as much the story of Buck O'Neil as it is the story of baseball. In a time when disillusioned, steroid–shooting, money hungry athletes define the sport, Buck O'Neil stands out as a man that truly played for the love of the game. Posnanski writes about that love and the one thing that O'Neil loved almost as much as baseball: jazz. BASEBALL AND JAZZ is an endearing step back in time to the days when the crack of a bat and the smoky notes of a midnight jam session were the sounds that brought the most joy to a man's heart.  By: Lawrence D. Hogan List Price: $26.00 Amazon Price: $17.16 Editorial Review: Celebrating African America's contribution to our great national pastime, this comprehensive, lively history combines vivid narrative, visual impact, and a unique statistical component, to recreate the excitement and passion of the Negro Leagues. Packed with stories, biographical essays, scores of archival photographs and other evocative artifacts, it is an important contribution to sports history and a wonderful tribute to the players and teams who wrote a unique chapter in the annals of baseball and American culture. National Geographic is proud to present this compelling volume, compiled by a who's who of authorities on the subject. Drawing on years of research, Shades of Glory traces the history of black baseball from the 19th century to the first great teams, such as the Cuban Giants, and on to the era of the vibrant barnstorming teams from the East Coast, Chicago, and Cuba. The unparalleled Rube Foster started the first Negro League in 1920, with such dominant teams as the Chicago American Giants and the Kansas City Monarchs. Pittsburgh soon produced two of the greatest teams of all time, the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords, featuring such stars as Satchel Paige, John Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, and many more. Their superb brand of baseball rivaled the best of the major leagues until the historic signing of Jackie Robinson by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Shades of Glory chronicles a bygone era of black baseball and the stars who were shadowed by racial prejudice, but now shine forth in all their sparkling brilliance. |
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