DOC Beyond the Shadow of the Senators : The Untold Story of the Homestead Grays and the Integration of Baseball by Brad Snyder in History

Review

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Symbiotic segregation and a great baseball read.By CustomerThis is a great; and true-to-life (i.e.; "complex") story about the institution of 'Negro' League baseball and the various parties who profited and railed against it.Key people that are introduced and brought to life are:Buck Leonard; Satchel Paige; and Josh Gibson -- three of the greatest ballplayers who ever lived;Clark Griffith -- the pioneering; penurious and controlling owner of the Washington Senators;Sam Lacy -- the ahead-of-his-time; DC-native who tirelessly advocated for the integration of Major League Baseball; as well asCum(berland) Posey -- the shrewd owner of the Homestead Grays -- the dominant team of the loosely confederated Negro Leagues during the late 30's and 40's.Tangential to this story are:the decimation of the post 1933 Senators; mostly due to finances and an inadequate ballpark;the relative prosperity of Washington DC during the years of the depression and WWII and the partial equality of African-American government workers that led to a vibrant culture and ability to spend on entertainment;the move by Posey and his "partner" (many of the Negro League baseball teams were financed by numbers entreprenuers) to Washington from their Pittsburgh home and the welcome of their rental payments and gate pctgs. by Clark Griffith;Judge Landis' death; the increasing awareness of America's incongruity in its fight for freedom and democracy in Europe while maintaining a virtual apartheid culture at home; andthe greed/opportunity of baseball owners to find the best talent at the lowest price which ultimately led to Rickey's "great experiment");This book also fleshes out the background and conflict around Jackie Robinson; who was rightly judged to be a great man and the right vehicle for Rickey's efforst; and the shared opinions that he was a good; but not all-time great Negro baseball player. [Check out how well a 42-yr old Satchel Paige pitched for the World Championship Indians in 1948.]The shifts in attitude between "separate but equal" and complete integration by the various parties reveal primarily self-interest. Judged by the standards of our time; I share many others' great respect for Sam Lacy and his tireless; moral advocacy and feel sorry for the Negro League baseball owners who were mostly left with nothing as they rarely had enforceable contracts that protected their relationship with their players.Clark Griffith was an "innovator" in attracting inexpensive talent from Cuba. Many of these players represented themselves well on the ballfield but would only be acceptable if they were of "Spanish" descent.Utterly inconceivable now; but the norm for over 60 years (since Cap Anson helped institute the "gentleman's agreement" against employment of African Americans in the early 1880's) was to allow a Major or Minor League ballclup to employ pretty much anyone (Swedes; Germans; Irish; Italians; Jews; etc.) anyone; except African-Americans.It has often been discussed that without Jackie Robinson ( the parts played by Branch Rickey; Roy Campanella; Pee Wee Reese; Ben Chapman; etc.) the 1954 "Brown vs. Board of Education" decision would not have happened as quickly.This book provides a wonderful companion story to the integration of major league baseball which; in my opinion; is one of the most significant stories of 20th Century United States.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Three StarsBy Alan CohenA good; but not authoritative; story of one of the great teams of Negro League baseball2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Sympathy for the "devil"By Precode FanMr. Snyder's book certainly deserves 5 stars: he has done an incredible amount of research in unearthing a history unknown to most Washingtonians (like me) under the age of 70. The book's virtues have been delineated clearly by other reviewers; so I will focus on my main objection to it.Mr. Snyder tends to lump Clark and Calvin Griffith together; such that some reviewers have labelled them both as "greedy racists." Greedy; sure. But that description would also apply to Cum Posey; Branch Rickey; or any other self-resprcting capitalist. And although no one can penetrate the heart of another human being; it would be hard to deny that Calvin Griffith's words and actions carry the taint of racism. But Griff? Not even his harshest critic; Sam Lacy; would label the elder Griffith a racist; but Mr. Snyder; from his 21st century perch; has no difficulty in doing so. This is no minor flaw; for at least two reviewers (one of whom; amusingly; calls himself a "historian")has attributed to Clark Griffith the actions and words of Calvin.I began the book thinking that;yes; Griff should have been the pioneer to integrate basseball and save the sport for Washington. But; after reflection; I can't really blame him for following the course he did. Washington in the early 1940s was not Brooklyn. It was a very Southern; segregated town. Only a few years later; the management of the National Theatre; the city's flagship theatre; opted to keep the house dark from 1948 to 1952; rather than integrate. Would the same public that made clear its opposition to integration in the late 1940s have accepted it any more willingly at Griffith Stadium earlier in the decade? Kudos to Mr. Snyder; though; for making clear how offensive the heavy use of Cuban players was to the city's African-American population. And; as Mr.Snyder points out; Branch Rickey and the Dodgers were able to season their African-American signees at farm clubs in New Hampshire and Canada; that option was not available to the Senators; with their string of Southern farm clubs. (One of the values of this book is that Mr. Snyder scrupulously provides the evidence that can be used to argue with his conclusions.)What Griff COULD have done; in my opinion; was; starting in the early 1950s; to trade for established; "name" African-American stars. But the proposed Larry Doby-Jackie Jensen trade was not as much of a slam dunk as Mr. Snyder seems to think. Yes; Doby would have drawn in the African-American fans. But he went on to have only two more good seasons; while the younger Jensen went on to have six.Let me conclude by again praising Mr. Snyder's research. What a pleasure to learn of a "battle of the bands" between Louis Armstrong and Charlie Barnet at the stadium in 1942! Oh to be able to have witnessed it!