In 1946, Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers broke a long-standing, if unwritten, barrier and signed Jackie Robinson to play for the Dodgers’ farm team, the Montreal Royals. He was an immediate hit with Blacks and many Whites, and his on-field success was impressive. The next year, he played in the majors and his success continued. Off the field, however, he faced wide-spread prejudice, especially in the south during Spring Training. Robinson had agreed with Rickey that he would take the abuse and just play ball, and he stuck with this agreement through 1949 when the two men agreed that the experiment was over and Robinson could be himself. For the rest of his career and afterwards, he was an outspoken claimant for Black rights — and, surprisingly, a Republican.

More than just a record of Robinson’s career, the book covers the entire history of integration of baseball from Robinson’s signing through the 1980s when it was written. As late as 1953, only six teams had Black players, and the Red Sox didn’t sign their first Black until 1959, the year after I was born.

The fact that all this overlapped my own life, and that many of the early Black players are people I can remember seeing — Banks, Aaron, Mays — made the story a lot more personal. Although dull in places where it covered a parade of Blacks who pioneered in remote minor leagues, it was educational and thought-provoking.