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The
All-Time All-Stars of Black Baseball
James A. Riley, TK Publishers, 1983.
A salute to what might have been the
first, second and third team "all-star" teams
from the old Negro Baseball Leagues.
"Anyone who studies the history of baseball will
find that a segment of that history is missing, or at
best, largely incomplete. That nebulous segment is the
story of black baseball players during the era of
racially separate leagues. The serious student of
baseball will not be satisfied with an incomplete
history. Within the last decade, progress has been made
and some missing information filled in. More research is
needed and the effort is continuing."
"The National Baseball Hall of Fame in
Cooperstown, New York, is expanding their collection of
photographs and memorabilia from the Negro leagues.
Special thanks are in order to this organization for
their cooperation and permission to use selected
photographs from their collections."
"The purpose of this book is to give nationwide
exposure and recognition to a generation of ballplayers
who have never received the acclaim which they deserve.
The vast majority of the players included herein were of
major league caliber. Doubtless, many other deserving
players should be included."
"Because of the paucity of the statistical data
and the ever-diminishing number of eye-witnesses, it is
a difficult task to accurately portray the players in
their true greatness. Care should be exercised in
interpreting the existing data. The erratic compilation
of statistics, the variable quality of opposition, the
abbreviated league scheduling, and the conditions
governing facilities and travel should all be taken into
consideration to put evaluations into proper
perspective."
"The selections for the first, second and third
teams herein are consensus choices. However, the
author's prerogative was invoked in the catergorization
of players for special mention and honorable mention. In
so doing, it was recognized that there is but a fineline
between a very good ballplayer and a marginally great
ballplayer, while true greatness walks in its own
footsteps."
"The author traveled from the periphery of the
destruction of the Liberty City riots to the 19th floor
of the Commissioner's office in Rockefeller Plaza in
search of the flesh and blood that went with the shadows
on the wall, so that they might receive some recognition
and acceptance long overdue them. A solitary pilgrim's
odyssey through the shadows, searching for a generation
of men who displayed their talents wherever they could,
whenever they could, and to whomever they could...in
days that used to be."
"A time that is no more, and will never be
again. A time unique in America's history and a time
that needs to be recorded so that future generations
will know of the accomplishments of this unique
generation."
"A generation who endured, unembittered, and
eventually overcame."
"A generation to be remembered. A generation of
sowers, who sowed the seeds of their talent so that
subsequent generations could reap the fruits of their
success."
"It is for this generation of men that this book
is written, and it is to this generation of men that
this book is respectfully dedicated."
Adapted from The All-Time All-Stars of Black
Baseball by James A. Riley, COPYRIGHT 1983 by TK
PUBLISHERS. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or
copied in any form without written permission from the
publisher.
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