Author: Patrick Harrigan
Harrigan covers all of the major transitional moments for the sport: integration, western migration, expansion, free agency, etc. Just as important to the story, however, are the changes in the city of Detroit. An industrial powerhouse in the middle of the 20th century, Detroit was hit hard when automation and globalization decimated the job market. The affluent fled to the suburbs, leaving an increasingly impoverished inner city to struggle through decades of high crime and decaying infrastructure. Yet, the team has, for the most part, thrived, a unifying symbol for the entire metropolitan area.
That's not to say there have been no bumps in the road. Race relations have long been a challenge for the old ball club. The Tigers were the second-to-last Major League team to integrate (the Red Sox were the last) and maintained unofficial discriminatory practices in hiring for years afterward - not exactly strong PR in the city with the highest percentage of African-American residents of any major city in the United States. Over the years, the team has worked harder at maintaining its audience in the suburbs than in the inner city.
While I've read a fair amount about integration in baseball, Harrigan provided some new perspectives. Problems continued long after Jackie Robinson, of course. While there were few Major League teams in the segregated South, there were plenty of minor league teams. The Tigers had a farm team in Birmingham, Alabama, one of the most notoriously segregated cities in America. Plus, there was the matter of spring training in Florida each year.
I don't know if non-baseball fans would be interested in the book but anyone curious about the transformation of urban America in the late 20th century certainly should be.
I might be interested in it purely from the standpoint of integration. Sports seems to be the only place in America where racial integration has worked well. Of course, I say that as an outsider to sports.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, baseball is too quick to pat itself on the back when it comes to integration. Jackie Robinson and those who immediately followed made it pretty clear that there was no lack of talent in the Negro Leagues. Black players could have and should have been let in a lot sooner. Only racism was keeping them out.
DeleteAlso, it's not as if Jackie walked on the field and all was hunky dory. The National League teams were a lot quicker to integrate than the American League teams, for instance. And there were aspects I hadn't considered before reading this book. For instance, of course the stars like Willie Mays flourished but it was the more marginal players who suffered the effects of bias. If you've got two third basemen of equal ability, one's white, one's black, guess who gets the job.
Well, I meant more currently, but I don't really know how things are on the inside. You don't ever hear (at least I don't) sports fans trashing players because of their race. They tend to want the best player no matter what.
DeleteThese days, no. At least, not in the United States. It has actually been a much bigger problem in European soccer, enough so that one prominent player, Thierry Henry, started a tolerance campaign with Nike: Stand Up Speak Up.
DeleteI don't think this is the book for me, as I am not much of a baseball fan- but it does sound like an interesting book for baseball fans. I have one in mind who might enjoy this for the holidays. :) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete~Jess
This is by no means the best baseball book I've read but it did offer a few new perspectives.
DeleteSure sounds interesting for fans of baseball.
ReplyDeleteI think so.
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