Veteran Newsday
sports reporter Jacobson sticks mainly to the facts in this story of the African-American players who followed Jackie Robinson's lead into the major leagues. In his portraits of these 19 greats—who range from stars like Hank Aaron to lesser-knowns such as Mudcat Grant and Ed Charles—Jacobson bemoans the fate of so many might-have-beens and celebrates the success of the lucky few who actually received their just rewards. The hardships were legion, with almost every player recounting the difficulties of traveling a segregated country in the pre–civil rights era, when black athletes often couldn't patronize the same restaurants or the same hotels as their white teammates. In 1962 the St. Louis Cardinals helped bust down Jim Crow laws in Florida by buying their own hotel in St. Petersburg to avoid the problem during spring training. Although Jacobson's pen is a pedestrian one, he imparts a good many details on almost every page, due to the incomparable character of the men gathered in this honor roll of bravery. (Jan.)
