"Expanded edition"--Title page verso

Early innings. The crucible of white hot competition ; Twilight ere the noon ; The conspiracy of silence ; Oh, they were are pair! ; It won't work out! -- Runs, hits, and errors. If they come here, they can't play ; Il a gagné ses épaulettes ; They don't want me? ; The most costly trial ever given a player ; A lone Negro in the game -- Extra innings. Remember, all out boys can't be a Robinson ; A Paul Bunyan in Technicolor ; The only thing I wanted to do was hit the major leagues ; The unwritten law of the South ; With all deliberate speed ; They've just got to forget they're Black ; Baseball has done it

"In this gripping account of one of the most important steps in the history of American desegregation, Jules Tygiel tells the story of Jackie Robinson's crossing of baseball's color line. Examining the social and historical context of Robinson's introduction into white organized baseball, both on and off the field, Tygiel also tells the often neglected stories of other African-American players--such as Satchel Paige, Roy Campanella, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron--who helped transform our national pastime into an integrated game. Drawing on dozens of interviews with players and front office executives, contemporary newspaper accounts, and personal papers, Tygiel provides the most telling and insightful account of Jackie Robinson's influence on American baseball and society. The anniversary issue features a new foreword by the author."--

First published by Oxford University Press, 1983