2This first exhaustive history of the Negro leagues sheds new light and delves deeper than any previous work. Find out how black fans came to cherish their own heroes, why a trip to see a Negro league game was a statement of racial pride, and why much of black culture once centered on "blackball".

For over fifty years -- or up until that bright April day in 1947 when Jackie Robinson smashed the major leagues' color barrier -- the only ball fields where an African American could play organized baseball were the tarnished diamonds of the Negro leagues. On these fields, men such as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Cool Papa Bell played for such teams as the Kansas City Monarchs, the Homestead Grays, and the Pittsburgh Crawfords. Within this incredible tapestry, some of the greatest ballplayers of all time found true glory.

This is the story of an American epic -- rich, provocative, and unforgettable.