Oscar Charleston: The Life and Legend of Baseball's Greatest Forgotten Player

• Winner of the SABR Seymour Medal
• Casey Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year by Spitball Magazine
• Winner of SABR's Larry Ritter and Robert Peterson Awards

Buck O'Neil once described him as "Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and Tris Speaker rolled into one." Among experts he is regarded as the best player in Negro Leagues history. During his prime he became a legend in Cuba and one of Black America's most popular figures. Yet even among serious sports fans, Oscar Charleston is virtually unknown today.

In a long career spanning from 1915 to 1954, Charleston played against, managed, befriended, and occasionally fought men such as Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Jesse Owens, Roy Campanella, and Branch Rickey. He displayed tremendous power, speed, and defensive instincts along with a fierce intelligence and commitment to his craft.
While Charleston never played in the Major Leagues, he was a trailblazer who became the first Black man to work as a scout for a Major League team when Branch Rickey hired him to evaluate players for the Dodgers. Charleston's combined record as a player, manager, and scout makes him the most accomplished figure in Black baseball history. His mastery of the quintessentially American sport under the conditions of segregation revealed what was possible for Black achievement, bringing hope to millions. Oscar Charleston introduces readers to one of America's greatest and most fascinating athletes.

Author: Jeremy Beer
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Published: 04/01/2021
Pages: 456
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.40lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.02d
ISBN13: 9781496224965
ISBN10: 1496224965
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | Sports
- Sports & Recreation | Baseball | History
- Social Science | Ethnic Studies | American | African American & Black Studies

About the Author
Jeremy Beer is a founding partner at American Philanthropic in Phoenix. He is the author of The Philanthropic Revolution: An Alternative History of American Charity, and his writing on sports, society, and culture has appeared in the Washington Post, National Review, First Things, and the Baseball Research Journal, among many other venues.