Bud Fowler - by Jeffrey Michael Laing (Paperback)

About the Book

"This is the biography of Bud Fowler (ne John Jackson), the first African American to play in organized baseball, and the longest tenured at the time that the color line was drawn"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

This is the biography of Bud Fowler (ne John Jackson), the first African American to play in organized baseball, and the longest tenured at the time that the color line was drawn. In addition to his professional playing career, which lasted more than 25 years, Fowler was a scout, organizer, owner, and promoter of touring black baseball clubs--including the legendary Page Fence Giants--in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Emphasizing the social and cultural contexts for Fowler's accomplishments on and off the baseball diamond, and his prominence within the history and development of the national pastime, the text builds a convincing case for Fowler as one of the great pioneering figures of the early game.

Review Quotes

"an interesting read...well written...Laing has done a great job of ferreting out the details of Fowler's life...[He makes] his case in a convincing fashion that Fowler was truly a pioneering figure not only in the history of African American baseball but in the overall history of baseball...this book does an excellent job at making a case for Bud Fowler for inclusion into the National Baseball Hall of Fame-Nine; "the text builds a convincing case for Fowler as one of the great pioneering figures of the early game"-The Courier; "A very well-researched book that will fill a significant gap."-Peter Morris, author of Game of Inches.

About the Author

The late Jeffrey Michael Laing was a retired English teacher. He lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico.