Wow! eBook
The Page Fence Giants: A History of Black Baseball's Pioneering Champions
Author(s): Mitch Lutzke (Author)
- Publisher: McFarland & Company
- Publication Date: April 20, 2018
- Edition: Illustrated
- Language: English
- Print length: 274 pages
- ISBN-10: 1476671656
- ISBN-13: 9781476671659
Book Description
The Page Fence Giants, an all-star black baseball club sponsored by a woven-wire fence company in Adrian, Michigan, graced the diamond in the 1890s. Formed through a partnership between black and white boosters, the team’s respectable four-year run was an early integration success–before integration was phased out decades ahead of Jackie Robinson’s 1947 debut, and the growing Jim Crow sentiment blocked the Page Fence Giant’s best talent from the major leagues. This book tells the the story of a long-ignored team at the close of the 19th century, whose Hall of Famer second baseman Sol White was but one of their best players.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“The book will interest local historians and dedicated fans of the history of minor league ball…recommended”―Choice; “extraordinarily informative…an exceptionally impressive and unique history…recommended”―Midwest Book Review; “a precise detailed account…makes many original and the significant contributions to the lore of the club and to blackball history in general. Lutzke clearly did his homework…well-researched and referenced…a heartfelt testament to an exceptional, though long forgotten, outfit. Lutzke’s tour-de-force is the very complete history of a nineteenth century black ball club, and a welcome addition to McFarland’s ever growing canon of Negro League team chronicles”―The Inside Game (SABR Deadball Era Committee Newsletter); “the author has done an impressive amount of research and written a fascinating story of a little-known chapter in the history of baseball”―Michigan in Books.
About the Author
Mitch Lutzke was an award-winning radio reporter before beginning his second career as a high school history teacher and coach in Michigan. He has had history themed articles published in newspapers, magazines, web pages and with SABR. He lives in Williamston, Michigan.
