John Tortes "Chief" Meyers


Book Description

One of major league baseball's first Native American stars, John Tortes "Chief" Meyers (1880-1971) was the hard-hitting, award-winning catcher for John McGraw's New York Giants from 1908 to 1915 and later for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He appeared in four World Series and remains heralded for his role as the trusted battery mate of legendary pitcher Christy Mathewson. Unlike other Native American players who eschewed their tribal identities to escape prejudice, Meyers--a member of the Santa Rosa Band of the Cahuilla Tribe of California--remained proud of his heritage and became a tribal leader after his major league career. This first full biography explores John Tortes Meyers's Cahuilla roots and early life, his year at Dartmouth College, his outstanding baseball career, his life after baseball, and his remarkable legacy.




Contenders


Book Description

The true story of John Meyers and Charles Bender, who in 1911 became the first two Native pro baseball players to face off in a World Series. This picture book teaches important lessons about resilience, doing what you love in the face of injustice, and the fight for Native American representation in sports. Charles Bender grew up on the White Earth Reservation in Northwestern Minnesota. John Meyers was raised on the Cahuilla reservation in Southern California. Despite their mutual respect for each other's talents and their shared dedication to Native representation in baseball, the media was determined to pit them against each other. However, they never gave up on their dreams of being pro baseball players and didn’t let the supposed rivalry created by the media or the racism they faced within the stadium stop them. They continued to break barriers and went on to play a combined total of nine championships. With text by Traci Sorell and illustrations by Arigon Starr that brings these two players to life, the stories of John Meyers and Charles Bender remain an inspiration for achieving and maintaining one’s dreams in the face of prejudice.




Stealing Games


Book Description

The 1911 New York Giants stole an astonishing 347 bases, a record that still stands more than a century later. That alone makes them special in baseball history, but as Maury Klein relates in Stealing Games they also embodied a rapidly changing America on the cusp of a faster, more frenetic pace of life dominated by machines, technology, and urban culture. Baseball, too, was evolving from the dead-ball to the live-ball era--the cork-centered ball was introduced in 1910 and structurally changed not only the outcome of individual games but the way the game itself was played, requiring upgraded equipment, new rules, and new ways of adjudicating. Changing performance also changed the relationship between management and players. The Giants had two stars--the brilliant manager John McGraw and aging pitcher Christy Mathewson--and memorable characters such as Rube Marquard and Fred Snodgrass; yet their speed and tenacity led to three pennants in a row starting in 1911. Stealing Games gives a great team its due and underscores once more the rich connection between sports and culture.




The Routledge History of American Sport


Book Description

The Routledge History of American Sport provides the first comprehensive overview of historical research in American sport from the early Colonial period to the present day. Considering sport through innovative themes and topics such as the business of sport, material culture and sport, the political uses of sport, and gender and sport, this text offers an interdisciplinary analysis of American leisure. Rather than moving chronologically through American history or considering the historical origins of each sport, these topics are dealt with organically within thematic chapters, emphasizing the influence of sport on American society. The volume is divided into eight thematic sections that include detailed original essays on particular facets of each theme. Focusing on how sport has influenced the history of women, minorities, politics, the media, and culture, these thematic chapters survey the major areas of debate and discussion. The volume offers a comprehensive view of the history of sport in America, pushing the field to consider new themes and approaches as well. Including a roster of contributors renowned in their fields of expertise, this ground-breaking collection is essential reading for all those interested in the history of American sport.




Native American Almanac


Book Description

Explore the vibrant Native American experience with this comprehensive and affordable historical overview of Indigenous communities and Native American life! The impact of early encounters, past policies, treaties, wars, and prejudices toward America’s Indigenous peoples is a legacy that continues to mark America. The history of the United States and Native Americans are intertwined. Agriculture, place names, and language have all been influenced by Native American culture. The stories and history of pre- and post-colonial Tribal Nations and peoples continue to resonate and informs the geographical boundaries, laws, language and modern life. From ancient rock drawings to today’s urban living, the Native American Almanac: More than 50,000 Years of the Cultures and Histories of Indigenous Peoples traces the rich heritage of indigenous people. It is a fascinating mix of biography, pre-contact and post-contact history, current events, Tribal Nations’ histories, enlightening insights on environmental and land issues, arts, treaties, languages, education, movements, and more. Ten regional chapters, including urban living, cover the narrative history, the communities, land, environment, important figures, and backgrounds of each area’s Tribal Nations and peoples. The stories of 345 Tribal Nations, biographies of 400 influential figures in all walks of life, Native American firsts, awards, and statistics are covered. 150 photographs and illustrations bring the text to life. The most complete and affordable single-volume reference work about Native American culture available today, the Native American Almanac is a unique and valuable resource devoted to illustrating, demystifying, and celebrating the moving, sometimes difficult, and often lost history of the indigenous people of America. Capturing the stories and voices of the American Indian of yesterday and today, it provides a range of information on Native American history, society, and culture. A must have for anyone interested in our America’s rich history!




The Golden Game


Book Description

The Golden Game presents in words and pictures 150 years of baseball history, from sandlot ball in the 1850s and the Pacific Coast League to the western arrival of the Dodgers, Giants, Angels, Athletics, and Padres. Here is a stirring, colorfully written narrative about the state that has been the birthplace and proving ground for more Major Leaguers than any other, including Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and Jackie Robinson. Blending U.S. and California history as a backdrop to a narrative rich with anecdotes, The Golden Game reveals the significant impact that California has had on baseball history. Written not just for Californians but for all baseball fans, The Golden Game goes beyond its geographic boundaries to tell the fascinating saga of California baseball and how it has indelibly shaped the national pastime.




The American Indian Integration of Baseball


Book Description

For many the entry of Jackie Robinson into Major League Baseball in 1947 marked the beginning of integration in professional baseball, but the entry of American Indians into the game during the previous half-century and the persistent racism directed toward them is not as well known. From the time that Louis Sockalexis stepped onto a Major League Baseball field in 1897, American Indians have had a presence in professional baseball. Unfortunately, it has not always been welcomed or respected, and Native athletes have faced racist stereotypes, foul epithets, and abuse from fans and players throughout their careers. The American Indian Integration of Baseball describes the experiences and contributions of American Indians as they courageously tried to make their place in America?s national game during the first half of the twentieth century. Jeffrey Powers-Beck provides biographical profiles of forgotten Native players such as Elijah Pinnance, George Johnson, Louis Leroy, and Moses Yellow Horse, along with profiles of better-known athletes such as Jim Thorpe, Charles Albert Bender, and John Tortes Meyers. Combining analysis of popular-press accounts with records from boarding schools for Native youth, where baseball was used as a tool of assimilation, Powers-Beck shows how American Indians battled discrimination and racism to integrate American baseball.




The Great Baseball Players from McGraw to Mantle


Book Description

Offers photographs and biographical portraits of such great baseball players as Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra




Connie Mack's First Dynasty


Book Description

More than a century ago, the Philadelphia Athletics enjoyed a glorious five-season run under legendary manager Connie Mack, winning three World Series and four pennants from 1910 through 1914. A's stars such as Hall of Famers Eddie Plank, Eddie Collins, Albert "Chief" Bender and Frank "Home Run" Baker are well known among baseball aficionados--and this book reveals more about their lives and careers. Mack's pivotal role in founding the team and building it into a successful franchise--before he shocked the sports world by dismantling it--is covered, along with the advent of the all-but-forgotten Federal League.




J.L. Wilkinson and the Kansas City Monarchs


Book Description

Baseball pioneer J. L. Wilkinson (1878-1964) was the owner and founder, in 1920, of the famed Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues. The only white owner in the Negro National League (NNL), Wilkinson earned a reputation for treating players with fairness and respect. He began his career in Iowa as a player, later organizing a traveling women's team in 1908 and the multiracial All-Nations club in 1912. He led the Monarchs to two Negro Leagues World Series championships and numerous pennants in the NNL and the Negro American League. During the Depression he developed an ingenious portable lighting system for night games, credited with saving black baseball. He resurrected the career of legendary pitcher Satchel Paige in 1938 and in 1945 signed a rookie named Jackie Robinson to the Monarchs. Wilkinson was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006, joining 14 Monarchs players.




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