The inspirational true story of a high school football coach who motivates and encourages ordinary kids from a handful of farming communities to do extraordinary things on the football field and in life.
This book tells the fun, quirky, story of a minor league baseball town in Louisiana that was the talk of the baseball world in the 1950s. Written by respected minor-league baseball historian Gaylon White, this book will be of interest to baseball and Louisiana historians alike.
There was a time when no town was too small to field a professional baseball team. In 1949, the high point for the minor leagues, there were 59 leagues and 464 cities with teams, two-thirds of them in so-called bush leagues classified as C and D. Most of the players were strangers outside the towns where they played, but some achieved hero status and enthralled local fans as much as the stars in the majors. Left on Base in the Bush Leagues: Le...
This book brings to light the story of a Negro League and Pacific Coast League star, his struggles to make it in the majors, and his crucial role in integrating baseball's premier minor league.Artie Wilson once was the best shortstop in baseball. In 1948 Artie led all of baseball with a .402 batting average for the Birmingham Black Barons, the last hitter in the top level of pro ball to hit .400. But during much of his career, Organized Baseba...
The Bilko Athletic Club is the story of the 1956 Los Angeles Angels, a team of castoffs and kids built around a bulky, beer-loving basher of home runs named Steve Bilko. The Angels compiled a 107-61 won-loss record, finishing sixteen games ahead of their closest competitor. That year, Bilko paced the Pacific Coast League in eight categories: home runs, batting average, runs batted in, hits, runs scored, walks, total bases, and slugging percent...
