Pitching for the Stars : My Seasons Across the Color Line

Sullivan, Kathleen, Craft, Jerry

ISBN 10: 0896727874 / ISBN 13: 9780896727878

Published by Texas Tech University Press, 2013

About this Item

Former library copy. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.

Seller Inventory # 16275906-75

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Pitching for the Stars : My Seasons Across the Color Line
• Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0896727874
• ISBN 13: 9780896727878
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: Very Good
• Weight: 0.772 pounds

About this title

Synopsis

In early summer 1959, Texas Tech senior Jerry Craft was planning to stay home on the family ranch when Carl Sedberry, a semipro baseball manager, phoned, asking him to try out for his club. Craft had never heard of the Wichita Falls/Graham Stars, but they needed a pitcher, and Craft was surprised and persuaded by their offer to pay $75 per game. Craft was in for an even bigger surprise when he reported to Spudder Park and realized that Mr. Sedberry was recruiting him for the West Texas Colored League.No one―least of all Craft―could know for sure what would happen when the League’s first white pitcher took the mound that summer day. But as Mr. Sedberry’s wisdom prevailed, the Stars and their white teammate pulled together to play a game they loved. Craft would pitch two seasons for the Stars. As they made history Craft and his teammates would learn much from Mr. Sedberry and each other about sports and life, and share experiences that would change them forever.Looking back on those years before the Civil Rights movement, when baseball was still very much a segregated game in a segregated society, Craft relates an unlikely story of respect, character, humor, and ultimately friendship.

About the Authors

Jerry Craft, rancher and former mayor of Jacksboro, Texas, was the first white man to play in the West Texas Colored League, during the summers of 1959 and 1960. A Pioneer in the national cable television industry, he operates ranches in Texas and New Mexico. He lives in Jacksboro, Texas.

Kathleen Sullivan has taught at the University of Texas at Arlington and Southern Methodist University. A member of the Sport Literature Association and the Society for American Baseball Research, she is tha author of Women Characters in Baseball Literature: A Critical Study. She lives in Arlington, Texas.