"In the early 1940s, Coach William Carson 'Nemo' Herrera led the Voks of San Antonio's Sidney Lanier high school to two state championships, but not everyone was congratulating the team, in part because it was dominated by Mexicna-Americans. Histrian Ignacio M. Garcia traces hostilities toward the team back to 1939, when the Voks unexpectedly won the city championship against Brackenridge High School eagles." --The Statesman"When Mexicans Could Play Ball is as much a history of San Antonio as it is about the winning teams. García examines the school and the West Side against the backdrop of the massive deportations of the 1920s and '30s in a community expected to become more Americanized as it battled a society that didn't treat its residents equally."--The San Antonio Express"The first sports book to look at Mexican American basketball specifically, When Mexicans Could Play Ball is also a revealing study of racism and cultural identity formation in Texas. García investigates the school administrators' project to Americanize the students, Herrera's skillful coaching, and the team's rise to victory despite discrimination and violence from other teams and the world outside of the school. Ultimately, García argues, through their participation and success in basketball at Lanier, the Voks players not only learned how to be American but also taught their white counterparts to question long-held assumptions about Mexican Americans.

"--Project Spurs"Above all, When Mexicans Could Play Ball is a basketball story and Garcia is at his best when writing about Lanier's on-court highs and lows. His background as a sportswriter (and a Lanier High graduate of the 1960s) brings life and passion to every jump shot and drive to the hoop."--Texas Books in Review.