In recent years baseball has recognized the talents of many black players who spent their entire careers in the Negro leagues. But the men who covered these stars, the black sportswriters whose eloquent, persistent, and occasionally bitter words helped spur the integration of the major leagues, have received little recognition.The eight men represented here (Sam Lacy, Wendell Smith, Frank A. Young, Joe Bostic, Chester L. Washington, W. Rollo Wilson, Dan Burley and Ed Harris) were pioneers in their own right. Writing for black weekly newspapers, they faced the same conditions as the leagues' players, from discrimination to endless travel. Yet it was through their writings that the public, both black and white, learned of the hitting exploits of Josh Gibson and the pitching feats of Satchel Paige.

Included is a brief biography of each writer that helps put his work into a historical context.