JOHNSON CITY - "In this book Professor Powers-Beck
presents the most extensive compilation of Indian baseball players and related
information ever assembled," Joseph B. Oxendine writes in his foreword
to The American Indian Integration of Baseball, a new book by Dr. Jeffrey
Powers-Beck at East Tennessee State University. "This book is about
Indians in organized baseball at all levels, not just the Major Leagues."
Recently published by the University of Nebraska Press, The American Indian
Integration of Baseball is the second book written by Powers-Beck, a professor
of English who became assistant dean of ETSU's School of Graduate Studies
in the spring of 2004.
"Reading this book is a genuine treat not only for the baseball fan
but for those persons interested in the personal struggles of Indians in
the non-Indian world. It is well crafted and reveals a keen understanding
of the subtleties of the baseball world and a sensitivity to the Indian
personality," according to Oxendine, author of American Indian Sports
Heritage and himself a Lumbee from North Carolina.
Preceding Jackie Robinson's entry into Major League Baseball by a half-century,
Louis Sockalexis, of Penobscot lineage, debuted in the big leagues in 1897,
and American Indians have had a presence in professional baseball ever since.
But, as outlined on the new book's dust jacket, that presence "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," and this book "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."
Simply put, this work is the first book on the subject. Until Powers-Beck,
no one had written a book-length study of the American Indian integration
of baseball. "It tells many stories that have never been told about
baseball in the federal boarding schools for American Indians, such as Carlisle
Indian School in Pennsylvania and Haskell Institute of Lawrence, Kansas,"
said Powers-Beck.
"The book documents the lives of many forgotten Indian players, including
Elijah Pinnance, the first full-blooded American Indian to play Major League
Baseball; Louis Leroy, a minor league legend who played in the big leagues
with Boston and New York; George Howard Johnson, a talented spitball pitcher
for the Cincinnati Reds; and Moses Yellow Horse, one of the most exciting
players of the 1920s," according to Powers-Beck, whose work also contains
the "first history of the Nebraska Indians, the successful semi-pro
Indian team that barnstormed across the nation early in the 20th century."
Royse Parr, a Cherokee from Oklahoma and a member of the Society for American
Baseball Research (SABR), has nominated The American Indian Integration
of Baseball for that organization's Seymour Medal. Named for the late baseball
historian Dr. Harold Seymour and his wife, Dorothy, the Seymour Medal is
awarded annually to honor the best book of baseball history or biography
published during the preceding calendar year.
Describing the book as a "monumental work" in his nomination,
Parr writes: "An article in The Boston Globe last August states that
Seattle Mariner rookie pitcher Bobby Madritsch was believed to be only the
ninth Indian ever in the Majors. During the period 1897-1945, Powers-Beck
lists 47 Major League players by tribe and another 85 with suspected Indian
ancestry. As a result of meticulous research, this listing is now available
for other SABR researchers to seek and discover fascinating life stories
of these Indian baseball pioneers and those who have more recently followed
them."
Powers-Beck, who earned Ph.D. and M.A. degrees from Indiana University at
Bloomington and was awarded a bachelor of arts with highest distinction
(Phi Beta Kappa) at the University of Iowa, came to ETSU in 1993. He is
a graduate faculty member, has served as director of the ETSU Writing-Across-the
Curriculum Program, and has chaired the Instructional Development Committee.
In addition to his 1998 book, Writing the Flesh: The Herbert Family Dialogue,
Powers-Beck is the editor of a book entitled Elizabeth Major, Printed Writings
1641-1700 (Early Modern Englishwoman Series) and has written numerous articles,
book chapters, notes and reference articles, reviews, and conference papers.
His teaching interests include English Renaissance literature, lyric poetry,
Milton, the Bible as Literature, literary theory and criticism, and composition.
Powers-Beck has also designed and taught a variety of courses in English
at ETSU and previously at Indiana University-Bloomington.
The son of Arnold J. Beck and Jacqueline Beck of Iowa City, Iowa, Professor
Powers-Beck dedicated the new book to his twin brother and "double
play partner," Brian J. Beck, who is an attorney in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
For more information about the new book or its availability at bookstores
or through the University of Nebraska Press, contact Dr. Jeffrey Powers-Beck
at (423) 439-8638.
