Here is an eye-opening look at one of baseball's most intriguing and little known stories: the many-faceted relationship between Jews and black baseball in Jim Crow America. In Out of Left Field, Rebecca Alpert explores how Jewish sports entrepreneurs, political radicals, and a team of black Jews from Belleville, Virginia called the Belleville Grays--the only Jewish team in the history of black baseball--made their mark on the segregated world of the Negro Leagues. Through in-depth research, Alpert tells the stories of the Jewish businessmen who owned and promoted teams as they both acted out and fell victim to pervasive stereotypes of Jews as greedy middlemen and hucksters. Some Jewish owners produced a kind of comedy baseball, akin to basketball's Harlem Globetrotters--indeed, Globetrotters owner Abe Saperstein was very active in black baseball--that reaped financial benefits for both owners and players but also played upon the worst stereotypes of African Americans and prevented these black "showmen" from being taken seriously by the major leagues. But Alpert also shows how Jewish entrepreneurs, motivated in part by the traditional Jewish commitment to social justice, helped grow the business of black baseball in the face of the oppressive Jim Crow restrictions, and how radical journalists writing for the Communist Daily Worker argued passionately for an end to baseball's segregation. In fact, the campaign to convince manager Branch Rickey to integrate the Brooklyn Dodgers was initiated by Daily Worker sports writer Bill Mardo, in an open letter in the paper. Deftly written and meticulously researched, Out of Left Field offers a unique perspective on the economic and social negotiations between blacks and Jews in the first half of the 20th century, shedding new light on the intersection of race, religion, and sports in America.

Out of Left Field: Jews and Black Baseball

History

Alpert, Rebecca T.

Americas

Oxford University Press

This substantially revised and updated edition of the 1985 classic is ideal for everyone who wants to know more about Judaism. Whether you are a long-time participant in the Jewish community, a newcomer or someone who has struggled to find a home in Jewish life, this introduction to Jewish thought and practice from a Reconstructionist perspective will offer inspiration and guidance. From Kaplan's belief through contemporary innovations, this engaging text explores Reconstructionist views on God, ethics, Zionism, spirituality, text study, Tikkun Olam, life cycle ritual, intermarriage, gay and lesbian issues... and more! A must-read.

Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach

Religion & Spirituality

Staub, Jacob J.

Judaism

Reconstructionist Press

This substantially revised and updated edition of the 1985 classic is ideal for everyone who wants to know more about Judaism. Whether you are a long-time participant in the Jewish community, a newcomer or someone who has struggled to find a home in Jewish life, this introduction to Jewish thought and practice from a Reconstructionist perspective will offer inspiration and guidance. From Kaplan's belief through contemporary innovations, this engaging text explores Reconstructionist views on God, ethics, Zionism, spirituality, text study, Tikkun Olam, life cycle ritual, intermarriage, gay and lesbian issues... and more! A must-read.

Children's Books

Education & Reference

The Reconstructionist Press

Rabbi Rebecca Alpert is a leading voice in progressive Judaism. A crusader for reform within the Jewish community, she was one of the first women in Jewish history to be ordained a rabbi. Alpert is a celebrated teacher, an expert on Jewish American religious history, and a key public advocate for progressive social issues in contemporary Jewish life.
In Whose Torah?, Alpert sketches a compelling portrait of the progressive values that belong to the core of Judaism today. Reaching deeply into the sources of Jewish tradition, she highlights with unflinching moral clarity the textual basis for a truly just vision of life for all who care about sexual, economic, and racial justice and for those who would oppose all forms of discrimination, unjust war, and the destruction of the environment. Alpert also carefully considers what it means to be Jewish in contemporary America—offering both a passionate and deeply learned defense of progressive Jewish identity.
Whose Torah? will be an essential intellectual resource for progressive Jews and for anyone searching for the religious underpinnings of contemporary progressive politics.
Elaine Pagels, Harrington Spear Paine Foundation Professor of Religion at Princeton University, is the author of numerous, widely acclaimed books on Gnosticism and early Christianity, including The Gnostic Gospels, Beyond Belief, and Reading Judas.

Whose Torah?: A Concise Guide to Progressive Judaism (Whose Religion?)

World

The New Press

The comprehensive story of baseball in Philadelphia and the surrounding area, from the early formation of the National Association, through the shipyard leagues and Little League, all the way to the major league Athletics and Phillies. Includes all the articles found in the summer 2013 print issue of The National Pastime (vol. 43) as well as all the articles included in the unabridged digital issue. From The National Pastime, Volume 43, Print Edition Prelude to the Formation of the American Association by Brock Helander The Jefferson Street Ball Parks (1864–91) by Jerrold Casway Philadelphia—October 1866: The Center of the Baseball Universe by Jeff Laing Did New York Steal the Championship of 1867 from Philadelphia? by Richard Hershberger Mundell’s Solar Tips: The Intersection of Amateur, Trade, Professional, and Major League Baseball in Philadelphia by Paul Browne Tuck Turner’s Magical 1894 Phillies Season, Or, Whatever Happen to Tuck? by Peter Mancuso Columbia Park II: Philadelphia American League (1901–08) by Ron Selter The Long Way To Philadelphia: The Strange Route Leading Rube Waddell To Join The Philadelphia Athletics by Joe Niese The Strangest Month in the Strange Career of Rube Waddell by Steven A. King Tim Hurst’s Last Call by Rick Huhn The Delaware River Shipbuilding League, 1918 by Jim Leeke Harry Passon: Philadelphia Baseball Entrepreneur by Rebecca T. Alpert The Real Jimmie Foxx by Bill Jenkinson The Day Ted Williams Became the Last .400 Hitter in Baseball by Bill Nowlin The Philadelphia Phillies’ 1943 Spring Training by James D. Szalontai Eddie Waitkus and The Natural: What Is Assumption? What Is Fact? by Rob Edelman Phillies Bonus Babies, 1953–57 by Sam Zygner Tom Qualters’s Amazing 1954 Season for the Philadelphia Phillies by Stephen D. Boren MD, FACEP 1964 Phillies, Fans, and Media by Andrew Milner Dick Allen’s Second Act by Mitch Nathanson Fan Perspectives on Race and Baseball in the City of Brotherly Love by Jen McGovern From The National Pastime, Volume 43, Unabridged Digital Edition Connie Mack by Doug Skipper The Early Years of Philadelphia Baseball by Rich Westcott Philadelphia Phillies by Rich Westcott William T. Stecher: Ignominious Record Holder, Community Servant by Jonathan Frankel Baseball’s Deadliest Disaster: “Black Saturday” in Philadelphia by Robert D. Warrington The Great Philadelphia Ballpark Riot by Robert D. Warrington Dropping the Pitch by Barbara Gregorich Connie Mack’s Second Great Athletics Team by Bryan Soderholm-Difatte The 1929 Mack Attack by Jimmy Keenan Black Tuesday by David Jordan A Phil Named Syl by Matthew Clifford Connie Mack and Wartime Baseball—1943 by Norman Macht The Sultan of Slap and Run by Francis Kinlaw Kids Snatch a Flag by Francis Kinlaw A Final Season: The 1954 Philadelphia Athletics Finish Eighth, 60 Games Back by Thomas E. Van Hyning Handy in a Pinch: Dave Philley by Cort Vitty Philadelphia Area Teams that Have Participated in the Little League World Series by Mark Kanter Mitch Williams’ Amazing Month: Eight Wins Out of the Bullpen by Bob Bogart Pitch Perfect: Reexamining Brad Lidge’s Performance in 2008 Using Win Probabilities Added and Leverage Index by Jim Sweetman Philadelphia’s Other Hall of Famers by Steven Glassman Contributors

From Swampoodle to South Philly: Baseball in Philadelphia & the Delaware Valley (The National Pastime)

Sports & Outdoors

Edelman, Rob

Nowlin, Bill

Casway, Jerrold

Nathanson, Mitchell

Szalontai, James D.

Niese, Joe

Levin Editor, Morris

Boren MD, Stephen D.

Mancuso, Peter

Baseball

Society for American Baseball Research

Biographies and a season summary of the Negro League champion Philadelphia Stars\nIn 1934, Ed Bolden’s Philadelphia Stars joined the new Negro National League II (NNL2), which had been founded one year earlier. After fending off their intrastate-rivals, the Pittsburgh Crawfords, the Stars claimed the NNL2’s second-half championship and faced the first-half champions for the title. They defeated the Chicago American Giants to claim the NNL2 crown. 
Over two dozen SABR members researched the Stars’ history for this book, which includes biographies of as many of the team’s players as possible, even those who participated in only a single game. The 1934 Stars featured future Hall of Famers Raleigh “Biz” Mackey and Jud Wilson; stalwarts like Phil Cockrell, Webster McDonald, and Chaney White; shooting star Stewart “Slim” Jones; and temporary fill-ins like Frederick Coleman and Clifford “Whip” Irons. 
Majority owner Ed Bolden, a vital figure in the history of Philadelphia baseball, and minority owner/booking agent Eddie Gottlieb—who is better known to basketball fans—are both featured, as well, along with the history of the Stars’ home ballpark in 1934, Passon Field, named after another prominent local baseball entrepreneur. Also included is a complete season timeline, articles about select games such as the epic September 9 Satchel Paige-Slim Jones pitching duel at Yankee Stadium, and a comprehensive write-up of the NNL2 championship series complete this portrait of the 1934 title-winning team.

The Stars Shone on Philadelphia: The 1934 Negro National League Champions (Champions of Black Baseball)

Biographies & Memoirs

Heaphy, Leslie

Bush, Frederick C.

Bogovich, Richard

Gripshover, Margaret M.

Smith, Courtney Michelle

Hurd, Jay

Community & Culture

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