In 1947, major league baseball experienced its first measure of integration when the Brooklyn Dodgers brought Jackie Robinson to the National League. While Robinson's breakthrough opened the gates of opportunity for African Americans and other minority players, the process of integration proved slow and uneven. It was not until the 1960s that a handful of major league teams began to boast more than a few Black and Latino players. But the 1971 World Championship team enjoyed a full and complete level of integration, with half of its 25-man roster comprised of players of African American and Latino descent. That team was the Pittsburgh Pirates, managed by an old-time Irishman. In The Team That Changed Baseball: Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates, veteran baseball writer Bruce Markusen tells the story of one of the most likable and significant teams in the history of professional sports. In addition to the fact that they fielded the first all-minority lineup in major league history, the 1971 Pirates are noteworthy for the team's inspiring individual performances, including those of future Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, and Bill Mazeroski, and their remarkable World Series victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles. But perhaps their greatest legacy is the team's influence on the future of baseball, inspiring later championship teams such as the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics to open their doors fully to all talented players, regardless of race, particularly in the new era of free agency.

Team That Changed Baseball, The

History

Bruce Markusen

Americas

Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio

Roberto Clemente: The Great One

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

Sports Publishing, LLC

Tales from the Mets Dugout

<p>Markusen tells tales about the many fascinating teams of one of the most colorful franchises in Major League Baseball, as well as stories about dozens of memorable New York Mets personalities.</p>

Sports & Outdoors

Baseball

<p>The winner of the Society of American Baseball Research's Seymour Medal as the best book of 1998, this revised edition of "Baseball's Last Dynasty" now contains added interviews with stars Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Joe Rudi, Gene Tenace, and John "Blue Moon" Odom. Other new material includes updated and expanded accounts from the raucous 1972 regular season and World Series, year-by-year statistical summaries of Oakland's dynastic run, and news-making headlines from the turbulent 1970s. Here is the full and complete story of the team known as the "Mustache Gang."</p>

A Baseball Dynasty: Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's

St Johann Pr

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bruce Markusen. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Bruce Markusen