Agate Type

a note from cesar sostre

Cesar Sostre has written a couple of notes to me in response to my post about his father, Francisco Sostre, the 1940s pitcher:

“Thank you for writing that wonderful article on my father. I never saw my father pitch in his heyday since I was born in 1949, but I did see him pitch in the army when he was old and out of shape. He still had amazing ability and an imposing fork ball (split finger fastball in modern terminology). I inherited some of his baseball genes, having a brief baseball career in the San Francisco Giants organization in the late sixties. I was also a pitcher. The street named Francisco Sostre in Yabucoa was named after his father (my great grandfather), who was mayor of Yabucoa. Thanks again for the article.”

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“I was amazed at the accuracy of your article—congratulations. By the way, you were correct in surmising that my father was white. In those days, Hispanics and Blacks were all considered black. My father played with many black players in the Puerto Rican winter league such as Josh Gibson and Willard Brown. The first Puerto Rican signed to a major league contract was Hiram Bithorn and ironically, my father considered him a minor talent. Everything is timing and it seems my father was born a little too early!”

—Cesar Francisco Sostre

 

sol white’s official base ball guide

I’m pleased to announce the publication of a new edition of Sol White’s Official Base Ball Guide, with an introduction and notes by yours truly. This pamphlet, packed with photos and tiny print, was originally published in 1907 and sold at Philadelphia Giants games. It was the first book devoted solely to black professional baseball, and remained the only one for more than 60 years. To this day it’s one of only a handful of books on nineteenth-century black baseball.

My introduction goes over Sol White’s life and career, adding some to what’s been published about him. I’ve also written some brief notes on the players, managers, and owners who are pictured in the book’s photos, and identified the players in several of the team photos.

The publisher is Summer Game Books. It's currently available through them directly, as well as Amazon.com and Smashwords, and should be on several other platforms eventually. You will also be able to order a print copy by April 25.