T his book of baseball history is unique. It is the first one devoted entirely to those players and teams who played baseball outside so-called Organized Baseball—that is, the professional major and minor leagues—up to World War II. For baseball may be likened to a large house containing many rooms occupied by a wide variety of baseball tenants—college players, members of the armed forces, industrial players, semipros, blacks, women, Indians, town team players, and softballers. Five chapters are devoted to blacks before segregation compelled them to form their own professional leagues. The story of women has also required an equal number of chapters. Organized Baseball is mentioned only incidentally,.
