Bruce Adelson

The Montgomery County Council of PTAs honored me with the award of 2018 PTA President of the Year for my work and service as President, Winston Churchill H.S. PTSA.
Thank You!!

In his thoroughly-researched Brushing Back Jim Crow, author Bruce Adelson details the hardships many of these athletes faced–often in their own words–as they pursued their dreams of playing in the big leagues during the 1950s and early ’60s.

Players like Hank Aaron, Felipe Alou, Ruben Amaro, Don Buford, Manny Mota and Billy Williams recount in vivid detail the foul treatment they endured as minor leaguers, from segregated hotels, restaurants and grandstands to taunting and sometimes… Show more

In his thoroughly-researched Brushing Back Jim Crow, author Bruce Adelson details the hardships many of these athletes faced–often in their own words–as they pursued their dreams of playing in the big leagues during the 1950s and early ’60s.

Players like Hank Aaron, Felipe Alou, Ruben Amaro, Don Buford, Manny Mota and Billy Williams recount in vivid detail the foul treatment they endured as minor leaguers, from segregated hotels, restaurants and grandstands to taunting and sometimes demonstrative fans. Jackie Robinson’s influence is felt throughout the book, but having never played in the segregated southern leagues of the time, his plight is not discussed in great detail. (Robinson did, however, play in Dodgers’ exhibition games in the South.)

Adelson provides context for the baseball narrative by chronicling, year-by-year, the changing tide of American culture, singling out civil rights victories and the ways in which baseball often took a leading role in the struggle for integration. Minor league team owners, though, took a decidedly less-than-egalitarian approach toward integration. Black players meant more black patrons, which in turn meant higher profits.
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Library of Virginia Literary Award Winner

Finalist - The Seymour Medal

Starred Review


Even after Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947, segregation ruled the minor league circuits of the deep South, the backbone of organized baseball's player development system. Interracial competition was still banned, and black fans were barred from the grandstands and public facilities. Circuits such as the South Atlantic League, the Carolina League, the Texas League and many others would not be fully integrated until 1964, after a… Show more

Starred Review


Even after Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947, segregation ruled the minor league circuits of the deep South, the backbone of organized baseball's player development system. Interracial competition was still banned, and black fans were barred from the grandstands and public facilities. Circuits such as the South Atlantic League, the Carolina League, the Texas League and many others would not be fully integrated until 1964, after a combination of talented black players, economics (paying black fans thronged to root for their own) and local black boycotts forced even notoriously resistant leagues such as the Southern Association to integrate. Adelson's outstanding survey of the period examines the groundbreaking role of professional baseball, which paved the way for social mixing of blacks and whites and anticipated the victories of the NAACP and the civil rights movement that would soon follow (there's also an excellent account of legislative and judicial decisions throughout the 1950s and '60s). Most importantly, Adelson documents the moving experiences of such extraordinary men as Percy Miller, who integrated the Carolina League in 1951; future big leaguers Manny Mota and Felipe Alou; future Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Billy Williams; and visionary white owners, including Dave Burnett of the Texas League. Adelson's account of their struggles is much more than a good baseball book: it's a detailed history of how the struggle for integration and civil rights played out in the daily life of a profession that just happens to be the national pastime. (Mar.)
Reviewed on: 03/29/1999
Release date: 04/01/1999

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Special Achievement Award(s) for Sustained Superior Performance of Duty