I have been an avid baseball fan and lived in NH since I was five and I never knew about this story. Great link
Wow- that's kind of cool, to see this link on Sportsfilter. I was also a NH native growing up, and my dad used to announce the Pirates/Angels games on the radio back when those minor league franchises played there. I remember watching many a game sitting up in the press box as a child, keeping score on a spare score sheet. I even remember meeting the legendary Sam Horn, for whom the infamous "Sons of Sam Horn" messageboard was named, because the Red Sox farm team would come through on occasion. Had no idea about the "first integrated team" aspect of Holman stadium- kind of surprised that lily-white NH would have that distinction!!!
I vaguely remember Campanella in the 50s.(Probably because the grownups were talking about his terrible disability).What the article reminded me of was how far we have come as a nation. It also remonds that we have a long way to go to fully reach our potential.
This is an awesome article. It really punctuates how collaborative an effort full integration of baseball was. Rickey and Robinson get most of the headlines, but guys like Newcombe and Campy faced their own roadblocks and challenges, and would not have made it if the attitudes of the Bavasis and Alstons had been less than accepting. Thanks, Howard.
