Description
Book Synopsis One of the most prolific scouts in baseball history, Joe Cambria almost single-handedly saved the Washington Senators from ruin. Signing a stream of young players from Cuba--as many as 20 per season for three decades--he fed the team affordable talent and kept them competitive during World War II, when many front-liners went to the front lines. Cambria subverted baseball''s color line years before Jackie Robinson broke it, signing light-skinned Cubans--many of African descent--who could pass in the all-white Major Leagues. This first ever biography traces his memorable career, including the shady hiring practices and flamboyant deals that drew rulings from the bench of Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1. The American Dream
- 2. The 1920s: Blowing the Bugle
- 3. 1930–1935: From the Blue Ridge League to the NNL
- 4. 1935–1939: The Cuban Connection
- 5. 1940–1945: Washington at War
- 6. 1946–1949: When the Boys Came Back
- 7. 1950–1954: Keeping Them Competitive
- 8. 1955–1959: The Making of a Champion
- 9. 1960 and Beyond: A Career at Its Close
- 10. Griffith, Cambria, the Cubans and Race
- 11. The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
- Epilogue
- Appendix I: Selected Players Signed by Cambria
- Appendix II: Chronology of Cambria's Minor League Ownership
- Appendix III: The Latin Senators
- Chapter Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
