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Andrew ''Rube'' Foster, A Harvest on Freedom's Fields
Andrew ''Rube'' Foster A Harvest on Freedom's Fields Author:Phil S. Dixon "From the bestselling author of the Negro Baseball Leagues, A Photographic History, 1867-1955, is — the defi nitive biography on the career of an outstanding baseball pitcher, manager and President of — the Negro National League. — Andrew ?Rube? Foster, is in a class all to himself as an architect of race relations and social progress in — American ... more »baseball. His most lasting legacy was the founding of the Negro National League in 1920,
which provided opportunities for an entire generation of African-American athletes. Although there
were few opportunities when he was in his youth, Foster, the son of a former slave, sought success on
baseball fi elds throughout the South with the Waco Yellow Jackets of Texas. Leaving Texas, in 1902
he arrived in Chicago where two African-American men, Frank C. Leland and William S. Peters, had
already achieved some of the things Foster had dreamed of doing himself. They were operating their
own teams, hiring talented players and turning a profi t on their labor. But Foster did not perform
well in Chicago, his greatest success as a pitcher was achieved in the East during the summers of
1903 to 1906.
Although revered as a stern task master, Foster had great charisma with players and fans. In 1907 he
returned to Chicago, this time as manager of Frank C. Leland?s team, the Chicago Leland Giants.
Having won many historic victories Chicago?s Leland Giants symbolized economic equality, inspired
social change and provoked African-American pride.
Based on twenty years of research, Andrew ?Rube? Foster, A Harvest on Freedom?s Fields, is an
inspiring story of an enduring fi gure and the many individuals who inspired his success on baseball