My Life in the Negro Leagues: An Autobiography by Wilmer Fields

Wilmer Fields was a superstar in the Negro Leagues, back when baseball was segregated. After Jackie Robinson broke the color line (as shown in this year’s hit film, “42”), Fields received five different offers to join white teams. But he loved the Negro Leagues and never left. After his retirement, he fought to get the Negro League players covered by Major League Baseball’s pension and health care benefits. This new edition of Fields’ memoir, with an introduction by baseball historian John Holway, features a new interview with Fields’ son, Billy, who had his own professional sports career in basketball. Fields tells the story of the “dream come true” that “allowed a black country boy” from Virginia to play the game he loved with teammates he admired and trusted. Fields tells his story, from college football to military service in WWII to hitting .427 in 1956 and being honored as one of the “Black legends of baseball” in 1990. He writes about players like the legendary Josh Gibson and Sam Hairston, who became a White Sox manager. He writes about the game itself, the qualities that make a team and the dedication that makes a world-class athlete.