A Complete History of the Negro Leagues, 1884 to 1955 relates how black fans came to cherish their own heroes, why a trip to see a Negro league game was in itself a statement of racial pride, and why much of black culture was centered on the game of "blackball."For over fifty years - or up until that bright April day in 1947 when Jackie Robinson smashed the major leagues' color barrier - the only ball fields where an African-American could play organized baseball were the tarnished diamonds of the Negro baseball leagues. On these fields, men such as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, and John Henry Lloyd played for teams such as the Kansas City Monarchs, the Homestead Grays, the Chicago American Giants, and the Pittsburgh Crawfords. And for millions of black fans, these now-legendary names were what baseball was all about.