The Negro Southern League: A Review

cover of The Negro Southern League

There are a lot of books on the Negro Leagues. As with any topic, a number of them are good and a number are garbage. Most deal with either teams or players while few look at a league. One of the better to look at an individual league is The Negro Southern League written by William J. Plott, a SABR member.

Published in 2015, Plott’s work traces the history of the Negro Southern League from its beginning in 1920 through its demise in 1951. His format is to look at the league on a yearly basis, occasionally lumping a few years together into one chapter (especially those years when the Black Barons barely operated). The chapters give information on teams, players, and work in some play-by-play information. From the beginning, Plott admits that game information is spotty and statistical information is hit and miss. Beyond the yearly information, the author provides information on champions, playoffs, and no hitters in an appendix and finishes with a set of team rosters of each team. Some of the rosters are quite complete, others sketchy.

All in all this is a book worth having if you’re interested in Negro League baseball, especially at the minor league level (yes, there were Negro Minor Leagues). The book was published by McFarland and Co. and is available from Amazon, is 276 pages long, and retails for $39.95 in paperback.

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