Neil Lanctot

Last updated
Neil Lanctot
Born Woonsocket, Rhode Island, U.S.
OccupationHistorian, author
GenreHistory
Notable worksNegro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution (2004)
Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella (2011)
Website
neillanctot.com

Neil Lanctot (born 1966) is an American historian and author. Two of his books, Negro League Baseball and Campy, were finalists for the Casey Award while the former won the Seymour Medal.

Contents

Early life

Lanctot was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1987 with a B.A. in English. He subsequently earned an M.A. in American History from Temple University in 1992 and a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware in 2002.

Career

Lanctot's first book, Fair Dealing and Clean Playing: The Hilldale Club and the Development of Black Professional Baseball, 1910-1932, was published by McFarland and Company in 1994. In 2007, Syracuse University Press released a paperback edition.

His second book, Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution, appeared in 2004 and received critical acclaim from numerous publications, including the front cover of the Sunday New York Times Book Review. [1]

The book was hailed by the New York Times as “prodigiously researched" and “enormously important."

In March 2011, his third book, Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella, was published by Simon & Schuster. The book was the first to uncover the true story behind Roy Campanella's near fatal car accident in 1958 and his rocky relationship with Brooklyn Dodger great Jackie Robinson. Campy received positive reviews from the Los Angeles Times , [2] Publishers Weekly , [3] Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , [4] and several other publications upon its release.

In a review by The Washington Independent Review of Books, Bob Luke writes that "Lanctot brings to light a man whose life reached the highest highs and the lowest lows, telling well the story of a remarkable ball player whose career has not had the recognition it deserves. It’s an important story told with ease and authority." [5]

In late 2021, Lanctot’s fourth book, The Approaching Storm, was published by Penguin Random House to critical acclaim. The book explores America's path to involvement in World War I. In April 2022, the American Society of Journalists and Authors selected The Approaching Storm as the best biography of 2021. [6]

Published works

Lanctot's writing has appeared in publications such as Smithsonian Magazine, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun, and several other journals and anthologies.

Awards

Related Research Articles

The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in 1920 that are sometimes termed "Negro Major Leagues".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Campanella</span> American baseball player (1921–1993)

Roy Campanella, nicknamed "Campy", was an American professional baseball player, primarily as a catcher. The Philadelphia native played in the Negro leagues and Mexican League for nine years before entering the minor leagues in 1946. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 1948 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, for whom he played until 1957. His playing career ended when he was paralyzed in an automobile accident in January of 1958. He is considered one of the greatest catchers in the history of the game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society for American Baseball Research</span> American baseball research organization

The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball, primarily through the use of statistics. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on August 10, 1971, at a meeting of 16 “statistorians” coordinated by sportswriter Bob Davids. The organization now reports a membership of over 7,500 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.

The American Negro League (ANL) was one of several Negro leagues established during the period in the United States in which organized baseball was segregated. The ANL operated on the East Coast of the United States in 1929.

The color line, also known as the color barrier, in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Major League Baseball and its affiliated Minor Leagues until 1947. Racial segregation in professional baseball was sometimes called a gentlemen's agreement, meaning a tacit understanding, as there was no written policy at the highest level of organized baseball, the major leagues. A high minor league's vote in 1887 against allowing new contracts with black players within its league sent a powerful signal that eventually led to the disappearance of blacks from the sport's other minor leagues later that century, including the low minors. After the line was in virtually full effect in the early 20th century, many black baseball clubs were established, especially during the 1920s to 1940s when there were several Negro leagues. During this period, American Indians and native Hawaiians, including Prince Oana, were able to play in the Major Leagues. The color line was broken for good when Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization for the 1946 season. In 1947, both Robinson in the National League and Larry Doby with the American League's Cleveland Indians appeared in games for their teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bacharach Giants</span> Negro League Baseball team active from 1916–1928

The Bacharach Giants were a Negro league baseball team that played in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biz Mackey</span> American Negro League Baseball player (1897–1965)

James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey was an American catcher and manager in Negro league baseball. He played for the Indianapolis ABCs (1920–1922), New York Lincoln Giants (1920), Hilldale Daisies (1923–1931), Philadelphia Royal Giants (1925), Philadelphia Stars (1933–1935), Washington / Baltimore Elite Giants (1936–1939), and Newark Dodgers/Eagles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Stars (baseball)</span> Negro league baseball team from Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Stars were a Negro league baseball team from Philadelphia. The Stars were founded in 1933 when Ed Bolden returned to professional black baseball after being idle since early 1930. The Stars were an independent ball club in 1933, a member of the Negro National League from 1934 until the League's collapse following the 1948 season, and affiliated with the Negro American League from 1949 to 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilldale Club</span> American Negro league baseball team

The Hilldale Athletic Club were an American professional Negro league baseball team based in Darby, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia.

The Indianapolis ABCs were a Negro league baseball team that played both as an independent club and as a charter member of the first Negro National League (NNL). They claimed the western championship of black baseball in 1915 and 1916, and finished second in the 1922 NNL. Among their best players were Baseball Hall of Fame members Oscar Charleston, Biz Mackey, and Ben Taylor.

The Zulu Cannibal Giants were an American Negro league baseball team, formed in 1934 by Charlie Henry in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Philadelphia Giants were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1902 to 1911. From 1904 to 1909 they were one of the strongest teams in black baseball, winning five eastern championships in six years. The team was organized by Sol White, Walter Schlichter, and Harry Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indianapolis Clowns</span> Former professional baseball team in the Negro American League

The Indianapolis Clowns were a professional baseball team in the Negro American League. Tracing their origins back to the 1930s, the Clowns were the last of the Negro league teams to disband, continuing to play exhibition games into the 1980s. They began play as the independent Ethiopian Clowns, joined the Negro American League as the Cincinnati Clowns and, after a couple of years, relocated to Indianapolis. Hank Aaron was a Clown for a short period, and the Clowns were also one of the first professional baseball teams to hire a female player.

Hilldale Park was a ballpark in Yeadon, Pennsylvania at the northeast corner of Chester and Cedar Avenues. It was the home field of the Hilldale Club professional baseball team which played in the Negro leagues between 1910 and 1932. The ballpark opened in 1914. It had a well-manicured field with a large tree in center-field, whose branches overlooked the field and were considered in play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Bolden</span>

Edward Bolden was an American baseball executive and owner in the Negro leagues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seymour Medal</span> Annual non-fiction literary award presented by the Society for American Baseball Research

The Dr. Harold and Dorothy Seymour Medal, often simply referred to as the Seymour Medal, is an annual literary award given by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) to the best baseball historical or biographical book. The award was named in honor of baseball historians Harold Seymour and Dorothy Seymour Mills, co-authors of the Baseball trilogy, a highly acclaimed baseball history series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamtramck Stadium</span> United States historic place

Hamtramck Stadium, also known as Roesink Stadium is one of only 12 remaining Negro league baseball stadiums. It is located at 3201 Dan Street, in Veterans Park, in Hamtramck, Michigan. The stadium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. The stadium is located near, and occasionally confused with, Keyworth Stadium. The stadium was rededicated on June 20, 2022, as part of the Juneteenth celebration. In 2020, the stadium's field was renamed Norman "Turkey" Stearnes Field, after Detroit Stars player Turkey Stearnes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Lester</span> Negro league baseball historian (b. 1949)

George Lawrence Lester is a Negro league baseball author, historian, statistical researcher, and lecturer.

The Brooklyn Brown Dodgers were a Negro league baseball team from 1945 to 1946. Calling Ebbets Field home, they played primarily in the United States League and folded with the rest of the league in 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roxie Joynes Campanella</span> American showgirl

Roxie Joynes Campanella, was an American nurse, showgirl, socialite and philanthropist. As the third wife of baseball star Roy Campanella, she was active on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries.

References

  1. Goldstein, Warren (May 16, 2004). "Before You Could Say Jackie Robinson". The New York Times via NYTimes.com.
  2. "Archives". Los Angeles Times . 3 April 2011.
  3. "Nonfiction Book Review: Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella by Neil Lanctot, Simon & Schuster, $28 (560p) ISBN 978-1-4165-4704-4". PublishersWeekly.com.
  4. "Past lives of the national pastime: Campanella, Rickey and Clarke". old.post-gazette.com.
  5. Luke, Bob. "Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella review". Book review. The Washington Independent Review of Books. Retrieved Apr 11, 2011.
  6. "Best Biography - Winners". American Society of Journalists and Authors.
  7. "The Seymour Medal – Society for American Baseball Research".