While there are plenty of books on the stars of baseball and some on minor league life, this was a book on a prospect who had a taste of the big leagues then suffered an untimely death - a very good read. Here is my review of “Cardinal Dreams.”
Title/Author:
“Cardinal Dreams: The Legacy of Charlie Peete and a Life Cut Short” by Danny Spewak
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very good)
Review:
Charlie Peete is probably a player that most people, even hard-core St. Louis Cardinals fans, wold not recognize. He only appeared in 23 games for the 1956 Cardinals, hitting .192 in 59 plate appearances. So why would author Danny Spewak write a book on this player? Because he was a Black player with a promising future whose life was tragically cut short when he and his family dies in a plane crash in November 1956.
More than just that tragedy, the story of Charlie Peete is one worth sharing because of his struggles that he and many Black players faced during the early days of the integration of Major League Baseball. It is also notable because despite many of their National League competitors integrating already, the Cardinals were among the last of the National League teams to welcome Black ballplayers. Thischanged when August Busch bought the team and wanted to have the best players on the team, no matter their skin color.
At the time, Peete was in the minor league system for the Cardinals and was getting antsy to get his chance. Having already proven to be a fine player in the Piedmont League where he was a local favorite, playing for the Portsmouth (Virginia) team which was his hometown, he was moving up the ranks all the way to triple A Omaha, finally getting the call in July 1956.
There is more to Peete’s story as he was also a member of the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League as well as organized baseball. The shameful acts of racism Peete faced were not discussed in great detail but enough that a reader will understand what Peete and other Black ballplayers faced at that time.
Like the rest of the book, Spewak uses many sources of information when writing about the doomed flight to Venezuela where Pete, his wife and their three children perished. It was common for ballplayers who were on the cusp of making the Major Leagues to play winter ball in Latin American countries and Peete was about to play for a Venezuelan team for the 1956-57 winter. This section, like the rest of the book, is very informative and an easy read. Telling stories about players like Charlie Peete is something that should be done as well as the pioneers like Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby.
I wish to thank Rowman and Littlefield publishing for proving a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
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