BASEBALL

BLACKBALL STARS by John B. Holway (Carroll & Graf: $11.95; 400 pp., paper). Mention the Negro Leagues and baseball fans might know about Satchel Paige or maybe Cool Papa Bell--but not much else. Those who want to know more should pick up Holway’s “Blackball Stars.”He offers profiles of players who starred in the leagues that thrived in the first half of the century, when segregation kept blacks out of major-league baseball. In the ‘50s, after Jackie Robinson had broken the color bar and players like Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks and Willie Mays opted for the fame and fortune of the major leagues, the Negro Leagues faded.

Holway ignores more heralded stars like Paige, Bell and Josh Gibson and spotlights lesser-known greats like Oscar Charleston, the speedy, power-hitting center fielder of the ‘20s and ‘30s, and early century shortstop John Henry (Pop) Lloyd, regarded as the equal of Hall of Famer Honus Wagner. Holway’s point, made through constant comparisons, is that these players were much better than they’re given credit for; statistics of the impressive performances of black players in exhibitions against major leaguers are cited as proof.

Crammed with information, “Blackball” reads like a history book. Holway rarely humanizes the players; what’s missing from his dry style and scholarly focus is the sense of bitterness and frustration at being barred from the majors. You’d like to tap into the emotions of these players as they suffer through the agonies of segregation, but Holway prefers game stories and statistics to sociological and psychological probing.