Publisher's Synopsis
Johnny DiAngelo is a talented eighteen-year-old pitcher from Brooklyn, NY who dreams of playing baseball in the major leagues. In 1963, he gets that opportunity when he is signed by the Washington Senators. Johnny is drafted and sent by bus from New York to their Class D League located in Monroe City, Georgia. While traveling, Johnny encounters situations of segregation and prejudice, which are disturbing and unreal to him. The natural beauty of the small towns he passes through has been tarnished by the conflicts of racism for almost two centuries. The Monroe City Blues team catcher, Lyle Agee, is the first black player in the history of the Southern Baseball Conference. He and Johnny become close friends, which make them and the whole team the targets of the white supremacist group in town. The coach of the Blues team; "Dobie" Carey is a 70-year old ex-minor league baseball pitcher who becomes a mentor and father figure to Johnny and Lyle. Dobie, leading by example and words, help them and their teammates deal with the harsh realities of life. Dobie not only coaches them about baseball, he also teaches them about becoming good men. While in Monroe City, Johnny can't help but fall in love with Emily James, who works at the local luncheonette. As the daughter of a career Air Force officer, Emily has lived in many places around the world, but has never met anyone with as big of a heart as Johnny, or as she calls him "Johnny Angel." Set against our National Pastime of baseball during the 1960's; an extraordinarily volatile period in modern American history, MONROE CITY BLUES is a tale of love, loss, loyalty and tolerance. Most of all, it's about never giving up on your dreams.
