Publisher's Synopsis
Sports in America: 1940 to 1949 covers ten important years in sports history, addressing records, scandals, important people and players, championships, and important steps in cultural equality. Five to eight pages cover each year, tying the social history of the time to the important moments in sports. Extensive photographs and easy-to-use indexes make this an invaluable reference for quick and accurate information. Sample entries include: 1941: Joe DiMaggio sets a record with a 56-game hitting streak that lasts from May 15 to July 17. 1942: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt writes the famous ""Green Light Letter"" to baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis requesting that he keep baseball going during World War II in the best interest of the country to give those working harder and longer than before a chance for recreation. 1943: The All-American Girls Softball League is founded to fill the void left by the departure of Major League Baseball players who were drafted or enlisted into the war effort. 1946: Four players - the Los Angeles Rams' Kenny Washington and Woody Strode and the Cleveland Browns' Bill Willis and Marion Motley - become the first African Americans to play professional football. 1947: Jackie Robinson breaks the baseball color barrier, becoming the first African American to play in Major League Baseball.
