Louis Sockalexis, athlete
Oct. 24, 1871-Dec. 24, 1913
Louis Sockalexis: Native American Baseball Pioneer by Bill Wise, illustrated by Bill Farnsworth (Lee & Low, 2007)
Sockalexis, the first Native American major league baseball player, won the hearts of fans with his incredible skill, but the prejudice he faced on the field and off was intense. A note in the Afterword mentions that almost fifty years after Sockalexis’ rookie year, African American Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the major leagues.
Visit the Official Site of the Cleveland Indians, Sockalexis’ team, then known as the Cleveland Spiders.
