“This delightful offering about the infamous African American traveling baseball team of the 1920s-60s, the Indianapolis Clowns, is equal parts memoir and history. As the son of the owner of the Clowns, Pollock was in a unique position to offer insights, recollections, and period photographs. The Clowns were the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball for decades, bringing their unique brand of skill and raucous entertainment to far-flung corners of North America. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers; all levels.” —CHOICE
“It is part memoir and part history of the country’s most successful barn-storming baseball team, a changing group of black ballplayers, including three women, who attracted fans for their inspired clowning, but who were also dazzlingly accomplished players.” —Boston Sunday Globe
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". . . a significant historical document as it is one of the rare first-hand accounts of both barnstorming baseball and the barnstorming business . . . it is a book of value to anyone who seeks to understand the fate of one type of baseball within the tent of African-American baseball, or anyone who wants to go back inside this colorful and entertaining baseball life." —H-Florida
“Syd Pollock’s son, Alan, grew up with the Clowns and worked for his father in various capacities. Alan finished drafting Barnstorming to Heaven shortly before his death, and veteran baseball writer James Riley edited the manuscript and shepherded it through publication. Alan Pollock lovingly recounted the routines of King Tut and the Clowns and recorded a treasure trove of anecdotes. His insider’s account of the business side of baseball barnstormers is fascinating and illustrated by a superb collection of photographs. Barnstorming to Heaven is excellent baseball history, a must for every fan’s bookshelf.” —The Alabama Review— -
“This is a fond farewell to baseball’s barnstorming tradition and its greatest proponent, Syd Pollock of the Indianapolis Clowns. A must-read for every fan.” —Robert Peterson, author of Only the Ball was White
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