Biz Mackey, a giant behind the plate : the story of the Negro league star and Hall of Fame catcher

One of baseball's greatest catchers -- From the farm to the diamond -- Black baseball in Philadelphia -- Blossoming with the daisies -- Helping the stars to sparkle -- Elevating baseball in Japan -- Moving up to the job of manager -- Teaching Campy the tricks of the trade -- A long-overdue induction into the Hall of Fame.

Summary:

""The best all-around catcher in black baseball history"--Cumberland Posey, Owner of the Homestead Grays National Baseball Hall of Fame catcher James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey's professional career spanned nearly three decades in the Negro Leagues and elsewhere. He distinguished himself as a defensive catcher who also had an impressive batting average and later worked as a manager of the Newark Eagles and the Baltimore Elite Giants. Using archival materials and interviews with former Negro League players, baseball historian Rich Westcott chronicles the catcher's life and remarkable career in Biz Mackey, a Giant Behind the Plate, as well as providing an in-depth look at Philadelphia Negro League history. Westcott traces Mackey's childhood in Texas as the son of sharecroppers to his success on the baseball diamond where he displayed extraordinary defensive skills and an exceptional ability to hit and to handle pitchers. Mackey spent one third of his career playing in Philadelphia, winning championships with the Hilldale Daisies and the Philadelphia Stars. Mackey also mentored famed catcher Roy Campanella and had an unlikely role in the story of baseball's development in Japan. A celebrated ballplayer before African Americans were permitted to join Major League Baseball, Biz Mackey ranks as one of the top catchers ever to play the game. With Biz Mackey, he finally gets the biography he deserves"--

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xxi, 180 pages :

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Summary

"The best all-around catcher in black baseball history"-- Cumberland Posey, Owner of the Homestead Grays

National Baseball Hall of Fame catcher James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey's professional career spanned nearly three decades in the Negro Leagues and elsewhere. He distinguished himself as a defensive catcher who also had an impressive batting average and later worked as a manager of the Newark Eagles and the Baltimore Elite Giants.

Using archival materials and interviews with former Negro League players, baseball historian Rich Westcott chronicles the catcher's life and remarkable career in Biz Mackey, a Giant behind the Plate as well as providing an in-depth look at Philadelphia Negro League history. Westcott traces Mackey's childhood in Texas as the son of sharecroppers to his success on the baseball diamond where he displayed extraordinary defensive skills and an exceptional ability to hit and to handle pitchers. Mackey spent one third of his career playing in Philadelphia, winning championships with the Hilldale Daisies and the Philadelphia Stars. Mackey also mentored famed catcher Roy Campanella and had an unlikely role in the story of baseball's development in Japan.

A celebrated ballplayer before African Americans were permitted to join Major League Baseball, Biz Mackey ranks as one of the top catchers ever to play the game. With Biz Mackey, he finally gets the biography he deserves.

Author Notes

Rich Westcott is the author of 25 previous books. A newspaper and magazine writer, an editor for more than 40 years, and a former president of the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association, he has written for numerous national publications. He was the founding publisher of the newspaper Phillies Report , which covered the team for fourteen years, and has appeared in 10 film documentaries about baseball. A special advisor to the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, he is also an inductee into four halls of fame.

Reviews (2)

Choice Review

With the aid of memories from teammates and opponents (few of Mackey's letters survive), Westcott, a sports writer and baseball historian, has crafted an informative biography of a player whom many former Negro National League players call the greatest black catcher of all time--greater even than Josh Gibson. A superb defensive catcher with a cannon arm (throwing from the crouching position), Mackey was a clutch switch hitter. He was a dedicated student of the game, learning his pitchers' strengths and hitters' weaknesses. He then matched the two in calling the game. Just as important, Mackey was an outstanding teacher, helping coach Roy Campanella into a Hall of Fame receiver. Westcott provides an overview of black baseball, particularly in Philadelphia. The most interesting chapter deals with Mackey's three barnstorming tours of Japan--1927, 1932, and 1935. Black players did not run up the score and demean the Japanese players as white Major Leaguers did. This earned them the respect of their hosts. Westcott credits these tours with sowing the seed for the creation of Japanese professional baseball. The text is dotted with photos, and Westcott provides a bibliography but no citations. Baseball enthusiasts will enjoy this book. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. --W. Terry Lindley, Union University

Library Journal Review

Few baseball fans will recognize the name of Biz Mackey (1897-1965), and fewer still know he is enshrined in the baseball Hall of Fame. However, according to his teammates, he was one of the greatest catchers. Mackey toiled (and managed) for more than 20 years in the Negro League and played on barnstorming tours, most notably in Japan. Westcott (Shibe Park-Connie Mack Stadium) captures Mackey's role in baseball history in this concise biography. To tell Mackey's story, the author relies on teammates and contemporary newspapers, with a special focus on Mackey as a tutor to catchers such as Roy -Campanella. -Westcott captures Mackey's legacy behind the plate in addition to being a career .300+ hitter. In a chapter on Americans in Japan in 1927, he attributes the growth of baseball's popularity there to Mackey and other players. His final chapter on Mackey's and other African Americans' induction into the Hall of Fame is a fitting conclusion. VERDICT An excellent addition to works on the history of baseball.-Boyd Childress, formerly with Auburn Univ. Libs., AL © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Monte IrvinRay C. Mackey III

Foreword	p. xi
Foreword	p. xv
Acknowledgments	p. xix
Introduction	p. 1
1 One of Baseball's Greatest Catchers	p. 9
2 From the Farm to the Diamond	p. 27
3 Black Baseball in Philadelphia	p. 39
4 Blossoming with the Daisies	p. 59
5 Helping the Stars to Sparkle	p. 79
6 Elevating Baseball in Japan	p. 99
7 Moving Up to the Job of Manager	p. 117
8 Teaching Campy the Tricks of the Trade	p. 137
9 A Long-Overdue Induction into the Hall of Fame	p. 155
Appendix: Biz Mackey's Year-by-Year Negro League Statistics	p. 167
Sources	p. 169
Index	p. 173

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Summary

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Library Journal Review

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