A riveting tale of trailblazers who reshaped baseball and a nation: Larry Doby, Bill Veeck, Bob Feller, and Satchel Paige, united on the 1940s Cleveland Indians.
In July 1947, mere months after Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Larry Doby followed suit on the Cleveland Indians. Though initially struggling, Doby's 1948 transformation from benchwarmer to superstar ignited one of the most remarkable seasons in baseball history.
With intimate detail, Luke Epplin's Our Team traces the Cleveland Indians' integration and World Series quest through four central figures: the visionary and eccentric owner Bill Veeck; Larry Doby, the soft-spoken pioneer whose breakthrough shattered stereotypes; pitching prodigy Bob Feller, who exemplified the athlete-as-businessman; and legendary Negro Leagues pitcher Satchel Paige, whose major-league debut electrified fans nationwide.
United as the backbone of a team embodying the postwar American spirit's hopes and contradictions, this quartet captivated the nation, challenging the boundaries of what was possible in sports - and society - as they surged towards the World Series.