The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues

"James Riley's The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues is an update of his first edition, published in 1994. The initial publication was the first reference book to provide a complete and accurate history of the Negro League through biographical sketches on the men, most of whom were destined to spend their entire baseball careers in relative obscurity. The book's debut stimulated much public interest, not only in those obscure players but in a segment of baseball history with which too many baseball enthusiasts were previously unfamiliar. It provided a complete, easy-to-use reference with an easy access format to special areas of interest, making it possible to quickly identify over 4,000 individual players who played from 1872 through 1950. Documented are the years played, the teams and positions, and playing statistics, along with personal data."
Project MUSE

Weldy Walker

"... The players below are some of the most notable of those who played Negro league baseball, beginning with the codification of baseball’s color line barring African American players (about 1892), past the re-integration in 1946 of the sport, up till the Negro leagues finally expired about 1962. Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame are noted with a β. Names of those who played in integrated organized white leagues are boldfaced, and those who played in integrated major leagues are also italicized. pre-Negro leagues (1877-1919). They played primarily before the organized Negro leagues. Among them Fowler, Frank Grant, George Stovey, and Fleet Walker were notable players especially during the 1880s, before complete segregation."
W - List of Negro league baseball players

Rube Foster

"Now available in a handsomely produced oversized paperback—with expanded information and 24 pages of black-and-white photographs — The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues documents more than four thousand players on Negro League teams from 1872 through 1950. Called 'one of the best reference books of the year' by Library Journal and named an outstanding academic book of the year by the American Library Association, this is the first book to cover comprehensively the careers of all African Americans who played with a team of major-league quality or whose careers are featured in the history of America’s Pastime. It delivers a wealth of information, from vital statistics and the standard baseball figures of batting averages and pitching records to career data, including years of active play, positions played, team affiliations, and even nicknames. To create this one-of-a-kind reference, baseball authority James A. Riley traveled the country to interview the surviving members of the Negro Leagues about their exploits and the careers of their now-deceased teammates. With this invaluable firsthand information, Riley brings to life the careers of such greats as Satchel Paige, Ray Dandridge, Josh Gibson, and Leon Day. Looking past Jackie Robinson’s breaking of the color barrier in 1947, he profiles all Major League Hall of Fame players who also played in the Negro Leagues such as Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Ernie Banks, and Roy Campanella. 'A landmark publication in the fields of baseball history and African-American history … a one-of-a-kind work.' — Booklist"
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