"Willie's Boys adds to baseball lore by recounting Willie Mays's service with the 1948 Birmingham Black Barons, which led to the Black Barons' participation in black baseball's final World Series. Baseball writer Klima (Pitched Battle: 35 of Baseball's Greatest Duels from the Mound) repeatedly delivers quotes from Black Barons, their adversaries, scouts, and other baseball figures regarding Mays's preternatural skills, particularly in the field and on the base paths. The hitting prowess, for both average and distance, came a bit later, but the raw talent and the drive were immediately present. Mays's personality, somewhat surprisingly, does not come through as clearly, unlike that of the other star of Klima's story, Willie's teammate, mentor, and first professional manager, Piper Davis. Even more than Mays's story, those of Davis and players such as the great third baseman Ray Dandridge demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of black baseball, along with the hurdles even brilliant players had to overcome to enter organized baseball. Klima refutes long-standing notions regarding the supposed refusal of teams like the Yankees and Red Sox to sign black players, as both sought to sign Mays. Verdict: Recommended for all interested readers."
—Robert C. Cottrell, California State Univ., Chico (Library Journal, December 2009)
"I was a Willie Mays fan. When he was on the field, nobody could get at him. You couldn't take your eyes off him. He was like a kid playing out in the street. He did everything with flair. John has done some digging. It's hard to find those interesting stories."
—Joe Torre, New York Times bestselling author of The Yankee Years and manager, Los Angeles Dodgers
"John Klima has a delightful way of digging deep into a forgotten pocket of sports history and coming out with an unforgettable story. He does all lovers of Willie Mays and of baseball a great service with this fine book. I really, really enjoyed it. Well done!"
—David Maraniss, New York Times bestselling author of Clemente and Rome 1960
"Willie Mays was a dazzling ballplayer, but the story of his early career is much bigger than baseball. In Willie's Boys, John Klima puts us in the front row for one of the most fascinating periods in the game's history, as the Negro Leagues died and the Major Leagues struggled with integration. Mays is the perfect protagonist. The drama is real, the stakes are high, and Klima captures it with shimmering prose and hard-nosed reporting. I loved this book."
—Jonathan Eig, author of Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig and Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season
"In Willie's Boys John Klima's studious research and careful writing create a dramatic, important, and human story out of a line of agate—Willie Mays's rookie year with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League. As Mays himself told Klima, 'You know more about this than I do.' So will the close reader of this fine book."
—Glenn Stout, author and Series Editor of The Best American Sports Writing
Willie's Boys adds to baseball lore by recounting Willie Mays's service with the 1948 Birmingham Black Barons, which led to the Black Barons' participation in black baseball's final World Series. Baseball writer Klima (Pitched Battle: 35 of Baseball's Greatest Duels from the Mound) repeatedly delivers quotes from Black Barons, their adversaries, scouts, and other baseball figures regarding Mays's preternatural skills, particularly in the field and on the base paths. The hitting prowess, for both average and distance, came a bit later, but the raw talent and the drive were immediately present. Mays's personality, somewhat surprisingly, does not come through as clearly, unlike that of the other star of Klima's story, Willie's teammate, mentor, and first professional manager, Piper Davis. Even more than Mays's story, those of Davis and players such as the great third baseman Ray Dandridge demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of black baseball, along with the hurdles even brilliant players had to overcome to enter organized baseball. Klima refutes long-standing notions regarding the supposed refusal of teams like the Yankees and Red Sox to sign black players, as both sought to sign Mays. VERDICT Recommended for all interested readers.—Robert C. Cottrell, California State Univ., Chico
