A review by backonthealex
Waiting for Pumpsie by Barry Wittenstein

4.0

We always hear about Jackie Robinson and how he broke the color barrier in baseball playing baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. But it took 12 more years, for the Boston Red Sox to finally put a black player on their team roster and that player was Elijah "Pumpsie" Green. And for the narrator of this book, Bernard, it couldn't happen soon enough. Bernard and his family are big Sox fans, but he wants to know why there are no black players on his favorite team and he knows that Pumpsie, a player in the minor leagues, is just who the Sox need. But, even as the Sox lose game after game in the summer 1959, they resist giving Pumpsie a chance. But when the Sox finally drop to last place, the decision is made to put Pumpsie into the game. Still, integrating the Sox wasn't easy. Bernard and his family had always faced prejudice and racism at the games in Fenway, and Pumpsie faces it on the field from Sox fans who want a white team only. Wittenstein does a great job of presenting Pumpsie Green's entry into the major leagues through the eyes of Bernard. His facts are accurate and the attitudes of both black and white fans are portrayed honestly. For example, Bernard and his family are enthusiastic Red Sox fans, but when he and his sister jump up and cheer for a player, they are told to "Sit down and Shut up!" When a cop comes over to see what's happening, he tells them: "You people need to learn how to behave." The first time Pumpsie takes the field at Fenway Park, he's greeted with a man shouting "Get that Negro off the field!" What a welcome! Ladd's realistic acrylic and pencil illustrations reflect the period perfectly, while capturing the enthusiasm of all fans, the feeling of pride among the black fans when they finally see a black player join the team, as well as the anger of white fans who are against integrating the Red Sox. Back matter includes an Author's Note and a list of Sources about race and baseball.