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Crime of the Big Leagues: Lester Rodney

Jun 21, 2011 · 11m
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Documentary

PLOT

We know a lot about how major league baseball was strictly segregated before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947. But strangely, few of us know much about the decade-long, fierce, organized efforts to bring that about. Lester Rodney, sports editor and writer for New York’s Communist Party newspaper The Daily Worker, made it his crusade beginning in 1936. This riveting 10-minute film, much of it in Lester Rodney’s own words, tells about the man, his passion for baseball, why he fought for equal treatment of “Negro” ball players, and his perspective on the far reaching impact of baseball’s desegregation. Enjoy this eye-opening mini-documentary about Lester Rodney (1911-2009), the unsung hero who helped desegregate Major League Baseball, narrated by baseball legends Vida Blue and Marty Lurie.

REVIEWS

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CAST

Lester Rodney
Self
Vida Blue
Narrator / Voice of Satchel Paige
Marty Lurie
Voice of Lester Rodney
Leroy 'Satchel' Paige
Self
Directed by Randy Field

DETAILS

Status
Released
Original language
EN
Budget
—
Revenue
—
Production
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Tomorrow Media, Rough House Productions
Country
US
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