Lester Rodney, Early Voice in Fight Against Racism in Sports, Dies at 98

[Royal Oak Rog]

Source: New York Times

Lester Rodney, who occupied an unlikely niche in journalism — sports editor of the American Communist Party newspaper The Daily Worker — and used that platform to wage an early battle against baseball’s color barrier, died Sunday in Walnut Creek, Calif. He was 98.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/sports/24rodney.html

[USA_1]

1. Daily Worker

I wasn't a big fan of that paper but do remember its sports section. There was a column entitled ''from left field'' or something like that.

It is too bad MLB and the NFL did not integrate until so much later. What great talent it passed up. Good of Mr Rodney to speak out the way he did.

RIP

[EFerrari]

2. K&R

That was a good life. :)

[Royal Oak Rog]

3. More than a Sportswriter: Lester “Red” Rodney: 1911-2009

By Dave Ziren

It didn’t make SportsCenter, but one of history’s most influential sportswriters died this week at the age of 98. His name was Lester Rodney. Lester was one of the first people to write about a young Negro League prospect named Jackie Robinson. He was the last living journalist to cover the famous 1938 fight at Yankee Stadium between “The Brown Bomber” Joe Louis and Hitler favorite, Max Schmeling. He crusaded against baseball’s color line when almost every other journalist pretended it didn’t exist.

http://www.edgeofsports.com/2009-12-23-479/index.html

[Blue_Tires]

4. ttt