David Forrester
Writer in Seattle. New England temperament. Currently seeking representation for my debut novel.
The One Drop Rule
Allie Moulton is the only man of African-American ancestry known to have played in the modern major leagues before Jackie Robinson.
Bittersweet Goodbye
How do you let go of something that never should have existed, while still celebrating the dignity, skill, and resilience it cultivated?
A Memorable Hack
There was a time when hacks were valued for their workhorse reliability, but it often requires a trace of infamy to preserve their names in history.
The One-Drop Rule
During the decades when Black men were excluded from the major leagues, there were rumors of layers with African American ancestry "passing" to play. Allie Moulton is the only documented case.
Bittersweet Goodbye
The Negro Leagues should never have been needed, but they were beautiful. When baseball's racist "color line" fell there was a touch of sadness along with the joy. Rodney Page, son of a legendary Black baseball entrepreneur summed it up: "Sometimes for something new to be born, something has to die.” I contributed a chapter in this unique volume chronicling the last Negro League World Series, held in 1948.
A Memorable Hack
Every baseball player whose career has been eclipsed by a single bad play during a World Series benefits from the redeeming quality of infamy: they are remembered. And, in most cases, they have also secured a place in baseball history, a much smaller berth, for the beneficiaries of their blunders. It was Hack Engle’s high fly ball that Fred Snodgrass let drop in right field in the deciding game of the 1912 World Series. I contributed a chapter on Hack to Opening Fenway Park with Style.