"The greatest American Indian baseball player of all time, Charles Albert Bender, was, according to a contemporary, “the coolest pitcher in the game.” The book documents his early years on the White Earth Reservation to his development at the Carlisle Indian School. Using a trademark delivery, an impressive assortment of pitches that may have included the game’s first slider, he earned a reputation as baseball’s great clutch pitcher during tight Deadball Era pennant races and in front of boisterous World Series crowds. More remarkably yet, “Chief” Bender’s Hall of Fame career unfolded in the face of immeasurable prejudice. This skillfully told and complete account of Bender’s life is also a portrait of greatness of character maintained despite incredible pressure—of how a celebrated man thrived while carrying an untold weight on his shoulders."**Might be interesting to compare/contrast an excerpt of this text to Jackie Robinson's struggles with racism in sports.
