Forgotten African American Athlete Put in Spotlight By New Book
In the 1930s and ’40s, before Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays, before Meadowlark Lemon and Curley Neal, Ted Strong, Jr. was the African American athlete most admired in the U.S.
His exploits as an All Star baseball player in the Negro Leagues and his simultaneous career with the Harlem Globetrotters made him an American legend, but one which has been largely forgotten today.
Author and Aurora Alderman-at-Large Sherman Jenkins has drawn upon his childhood interactions with Strong’s family in Chicago, as well as extensive research, to shed new light on an important part of the country’s sports landscape.
Jenkins will sign copies of his book, Ted Strong, Jr., The Untold Story of An Original Harlem Globetrotter and Negro Leagues All-Star, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, March 2, 2018, at the Aurora Historical Society at the Pierce Art and History Center, 20 East Downer Place, 60505.
Author Sherman Jenkins
The book is now available at the Aurora Shop in the Pierce Center for $38 plus tax and may be purchased that evening. Historical Society members receive a 10 percent discount. Regular shop hours are noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.As part of the monthly First Fridays celebration, there will be 20 other events on March 2 in downtown Aurora, including an exhibit of African Americans in World War II and a pictorial history of African Americans in Aurora history, both at the Pierce Center.
Also at the center will be an all-woman art exhibit providing the backdrop for The Ready Freddies all-female Queen tribute band.
SOURCE: Aurora Historical Society news release
