Comeback Season

My Unlikely Story of Friendship with the Greatest Living Negro League Baseball Players

By: Cam Perron, Nick Chiles, David Sadzin, Hank Aaron - foreword

Narrated by: Aden Hakimi, Robin Eller, Lamarr Gulley, Leon Nixon

Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

The uplifting, unlikely, and inspirational true story of the friendships formed between Cam Perron - a white, baseball-obsessed teenager from Boston - and hundreds of former professional Negro League players, who were still awaiting the recognition and compensation that they deserved from Major League Baseball more than 50 years after their playing days were over. Featuring the players’ fascinating stories.

Cam Perron always loved history, and from an early age, he had a knack for collecting. But when he was 12 and bought a set of Topps baseball cards featuring several players from the Negro Leagues, something clicked.

Cam started writing letters to former Negro League players in 2007, asking for their autographs and a few words about their careers. He got back much more than he expected. The players responded with detailed stories about their glory days on the field, and the racism they faced, including run-ins with the KKK. They explained how they were repeatedly kept out of the major leagues and confined to the historic but lower-paying Negro Leagues, even after Jackie Robinson - who got his start in the Negro Leagues - broke the color barrier. By the time Cam finished middle school, letters had turned into phone calls, and he was spending hours a day talking with the players.

In these conversations, many of the players revealed that their careers had been unrecognized over time, and they’d fallen out of touch with their former teammates. So Cam, along with a small group of fellow researchers, organized the first annual Negro League Players Reunion in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2010. At the celebratory, week-long event, 15-year-old Cam and the players - who were in their 70s, 80s, and 90s - finally met in person. They quickly became family.

As Cam and the players returned to the reunion year after year, Cam became deeply involved in a complicated mission to help many players get pension money that they were owed from Major League Baseball. He also worked to get a Negro League museum opened in Birmingham and stock it with memorabilia.

Sports fans - and anyone who enjoys a heartfelt story - will have their eyes opened by this book about unlikely friendships, the power of memories, and just how far a childhood interest can go.

©2021 Cam Perron. Foreword ©2021 Henry Aaron. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"The ensemble narration works well. Aden Hakimi takes the role of the author, whose research was started - incredibly - when he was in his early teens. The unlikely pairing of the young white kid from Boston and the older African-American gentlemen who become close friends is heartfelt. Having multiple voices narrate vignettes from the former ballplayers is a smart approach. The listener doesn't have to be a baseball fan to appreciate this delightful story of friendship and willingness to help others." (AudioFile Magazine)

Great story

Great book. You never know where life is going to lead you. If your interested in the Negro Leagues its a must read.

Incredible

I have enjoyed learning about the Negro Leagues since the early 1990’s. Cam has been a blessing keeping these men’s stories alive for people like me to enjoy. I can’t recommend this book enough.

This is a really great book

I have enjoyed listening to this book here yes sir thanks again. I have learned a lot.