Leo Najo: Baseball's First Latino Superstar

One of the first Latinos to play professional baseball in the United States, Leo Najo debuted in 1924 with the San Antonio Bears of the Class A Texas League. After electrifying the San Antonio crowds with his incredible speed and astonishing outfield catches, Najo was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the winter of 1925. Although he has since been largely forgotten by baseball historians, The Washington Post once called him "one of the greatest baseball players of all time." Overcoming the bitter racism in baseball against all players of color, Najo drew strength from his deep love for the game, rising to the heights of stardom in spite of tremendous obstacles. Through his amazing accomplishments, Najo opened the doors of professional baseball for the many outstanding Latino players that followed. Although his career with the White Sox was cut short by a serious leg injury, Najo persevered and transformed himself into one of the greatest minor league players ever. Selected a "Book of the Year" by The Monitor newspaper of McAllen, Texas, this book presents the incredible story of how a young man who started life with virtually nothing became one of the greatest sports heroes of all time, overcoming the pervasive racism of the time.

ISBN-13: 9780981759739

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Noe Torres

Publication Date: 11-23-2019

Pages: 178

Product Dimensions: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.38d

Torres, Noe: - Noe Torres is an author and publisher from Mission, Texas, hometown of Leo Najo . Noe holds a Bachelor's in English and a Master's in Library Science from the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to writing two critically-acclaimed books about the history of baseball in South Texas, Noe is a nationally-recognized expert on UFOs and the paranormal. He has written one of the most popular books about the famous Roswell Incident, titled Ultimate Guide to the Roswell UFO Crash, which is the top selling book among tourists visiting Roswell, New Mexico. Noe also wrote the critically acclaimed book The Real Cowboys & Aliens: UFO Encounters of the Old West, as well as a number of other well-reviewed books, including Mexico's Roswell, The Other Roswell, Aliens in the Forest, Fallen Angel, and The Coyame Incident.Noe has appeared on a number of nationally-broadcast television shows, including season 2, episode 1 of the Travel Channel's Mysteries of the Outdoors, titled Strange Attraction, which premiered in August 2017. In that show, he is interviewed extensively about unexplained mysteries in Big Bend National Park. Also, in 2017, Noe was featured in an episode titled The Marfa Lights for the TV series Mysteries of the Unexplained. In 2008, he appeared in season 1, episode 4 of the History Channel's UFO Hunters, in a show called Crash and Retrieval.Farias, Athit: - The granddaughter of Leo Najo, Athit was very close to the legendary ballplayer. He has tremendously fond memories of Leo, who called her his Queen and treated her with all the love and attention of the best of grandparents. Now an educator, Athit seeks to preserve the legacy of her grandfather's life and to let everyone know what an amazing person he was.