Fifty years ago, Vida Blue, a 21-year old fireballing lefthander from Mansfield, LA, ravaged the major leagues, becoming the youngest player to win the MVP or Cy Young Award, let alone both at the same time. Frank Guridy and award-winning sportswriter and cultural critic Howard Bryant use Blue's 1971 season to launch into a larger discussion about the state of Black players in the sport, past and present. Bryant and Guridy offer reflections on Blue's career, the memorable 1971 All-Star Game, the labor struggles that eventually led to the overturning of the reserve clause and, yes, why Rickey Henderson matters to the story.
Buy Frank Guridy's The Sports Revolution here.