Since its earliest days professional baseball has provided a path into American society for many immigrant groups. For some the journey has included considerable bumps along the way. Lawrence Baldassaro in Beyond DiMaggio: Italian Americans in Baseball examines one of the bumpier journeys. The author’s intent “is not to foster ethnic pride but to examine the history of (Italian) participation in the national pastime, a history that more or less mirrors the general experience of Italian Americans”. What follows is a collection of biographic sketches and vignettes arranged chronologically and periodically sprinkled with historical analysis. The product is both an entertaining baseball story as well as a work that contributes to a fuller understanding of the immigrant experience in America.

Baldassaro begins his examination by weaving a description of American immigration policy during the early twentieth century around the story of Eddie Abbaticchio, the first documented Italian to play in the major leagues. In so doing he proposes several themes that remain constant throughout much of the book. One theme involves the overt prejudice that Italian players encountered. Baldassaro compares the Italian baseball experience with the experiences of other ethnic groups including Irish and German players. He concludes that the players whose experiences most closely paralleled those of Italians were African Americans. Both groups were discredited for having a limited understanding of the game but instead playing simply on instinct. Both groups were accused of threatening American values and ethics. And though the discrimination directed at African Americans was more blatant both groups became the target of physical abuse from other players. The malice that Jackie Robinson endured was in some ways similar to what Tony Lazzeri dealt with during his initial years as a Yankee.

Community and family are two more themes the author identifies. In this respect Baldassaro concurs with several other historians who have detailed the Italian experience. The author describes tightly knit families in search of economic rewards. Once in their new homeland they became members of Italian neighborhoods which helped to provide the family with support and sustenance. At the same time the new Americans accepted their place near the bottom of the socio-economic scale but worked hard to improve their status. It is a path that Jon Bodnar (The Transplanted: A History of Immigrants in Urban America (Interdisciplinary Studies in History), 1985) has called “the culture of everyday life.” Italian sons were expected to contribute to the family as soon as they as were able which often meant by their mid-teens. Any option other than becoming a skilled laborer was usually opposed by the family. Such was the case for many of the players Baldassaro describes. Tony Lazzeri, Joe DiMaggio, Lawrence “Yogi” Berra and most other Italians who made it to the Major Leagues prior to the 1960s typically left school during their early high school years and then soon after, amid family objections, chose to play professional baseball. Only after the financial benefits became obvious did the family embrace the decision to play baseball.

Two communities in particular, St. Louis and San Francisco, best reflect the circumstances that led Italians to the major leagues. Both cities became the home for large numbers of first and second generation Italians. At the same time each community had a character of its own. As did Dino Cinel in his 1982 study From Italy to San Francisco, Baldassaro contends that San Francisco was more receptive to Italian immigrants than almost any other American city. Additionally, the city had numerous excellent semi-pro baseball teams. Because it was valued by the native born population, baseball became a way for immigrants to become a part of their new home. The result was a strong baseball tradition that produced Tony Lazzeri, Frank Crosetti, Joe DiMaggio and his two brothers among others.

While circumstances in St. Louis were very different than those in San Francisco the results in terms of baseball were similar. Rather than including several separate Italian neighborhoods whose residents were from specific regions in Italy, St. Louis contained a single Italian section, dubbed “Dago Hill” for obvious reasons, that was comprised of population predominantly from northern Italy. Gary Mormino in his 1986 book Immigrants on the Hill: Italian-Americans in St. Louis, 1882-1982 proposes that the Hill section became an extraordinarily cohesive community in which “residents preferred stability to mobility and community to suburbia.” Central to the strong sense of community was the organization of athletic teams which brought Hill residents local notoriety. Like Mormino, Baldassaro concludes that the emphasis on sports in the St. Louis Hill district nurtured exceptional baseball talent which included among others Yogi Berra.

World War II proved to be a dividing point for Italian Americans according to Baldassaro. Various factors combined which moderated biases against Italians in American society as well as in baseball. Italian participation in the war demonstrated loyalty to the new homeland. Economic success, relocation to the suburbs and marriage to non-Italians all diluted the interconnectedness of first and second generation Italian neighborhoods. Likewise, the introduction of African Americans into the Major Leagues provided a new target for American prejudice thus diminishing the animosity towards Italians. Of course anti-Italian bias did not disappear after the war. (Having been one of only two non-Italians on a team in the mid-1960s I can attest that ethnic epitaphs remained common. My team was sponsored by the local Fraternal Order of Police and was regularly referred to as FOP the Wops.) The author also proposes that education was the ultimate transforming agent which enabled Italians to climb off the field and into team executive suites and even into the baseball commissioner’s office.
Baldassaro’s sketches of players after World War II from Berra and Raschi to Piazza and Bizzio are generally less detailed and therefore less satisfying than his earlier sketches. This has more to do with the waning influence of the Italian heritage than the interest of the author. On the other hand, the author provides engaging narratives about the part Italians played in several of the memorable baseball moments during the post war era including Al Gionfriddo’s catch and Ralph Branca’s pitch. He also includes brief biographies of Italian American coaches, managers, umpires, and sports writers. Interestingly Baldassaro’s final accounts describe the re-emerging pride in their Italian heritage of contemporary players.

In Beyond DiMaggio Lawrence Baldassaro has written a book that will appeal to readers on two levels. It is a book about baseball but equally importantly it is an assessment of the role that baseball played in the acculturation of Italian Americans. Those interested in a collection of lively baseball stories will enjoy the biographic sketches and vignettes the author provides. Likewise, academics will appreciate the analysis Baldassaro integrates into his narrative.

Paul E. Doutrich is an Professor at York College of Pennsylvania where he teaches courses on Baseball History.  He also is the author of The Cardinals and the Yankees, 1926: A Classic Season and St. Louis in Seven.