Field of Dreams meets Back to the Future in this wondrous tale. He was the only man to hit a home run clean out of the original Yankee Stadium and the first to hit a home run into the Polo Grounds centerfield bleachers more than 500 feet away. He may have been the best power hitter in the history of baseball. Some called him the Black Babe Ruth. In the blue-collar world in which he played, they knew better. To them, Babe Ruth was the White Josh Gibson. But never once did he get as much as a single swing of the bat in a major league ball game. Josh Gibson was a Black man, and the commissioner, the owners, and the players followed a unanimous rule: No Black man would ever be allowed to play their game. Instead, Gibson became the most valuable hitter in the all-Black game, setting records with both the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords. When the Negro National League season ended, he joined others who followed the sun to Latin America, where the crowds did not see skin color, only shut-out pitchers and homerun hitters. This a ghost story, a mystical trip guided by the late Mr. Gibson along with a former Negro League player and his 14-year-old grandson, whom a panel of ghosts has chosen to be their messenger to tell the world that once they had two leagues all their own. Two leagues where only the ball was white. Josh recreates the legend of Leon Day, Satchel Paige, Ray Dandridge and so many more along the way—magically created courtesy of their ghostly tour guide. Asked in an interview about his interest in Negro League baseball, Jerry Izenberg, author and master storyteller, replied, “It started the day I first saw the Newark Eagles of the National League play. I was ten years old and the only white kid in short pants in the ballpark.” A blend of education deferred and admiration too long denied, Damn You, Josh Gibson takes readers on a magical ride and reveals a chapter of sports history that should never be forgotten. "This is a must read for any true baseball fan! Author Jerry Izenberg, a Hall of Fame legend, is an icon and prolific sports journalist!!"-Michael Buffer, Hall of Fame sports and entertainment announcer "When Field of Dreams meets Back to the Future, you have a wondrous tale of the Negro Leagues and its America as only Jerry Izenberg can bring to life."-Robert Lipsyte, former columnist NY Times "This is a story about baseball of the special sort that was played for decades by the men we call Negro leaguers. Go read about a love story that will grab you in your heart and make you laugh and sometimes leave you with tears. Thank you, Jerry Izenberg, for all the love you have given me in Damn You, Josh Gibson."-Larry Hogan, author and Black baseball historian "Jerry Izenberg is the dean of historical baseball writers. He knew many of the men he writes about. This gives him unique insights into his subjects. A must read."-Leonard S. Coleman, Jr., former President of the National League "The heroes of Negro League baseball, where Black stars were segregated before baseball integrated in the late 1940s, take over an old ballplayer's dreams and send him and his grandson on a magical tour of their times. Jerry Izenberg combines his own voluminous history of Black baseball with the compelling writing style that has made him a nationally known sports columnist. The novel's point is for young Jeffy to 'be the messenger, ' to retell the story of these forgotten heroes. Hope he does as good a job as Jerry has."-Jim Overmyer, author of Queen of the Negro Leagues: Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles Jerry Izenberg, columnist emeritus at the New Jersey Star-Ledger, has been inducted into eighteen Halls of Fame and is winner of the coveted Red Smith Award-the highest honor given by the Associated Press Sports Editors. He and his wife, Aileen, live in Henderson, NV and have four children, nine grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.This is his sixteenth book and second novel.