Big League Dreams

This is a history of black major league baseball players and the crumbling of the colour barrier in sport, and the story of how Fergie Jenkins rose to the top to become Canada's first inductee into the American Baseball Hall of Fame.

Fergie Jenkins grew up in the era when Jackie Robinson became the first black man to play major league baseball, and Willie O'Ree became the first black NHL player. Inspired by these professional athletes, and with doors now opening for young men like himself, Fergie went on to have a remarkable career in major league baseball.

Former sports journalist Richard Brignall traces the ups and downs in Fergie's career, from his humble roots in Chatham, Ontario, to his time with the Phillies, the Cubs, the Red Sox, and the Rangers. Along the way, Brignall examines what it meant for a man to be black in the United States versus Canada in the 1960s and 70s.