1970s American city racial conflict
1970s Boston busing crisis
1970s Boston unrest
A01=David Faflik
activist movements and baseball teams
African American athletes in Boston history
African American history Boston
and activism in New England
and prejudice in Boston
anti-Black racism at Fenway Park
anti-Black sentiment in cities
archival insights into Boston's Black experience
athletes and activism
Author_David Faflik
backlash to school desegregation
baseball and school segregation history
Bernie Carbo and Mighty Joe Young mascot
Black athletes and discrimination
Black community resistance in Boston
Black players in baseball
Black press coverage of Boston sports
Black press in the 20th century
Black resistance movements
Boston busing crisis background
Boston neighborhood divisions in history
Boston public school history
Boston race relations
Boston Red Sox and race relations
Boston sport and city politics
Boston sports and race
Boston's civil rights era
Category=JBSL1
Category=NHK
Category=SCBT
Category=SCX
Category=SFC
Category=WQH
community responses to school busing
court-ordered desegregation
cultural narratives of race
cultural politics of racism
cultural symbols and racial tension
echoes of segregation in American pastimes
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
eq_sports-fitness
ethnic divisions in New England
ethnic relations in major league baseball
fan behavior and racism
hidden histories of race
historic racism in sports teams
historical sports journalism
history of busing in schools
history of racial discrimination in MLB
integration and urban resistance
integration of Boston public schools
intersection of sports and civil rights
legacy of segregation
local history of schools and baseball
Massachusetts desegregation efforts
media portrayal of athletes
MLB and race relations
neighborhood divisions in Boston
New England sports and social change
play
politics
politics in professional sports
press coverage of civil unrest
protest in sports culture
public memory of Boston's busing era
public school resistance movements
race
racial bias in American institutions
racial caricatures in pop culture
racial discord in Red Sox Nation
racial dynamics in American cities
racial injustice in 1970s America
racial representation in American sports
racism disguised in sports culture
racism in Major League Baseball
Red Sox cultural controversies
Red Sox historical controversies
Reggie Smith and player perspectives
representation of Black voices
school integration in America
school protests in the 70s
social change through the lens of sport
South Boston racial conflicts
sport
sports and civil rights history
sports as social commentary
sports mascots and racial meaning
symbolic racism in pop media
systemic racism in sports
team mascots and racial symbolism
the role of fandom in shaping social tensions
urban education crises
urban racial tensions
urban struggles over identity and inclusion
white reactions to integration
Product details
- ISBN 9781625349293
- Weight: 399g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 30 Jun 2026
- Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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A cultural history of race, resistance, and representation in a city divided by politics and play
When outfielder Bernie Carbo joined the Red Sox in 1974, he brought with him a toy gorilla named Mighty Joe Young that became the team’s unofficial mascot for several players and many in the local press. This seemingly innocent stuffed animal was introduced within a baseball team notorious for its stubborn discrimination, and during a particularly fraught era of racial discord in Boston. That June, after years of activism from the city’s Black community, Judge W. Arthur Garrity Jr. ruled that Boston must address the segregation of its schools through redistricting and busing. The ensuing racial animus to these policies led some of the city’s white residents to throw bananas and chant monkey sounds at African American students as they integrated the predominantly white South Boston High School. In this agitated atmosphere, cultural symbols like the Red Sox’s Mighty Joe Young mirrored and amplified the heightened racial tensions of Boston’s busing crisis.
Situated at the intersection of US cultural and social history, Segregation Games examines the surprising ties in 1970s Boston between the racial segregation of the city’s schools and the racial controversies expressed on and off the field of “Red Sox Nation.” “I found out in the black community why they don’t come out [to Fenway Park],” explained Black player Reggie Smith of his experiences with the Red Sox and the city during this period. “The team was the last to get Black players, and some of the things I hear out in the stands make me sick.” To understand these connections, Faflik erases the lines between politics and sport, which routinely blurred in a city suffused with an anti-Black racism that was both deceptively subtle and fiercely overt.
Drawing upon deep archival research from sources that have largely been ignored, such as the Black press of the time, Faflik offers a carefully nuanced portrait of Boston’s cultural life at a pivotal moment in the city’s history.
When outfielder Bernie Carbo joined the Red Sox in 1974, he brought with him a toy gorilla named Mighty Joe Young that became the team’s unofficial mascot for several players and many in the local press. This seemingly innocent stuffed animal was introduced within a baseball team notorious for its stubborn discrimination, and during a particularly fraught era of racial discord in Boston. That June, after years of activism from the city’s Black community, Judge W. Arthur Garrity Jr. ruled that Boston must address the segregation of its schools through redistricting and busing. The ensuing racial animus to these policies led some of the city’s white residents to throw bananas and chant monkey sounds at African American students as they integrated the predominantly white South Boston High School. In this agitated atmosphere, cultural symbols like the Red Sox’s Mighty Joe Young mirrored and amplified the heightened racial tensions of Boston’s busing crisis.
Situated at the intersection of US cultural and social history, Segregation Games examines the surprising ties in 1970s Boston between the racial segregation of the city’s schools and the racial controversies expressed on and off the field of “Red Sox Nation.” “I found out in the black community why they don’t come out [to Fenway Park],” explained Black player Reggie Smith of his experiences with the Red Sox and the city during this period. “The team was the last to get Black players, and some of the things I hear out in the stands make me sick.” To understand these connections, Faflik erases the lines between politics and sport, which routinely blurred in a city suffused with an anti-Black racism that was both deceptively subtle and fiercely overt.
Drawing upon deep archival research from sources that have largely been ignored, such as the Black press of the time, Faflik offers a carefully nuanced portrait of Boston’s cultural life at a pivotal moment in the city’s history.
David Faflik is professor of English at the University of Rhode Island. His books include That Futebol Feeling: Sport and Play in Brazil's Heartland and Transcendental Heresies: Harvard and the Modern American Practice of Unbelief.
