cover image Thou Shalt Not Steal: The Baseball Life and Times of a Rifle-Armed Negro League Catcher

Thou Shalt Not Steal: The Baseball Life and Times of a Rifle-Armed Negro League Catcher

Bill "Ready" Cash and Al Hunter Jr.. Love Eagle, $11.95 paper (202p) ISBN 978-0-615-44546-5

Cash offers a detailed look at his life in this fiercely opinionated memoir. While he acknowledges that he was never a household name%E2%80%94unlike Josh Gibson or Satchel Paige%E2%80%94Cash makes the case that he, along with many other talented players, were the backbone of the Negro League. His bitterness at not making it to the majors (he was born the same year as Jackie Robinson) is palpable%E2%80%94and certainly justified%E2%80%94based on his talents. Even with Major League Baseball's glacially slow efforts to include black players, Cash's batting%E2%80%94and especially his powerful throwing arm%E2%80%94should have allowed him to join the world's best players. Ironically, Cash found himself treated with more respect when he played abroad. Even readers who are not fans of our national pastime will be moved by Cash's devotion to his wife of more than 60 years and his impressive work ethic, dating back to his pre-baseball days.