A moving and fascinating history of the game of baseball. Goes beyond the stolen bases and home runs to demonstrate how baseball has been influenced by, and has in turn influenced, American life.

"Jackie Robinson always loved sports, especially baseball. He could run, leap, and throw better than any other kid around. But he lived at a time when the rules weren't fair to African Americans: Even though Jackie was a great athlete, he wasn't allowed on the best teams just because of the color of his skin. Jackie knew that sports were best when everyone, of every color, played together. He became the first black baseball player on a major-league...

In 1936, the New York Yankees wanted to test a hot prospect named Joe DiMaggio to see if he was ready for the big leagues. They knew just the ballplayer to call, Satchel Paige, the best pitcher anywhere, black or white. For the game, Paige joined a group of amateur African-American players, and they faced off against a team of white major leaguers plus young DiMaggio.

Introduces the Negro Leagues of baseball, highlighting the players, coaches, owners, and teams that dominated the leagues during the 1930s and 1940s.

It is an epic overflowing with heroes and hopefuls, scoundrels and screwballs. It is a saga spanning the quest for racial justice, the clash of labor and management, the transformation of popular culture, and the unfolding of the national pastime. Here is the story of a nation at work and play. Experience it in ten thrilling "innings" from master storyteller and award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns.