Two Indigenous players squared off in the 1911 World Series. This book tells their story
John Meyers was a catcher for the New York Giants. Charles Bender pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics
Toronto Blue Jays ace pitcher Alek Manoah is off to a tough start this year, in part, because he's having trouble with his slider.
Over 100 years ago Ojibwe pitcher Charles Bender was likely the inventor of that pitch.
"He entered the game at age 19 and it's amazing to think that he is the inventor of this pitch that's still used today from young ages to the pros," said author Traci Sorell.
Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series is a new children's book written by Sorell. It tells the story of Bender facing off in the 1911 World Series against catcher John Meyers, who was Cahuilla — a first for two Indigenous players. The book is illustrated by Arigon Starr.
Meyers was considered a strong hitter with a career batting average of .291 and Bender was a Hall of Famer, but their story isn't widely known.
If you're wondering, Bender's Philadelphia Athletics beat Meyer's New York Giants, four games to two to win the championship.
Here's part of Sorrell's conversation with Day 6 host Brent Bambury about the kind of racism these two players dealt with during their playing careers and why it's a relevant story for the children of today.
I didn't know the slider was invented by Charles Bender. How well did that pitch serve Charles?
The manager of his team [Connie Mack] said consistently that if he had to take just one person, at the end of a game … [if] their backs were against the wall, he was always going to choose [Charles] ... because of that pitch and just his mastery.
How did Charles get into playing baseball?
So one of the things that I found most intriguing about Charles Bender was that he learned the game of baseball in boarding schools. His first boarding school [was] in Philadelphia, run by the Episcopalians ... the second [school he attended] was run by the federal government in Carlisle, Penn. And it was really at Carlisle under [coach Glenn (Pop) Warner] that he learned.
They had free time with just, you know … balls and things. He had excellent eyesight. He often would do skeet shooting. And [he would] just practice his game and he became an excellent pitcher.
The other [player in the book] is John Meyers. What can you tell us about his story? How did he get started in baseball?
He starts playing for Santa Fe Railroad's team because he's working for the railroad. He plays in a number of what we would call bush league teams — independent teams.
He doesn't come into the majors until he's in his late 20s, whereas Bender debuts at age 19. But [Meyers] is a catcher and a wonderful catcher, but also excels at batting. He leads his team for three years … and is third in the National League [in batting average] for those three years as well.
If you know anything about the game of baseball, the catcher is one of the absolute smartest people on the field … they're calling the pitches [and] they're really managing that game on the field.
Both of them then meet against each other in the World Series, coming from these very different paths. I thought this is a compelling story for anyone, but certainly for young people.
This was not a diverse game at the time.... What was it like for these two Indigenous people playing with mostly white players, for mostly white fans in the stands?
During the 1910s, which if you're a baseball fan was called the Dead Ball era, you do have a number of Indigenous players who are coming largely … out of the residential schools, because in essence, it was a way for the school to make money. They helped negotiate contracts.
The overwhelming reaction of fans, and also on the field with other players, managers, etc.... It's very, very racist and difficult for them to just play the game.
I mean, there's just no other way to say it, because if you look at the depictions of leading newspapers at the time, like the New York Times … they're not like a normal write up of a baseball game that you would read today.
It's … laced with things that have nothing to do with either of them. [For example,] "This player really put some kind of magic spell or conjured up some … voodoo on this other player," and these things that, again, are just completely racist, stereotypical things. And yet this is how the game's getting written up.
If you Google Bender or Meyers, then you find that they were both referred to as "chief." What's the story behind that?
So it's similar to … the treatment of African Americans, Black [people] here in the United States, there's this sense of a 'boy' or, you know, they would use someone's first name. They would never call them Mr. or Mrs., right?
That usage by white people, for folks who are not tribal leaders … it is really pejorative and it's just another put down. So when someone calls you chief, it is certainly a way to communicate that you are lesser than me and a way to degrade the culture. Again, I can't fathom.
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This is a children's book that you're writing. What were the challenges for you as a writer to explain the racism experienced by Bender and Meyers in this book at a children's level?
The reality is kids, especially in the United States, experience racism every day. It is absolutely part and parcel of our reality here. So you can't be reading the news or interacting with pop culture just in your daily life, at school, in your communities, and not know that exists. So that part wasn't the challenge for me.
The part that was the challenge for me was figuring out how to make sure I maintain [Bender and Meyer's] full humanity while also showing how people had really worked to not let them have their full humanity in their daily lives.
Radio segment produced by Laurie Allan. Q&A edited for length and clarity.