Robert Peterson

Robert W. Peterson

• Born December 19, 1925 in Warren, PA USA
• Died February 11, 2006 in Salisbury, PA USA

Biographical Information

Robert Peterson wrote the landmark oral history Only The Ball Was White, a seminal history of the Negro Leagues. He was a posthumous recipient of the Henry Chadwick Award for outstanding contributions to baseball research in 2021. He was a member of the Hall of Fame Special Committee on the Negro Leagues.

He also wrote a number of other works unrelated to baseball, such as a history of the Boy Scout Movement in the U.S.

Further Reading

• Mark Armour: "Robert W. Peterson", in Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Vol. 50, Nr. 1 (Spring 2021), pp. 118-119.
• Robert Peterson: Only the Ball Was White: A History of Legendary Black Players and All-Black Professional Teams, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 1992 (originally published in 1970).

External Links

• SABR tribute page