US Airways - June 2013 - (Page 188)

Must Read premium ballplayers would require thinking outside the box, outside the state. Outside the Northern-European, family-farm gene pool. To that end, he’d begun cherry picking players from the struggling Negro Leagues. This was Neil Churchill’s emulsifying machine, if you will: an efficacious blending of black and white. Miracle Whip baseball. God knows what cash cow he was milking. Churchill offered Troupe $175 a month, $35 above what he made with the American Giants. He told a Bismarck Tribune reporter he’d landed “the black Babe Ruth.” That was the car salesman in him talking; no-money-down, zero-percentfinancing hyperbole. Troupe had yet to prove himself on a ball field day in, day out. This would be his chance. Money alone couldn’t lure a 20-year-old black man to one of the whitest, poorest states in America. True love had a hand. Quincy Troupe was flying west, through the darkness and into the dawn, primarily for the joy of playing baseball, that notorious heartbreaker of a game. It must have been moonglow, way up in the blue It must have been moonglow that led me straight to you I still hear you sayin’, “Dear one, hold me fast.” And I keep on prayin’, “Oh, Lord, please make this last.” ***** Quincy Troupe arrived in Bismarck about noon on July 26, 1933, and promptly checked into the four-floorwalkup Princess Hotel, the only hotel in town that would accept black guests. Roosevelt Davis had a room down the hall. He’d pitched for the St. Louis Stars back when Troupe was in high school. Davis was the first knighterrant ballplayer to answer Neil Churchill’s call. In June, the Tribune greeted him with a banner headline: “Bismarck Drubs Fort Lincoln 16-0 as Negro Hurler Makes Debut.” “How strong is the baseball out here?” Troupe asked. “These people don’t know a thing about baseball,” Davis replied, “except that they want you to win.” Who could blame them? Sports and recreational betting were a welcome escape from the drudgery of daily living. Unemployment crept toward 30 percent. The Great Depression hit the Great Plains hard in the early 1920s, ahead of the rest of the country. Farms expanded too fast, fueled by easy credit. Overproduction crashed crop prices. Beyond that, North Dakota was in its fifth year of drought. Crops wilted with numbing regularity and epic dust storms swirled, creating conditions favorable to a biblical invasion of grasshoppers. They nibbled laundry on clotheslines, ate the paint off houses, and congealed into swarms that blocked http://www.bondurant.com http://www.bondurant.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of US Airways - June 2013

US Airways - June 2013
Table of Contents
CEO Letter
From the Editor
Did You Know?
Making It Happen
Hot Spots: Best Outdoor Music Venues
Hub Crawl: Los Angeles International Airport
Wine & Dine: Infused Spirits
Great Tastes: B.B. King's Blues Clubs
Diversions: Beer Gardens
Great Escapes: Hard Rock Hotels
Great Escapes: Universal Orlando Resort
Diversions: Seven Super Spas
Adventure: Sebasco Harbor Resort, Maine
Golf: Billy Casper
Gear Up: Family Games
Travel Feature: The Lure of the Lake
US Airways: All in the Family
Chefs Tell: Sea Fire Grill
Charlotte, NC
Special Section: Los Angeles Arts
Must Read: Color Blind
Great Dates
Puzzles
Readers Resource Index
Your US Airways Guide
Video Entertainment
Audio Entertainment
U.S. and Caribbean Service Map
International Service Map
Airport Terminal Maps
US Airways Fleet/Customs & Immigration
Passenger Info/Contact US Airways
US Airways MarketPlace®
Window or Aisle?

US Airways - June 2013