Some books for your Springtime reading

Back When We Were Colored; Helping Black Baseball Players During Segregation, And Being Helped by Some ‘Decent White Men’ Along the Way – $19

By Virgal Tyrone Woolfolk

With Sally Tippett Rains

Our content manager, Sally Tippett Rains was honored to assist with this recently released book by Virgal Tyrone Woolfolk. It is Virgal’s life story written to tell about his family’s experiences during Segregation.

Synopsis:

During the 1950’s and 1960’s when Segregation was in place in America, players like Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson would travel from town to town with their teams but the Black players were not welcome at the “white” hotels like the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis. How did the Black players survive? Local Black families, like the author, Virgal Woolfolk’s family the Holly’s would open their homes to welcome the athletes along with the famous entertainers who were also traveling for their shows.

Lonnie and Roberta Holly converted their home on West Page Avenue to a boarding house for a time and Virgal’s family helped with the endeavor. Virgal, who grew up in Wright City, along with his parents would gather fresh meat and vegetables and bring to the Holly’s house to serve their guests.

The book contains many celebrity connections for Virgal due to his life in St. Louis where his family knew comedian Redd Foxx and horror film star Vincent Price, to his days playing stickball with Willie Mays, being helped by Jack Danforth and even sitting next to The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s father on an airplane. It explores the role segregation played in in the youngster’s life, and the impact working at the boarding house and as he puts it, “some decent white folks” who helped him along the way.

Beginning with his days of outdoor plumbing in rural Missouri to his subsequent success in the Navy, attending law school and even owning his own company and living in a gated community, it is a history of the times. But more than that with references to his family connections to W.C. Handy, the famous composer of The St. Louis Blues and family member who invented a famous fried chicken recipe, it is Virgal’s story of never giving up and perserviering on to great success in his life. For more information or to buy: CLICK HERE.

Celebrate the Return of Soccer to STL in 2026- $42

ST. LOUIS SOCCER: AN ILLUSTRATED TIMELINE, New Book From Reedy Press, By Dave Lange; Memorable Players and Unforgettable Stories From America’s First Soccer Capital

ST. LOUIS, MO—Reedy Press is pleased to announce the release of its newest local interest book, St. Louis Soccer: An Illustrated Timeline by Dave Lange.

While soccer’s surge in popularity is a recent phenomenon in the United States, the sport has been deeply embedded in the fabric of life in St. Louis for 150 years.

St. Louis has developed more than 75 men and women who have represented their country in international soccer, fielded more than 90 national championship teams, and sent more than 30 players, coaches, and officials into national soccer halls of fame.

St. Louis is the site of the first international soccer match played in the United States in 1884. The city is the birthplace of one of the nation’s first professional soccer leagues formed in 1907. It is home to World Cup players, including Tim Ream, Josh Sargent, and Becky Sauerbrunn.

From the very first game in 1875 to the five St. Louis players who helped the United States stun England in the 1950 World Cup to the latest national champions in the 2020s, author Dave Lange chronicles almost 150 key moments in the 150-year history of the world’s most popular sport in America’s first soccer city.

St. Louis Soccer: An Illustrated Timeline is available wherever books are sold.

BOOK DETAILS

St. Louis Soccer: An Illustrated Timeline, by Dave Lange

ISBN: 9781681066509

Hardcover, 11 x 8.5, 176 pages

$42.95

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dave Lange has covered soccer for local and national media and authored two books about soccer—Soccer Made in St. Louis: A History of the Game in America’s First Soccer Capital and Year One: St. Louis CITY SC from Reedy Press. Lange was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame for his work in soccer media and serves on the board of the Society for American Soccer History. He also is a nationally licensed youth soccer coach. Follow Dave at his website soccermadeinstlouis.com and on social media @soccermadeinstl on X and @DavidLange on Facebook.

SCHEDULED EVENTS