Louis Sockalexis: Baseball’s First Indian

Ed Rice, author of Baseball’s First Indian, Louis Sockalexis: Penobscot Legend, Cleveland Indian, will give a presentation about the career of Louis Sockalexis at the Blue Hill Public Library on Wednesday, December 5th at 5:30 PM.
Born in 1871 on Maine’s Penobscot Indian reservation and nephew of a chief, Louis Sockalexis became professional baseball’s first American Indian player in 1897. Ed stresses that “Sockalexis was truly an unrecognized civil rights icon who suffered extreme prejudice and paved the way for other pioneer American Indian players.” According to Ed, many institutions have been disrespectful to Sockalexis, portraying him as only a minor footnote to the game’s history, when in fact Sockalexis deserves the utmost respect as an extraordinary athlete.
Ed Rice grew up in Bangor, Maine and graduated from Bangor High School. He holds a B.A. from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in education from the University of Southern Maine. Formerly a reporter for several newspapers, he has been a theater critic and arts commentator, has taught journalism, communication studies, and English, and has run and completed 27 marathons. Ed is also affiliated with the “Louis Sockalexis Monument Association,” a group dedicated to building a fitting memorial, somewhere in Maine, to the first-known Native American to play professional baseball.
This event is sponsored by the library, there is no charge, and everyone is welcome.