Segregation Games: Boston, Busing, and the Making of Red Sox Nation (Sport for Social Change)

A cultural history of race, resistance, and representation in a city divided by politics and play When outfielder Bernie Carbo joined the Red Sox in 1974, he brought with him a toy gorilla named Mighty Joe Young that became the team’s unofficial mascot for several players and many in the local press.This seemingly innocent stuffed animal was introduced within a baseball team notorious for its stubborn discrimination, and during a particularly fraught era of racial discord in Boston.That June, after years of activism from the city’s Black community, Judge W.Arthur Garrity Jr. ruled that Boston must address the segregation of its schools through redistricting and busing.The ensuing racial animus to these policies led some of the city’s white residents to throw bananas and chant monkey sounds at African American students as they integrated the predominantly white South Boston High School.In this agitated atmosphere, cultural symbols like the Red Sox’s Mighty Joe Young mirrored and amplifi