Gerald Early, the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters in WashU Arts & Sciences, has been nominated for a 2026 Dan Jenkins Medal for Excellence in Sportwriting.
Early was nominated in the Best Book category for “Play Harder: The Triumph of Black Baseball in America.” Published by Ten Speed Press and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, “Play Harder” chronicles the rise of Black baseball from Reconstruction to World War II, with a special emphasis on the formation of the Negro Leagues. Later chapters examine the role of baseball during the Civil Rights Movement and amid the Black power movement; the relationships between Black and Latino players; the birth of free agency; and the state of the game today.
Organized since 2017 by the Center for Sports Communication & Media at The University of Texas at Austin, the Jenkins Medal is named for Dan Jenkins (1928-2019), a celebrated sports journalist and author of 24 books. This year’s winners, chosen by a jury of sportwriters and editors, will be announced Sept. 17. For more information, visit moody.utexas.edu.
“Play Harder” also was a finalist for the 2025 Casey Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year. The awards are organized by Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine. Early was a guest of honor at the awards ceremony, which took place March 22 in Covington, Ky. For more information, visit spitballmag.com.
