The Chosen City Reveals the Little-Known Story of the New Hampshire Team That Helped Integrate Professional Baseball
The Chosen City: The Owner, the Players, and the New Hampshire City that Integrated Baseball in the United States by Bill Ranauro
Author Bill Ranauro uncovers the historic role of Roy Campanella, Don Newcombe, & the city of Nashua in breaking baseball’s color barrier in the United States.
NEW YORK CITY, NY, UNITED STATES, March 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Author Bill Ranauro brings an overlooked chapter of American sports history to light in his book, The Chosen City. The work recounts the remarkable story of how a determined baseball executive, two extraordinary African American players, and a small city in New Hampshire came together in 1946 to challenge decades of segregation in professional baseball.
The story begins in the spring of 1946, when Brooklyn Dodgers owner and general manager Branch Rickey signed Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe. While Rickey is widely recognized for signing Jackie Robinson, the story of Campanella and Newcombe has received far less attention. Robinson played the 1946 season in Montreal, Canada, while Campanella and Newcombe were assigned to the Nashua Dodgers, a minor league team based in Nashua, New Hampshire.
Their assignment carried historic significance. When Campanella and Newcombe took the field in Nashua, they became the first African American players since 1887 to play on a professional baseball team in the United States. At the same time, the Nashua Dodgers became the first United States-based team in organized baseball during the twentieth century to place Black players on its roster.
Ranauro’s book highlights not only the courage of the players but also the leadership of the team’s owner and the community that welcomed them. The city of Nashua played an essential role in supporting the integration of the team, demonstrating that progress could be achieved through cooperation, respect, and a willingness to challenge long-standing barriers.
Through careful research and engaging storytelling, The Chosen City examines how the players, the team’s leadership, and the city worked together to create a moment that reshaped the future of professional baseball. The book explores the social climate of the time and the determination required to move the sport toward greater equality.
Bill Ranauro wrote The Chosen City to ensure that this important chapter in baseball history receives the recognition it deserves. By focusing on the people and the community that helped make integration possible, the book offers readers a deeper understanding of how meaningful change often begins in unexpected places.
The book is now available; secure your copy here: https://a.co/d/0bGkIiYG
For review copies, interview requests, or additional information, please contact:
Bill Ranauro
BrightKey PR
wranauro@gmail.com
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