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Felipe Alou

SI has a good article on Felipe Alou, and the tribulations he dealt with as a Latin American player breaking into professional baseball when the color barrier was still being dealt with.

Pretty remarkable stuff...among other things, in 1956, his first year as a pro, Alou was assigned to Lake Charles in the Evangeline League, prompting the Louisiana legislature to pass, and Louisiana Governor Earl Long to sign, a law prohibiting integrated sporting events in the state of Louisiana.

Imagine, being 21 years old, speaking almost no English, being assigned to a team in a strange country where virtually no one on your team speaks Spanish, and then finding out that your very presence caused a state to pass a law targeting you, and prohibiting you from doing what you love, because of the color of your skin.

Really good story...check it out...