They Took the Field

Before the NFL opened its doors to Black players again, generations of men and women fought to keep the game alive.

In 1904 Ohio, Isaiah Carter discovers that football is more than a game. On dusty fields, behind factory buildings, and beyond gates that were never meant to open for him, he learns that determination can create opportunities where none seem to exist.

As Isaiah's family builds a new life in Baltimore, their love of football becomes a legacy passed from one generation to the next. His son Benjamin pursues opportunities through college athletics, while Evelyn Carter uses the power of journalism to preserve the stories of players whose contributions were too often overlooked.

Their journey unfolds against the remarkable history of Black football-from the pioneering achievements of Charles Follis and Fritz Pollard to the Black athletes of UCLA and the historic professional-football breakthroughs of 1946.

Through discrimination, financial hardship, community sacrifice, and extraordinary perseverance, the Carter family helps keep alive a game that repeatedly tries to leave them behind.

They Took the Field: Black Football Pioneers is a richly illustrated historical novel about family, resilience, opportunity, and the men and women who refused to surrender their place in American sports.

They were denied opportunities. They built their own. And they took the field anyway.