Chatham Coloured All-Stars book wins 2024 Speaker’s Book Award

Heidi Jacobs has authored a book about the Chatham Coloured All-Stars.’ Pictured in Windsor, Ont. on Thursday, June 1, 2023. (Michelle Maluske/CTV News Windsor)

The book called “1934:The Chatham Coloured All-Stars’ Barrier-Breaking Year” has been named the winner of the 2024 Speaker’s Book Award.

The book by Heidi LM Jacobs was published in June 2023 by Biblioasis, a literary press based in Windsor.

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario Ted Arnott made the announcement at a ceremony at the Legislative Building at Queen’s Park on Monday.The Chatham All-Stars are shown in this photo (Source: Brock Greenhalgh)

Biblioasis said the book features scrapbooks, newspaper accounts, and oral histories from members of the team and their families and it shines a light on a largely overlooked chapter of Black baseball and the story of one group of men who fought for the respect that was too often denied them.Jacobs is a librarian at the University of Windsor and one of the researchers behind the award-winning Breaking the Colour Barrier: Wilfred “Boomer” Harding & the Chatham Coloured All-Stars project.

Promoting Ontario’s literary talent, the Speaker’s Book Award recognizes non-fiction works that highlight the province’s history and celebrate its diverse stories. Special consideration is given to books focusing on Ontario’s parliamentary heritage and on provincial political discourse.