The greatest American Indian baseball player of all time, Charles Albert Bender, was, according to a contemporary, “the coolest pitcher in the game.” Using a trademark delivery, an impressive assortment of pitches that may have included the games first slider, and an apparently unflappable demeanor, he earned a reputation as baseballs great clutch pitcher during tight Deadball Era pennant races and in front of boisterous World Series crowds. More remarkably yet, “Chief” Benders Hall of Fame career unfolded in the face of immeasurable prejudice. This skillfully told and complete account of Benders life is also a portrait of greatness of character maintained despite incredible pressureof how a celebrated man thrived while carrying an untold weight on his shoulders. With a journalists eye for detail and a novelists feel for storytelling, Tom Swift takes readers on Benders improbable journeyfrom his early years on the White Earth Reservation, to his development at the Carlisle Indian School, to his big break and eventual rise to the pinnacle of baseball. The story of a paradoxical American sports hero, one who achieved a once-unfathomable celebrity while suffering the harsh injustices of a racially intolerant world, Chief Benders Burden is an eye-opening and inspiring narrative of a unique American life.

"Chief Bender's Burden [is] another fine offering from the University of Nebraska Press, a steady source of excellent baseball books."-King Kaufman, Salon.com

"Meticulously researched and eloquently written, Chief Bender's Burden brings alive a true master of America's game. Bender's rise from the playing fields of the Carlisle Indian School to the Baseball Hall of Fame is fascinating and inspiring. One contemporary commentator called him `the coolest pitcher in the game,' and this is the coolest book on the shelf."-Bill Crawford, author of All American: The Rise and Fall of Jim Thorpe

"Vividly written and carefully crafted, this book charges like a steam train, fueled by compassion and puffing with rousing courage."-Tom Adelman, author of The Long Ball

"Will be a delightful read for A's fans of the great pitcher who was a huge part of the first two A's dynasties."-Max Silberman, Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society

"Chief Bender's Burden: The Silent Struggle of a Baseball Star is written with flawless style. The subject fascinates. Pick an afternoon when you can relax and enjoy a good book, then go get this one."-Dwight Hobbes, Twin Cities Daily Planet

Tom Swift is an award-winning journalist, a freelance writer, and a member of the Society for American Baseball Research. He and his wife live in Minnesota.