We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball: "5th Inning"–"Extra Innings"

by Kadir Nelson
This engaging history of Negro League Baseball details the obstacles and prejudices African-American baseball players faced in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s.

This list covers vocabulary from "5th Inning"–"Extra Innings."
15 words 14 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. technician
    someone known for high skill in an artistic pursuit
    He was a great technician. Handled pitchers with ease and could throw to second base from a crouch.
  2. satchel
    luggage consisting of a small case with a flat bottom
    But the most famous of all pitchers was Leroy “Satchel” Paige. He got his nickname “Satchel” when he was a boy. He used to work at the train depot, carrying folks’ bags and satchels.
  3. rickety
    inclined to shake as from weakness or defect
    And we traveled to games by train, not on those old bouncy, rickety buses.
  4. mediocre
    lacking exceptional quality or ability
    Negro League teams would only carry about fifteen to nineteen players at most, with about six pitchers—two good and the rest mediocre—and one good catcher.
  5. barrack
    a building or group of buildings to house military personnel
    Like everything else back then, the military was segregated. The companies, the barracks, the commissary, and baseball. If a ballplayer was good enough, he might not have to see a day of combat.
  6. draft
    compulsory military service
    Although several of our teams lost players to the draft, Negro baseball was still good business, and with the help of night baseball, the leagues thrived during World War II.
  7. thrive
    make steady progress
    Although several of our teams lost players to the draft, Negro baseball was still good business, and with the help of night baseball, the leagues thrived during World War II.
  8. negotiate
    discuss the terms of an arrangement
    Satch and Josh later negotiated their own fee, and soon the players banded together and demanded more money—and they got it.
  9. commissioner
    a government administrator
    After nearly twenty-five long years as Major League Baseball Commissioner, Judge Landis died in 1944. A new commissioner was elected, A. B. “Happy” Chandler.
  10. stub
    strike accidentally against an object
    They couldn’t wait for him to make a mistake. As soon as he stubbed his toe, Chandler was out of there.
  11. court-martial
    subject to trial by a military tribunal
    Once, while he was riding a military bus, the driver told him to sit in the back where Negroes were supposed to sit. Jackie knew that on a military bus he could sit wherever he wanted, so he refused. Although the army officers knew he was right, Jackie was court-martialed.
  12. epithet
    a defamatory or abusive word or phrase
    During the meeting, Mr. Rickey acted as if he was angry, yelling and calling Jackie every racial epithet in the book, just to test Jackie’s famous temper!
  13. eloquent
    expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively
    This really impressed Mr. Rickey, and it only shows just how smart and eloquent Jackie was.
  14. pennant
    a flag that is awarded to the winner or champion
    The Dodgers won the pennant in 1947, and The Sporting News named Jackie rookie of the year.
  15. debut
    the act of beginning something new
    Heartbroken over never making it to the majors, Josh passed away shortly before Jackie’s debut with the Dodgers.
Created on Mon Jun 16 12:03:13 EDT 2025 (updated Mon Jun 16 12:21:02 EDT 2025)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.