Robert Peterson

Robert W. Peterson (1925–2006) was an American newspaper writer and freelance journalist who became renowned for his books on sports history, particularly the seminal 1970 work *Only the Ball Was White* on the Negro Leagues.[1][2][4] He worked as a writer and editor for the *New York World-Telegram* until 1966, then freelanced for magazines like *Boys' Life*, authoring additional titles such as *Cages to Jump Shots* (1990) and *Pigskin* (1996).[2][4] Peterson combined extensive research with oral histories, establishing foundational scholarship on African-American baseball.[3][4]