Rob Ruck

Rob Ruck is a Professor in the History Department at the University of Pittsburgh. His most recent book is Tropic of Football: The Long and Perilous Journey of Samoans to the NFL. He is also the author of "Raceball: How the Major Leagues Colonized the Black and Latin Game," "Sandlot Seasons: Sport in Black Pittsburgh," "The Tropic of Baseball: Baseball in the Dominican Republic," the co-author with Steve Nelson and James R. Barrett of "Steve Nelson, American Radical," and co-author with Maggie Patterson and Michael Weber of "Rooney: A Sporting Life."

His documentary work includes the Mid-Atlantic Emmy-winning "Kings on the Hill: Baseball's Forgotten Men" and "The Republic of Baseball: Dominican Giants of the American Game." Ruck was the guest historian for the creation of the Western Pennsylvania Sport History Museum. He was also a voting member of the special committee that elected 18 individuals from black and Caribbean baseball to the Hall of Fame in 2006 and served as an advisor for Viva Baseball, a permanent exhibit on Latin baseball at the Hall of Fame.