The High Hard One intimately portrays the rough-and-ready life of a bush-league ballplayer during the Great Depression. Kirby Higbe broke into the big time with the Chicago Cubs in 1938, showed his talent for striking out batters while pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1940, and led the National League in victories for the pennant-winning Brooklyn Dodgers in 1941. He was with the Dodgers when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier and integrated the team in 1947. That year was, for Higbe, ? the end of what you might call the Babe Ruth era and the beginning of modern professional baseball.?