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Katherine C. Mooney

Isaac Murphy: The Rise and Fall of a Black Jockey

Isaac Murphy: The Rise and Fall of a Black Jockey

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  • More about Isaac Murphy: The Rise and Fall of a Black Jockey


The rise and fall of Isaac Murphy, one of America's first Black sports celebrities, is explored in Katherine C. Mooney's book, "The Greatest of Them All: The Rise and Fall of Isaac Murphy, America's First Black Sports Hero." Murphy was a renowned jockey who won three Kentucky Derbies and countless other prestigious races, but his life was fraught with challenges and conflicts. He lived through the Emancipation and Reconstruction periods and was drawn into debates over freedom and equality in nineteenth-century America.

Format: Hardback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 27 June 2023
Publisher: Yale University Press


“Deeply and impressively researched. . . . Ms. Mooney pieces together a narrative with an arc so tight and clean that its a wonder it actually happened. . . . It reads, in other words, like a novel, and that is because the author brought not just rigor, but craft.”—Max Watman, Wall Street Journal

Isaac Murphy, born enslaved in 1861, remains one of the most exceptional jockeys in American history. Black jockeys, including Murphy, dominated the most popular sport in America towards the end of the nineteenth century. They achieved international fame, becoming the first African American superstar athletes. Murphy's remarkable career included victories in three Kentucky Derbies and numerous other prestigious races, solidifying his status as the greatest among them.

Simultaneously, Murphy lived through the transformative era of Emancipation and Reconstruction, witnessing the profound conflicts over freedom and equality in the United States. Undoubtedly, he became embroiled in these conflicts, which had devastating consequences.

In her captivating book, Katherine C. Mooney delves into the history of Murphy's troubled life, his untimely death in 1896 at the age of thirty-five, and his enduring legacy. Through recounting Murphy's personal story, Mooney also unveils two remarkable tales of change in nineteenth-century America: the debates over the shape of a multiracial democracy and the battles over power in an economy that gradually resembled the corporate, wealth-polarized world we recognize today.

This meticulously researched and skillfully crafted narrative offers a captivating glimpse into the life and times of Isaac Murphy, a pioneering figure in American sports history who faced both triumphs and challenges in a rapidly changing world.

Weight: 370g
Dimension: 147 x 223 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300254426

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