A riveting historical novel based on the real story of Wilmeth Sidat-Singh, the Black Syracuse University football star who was forced to conceal his race in order to take the field, was released today from Mascot Books. Invisible No More: A Historical Novel by prolific sports journalists Scott Pitoniak and Rick Burton unearths the impressive life story of the athlete, scholar, civil rights pioneer, and American hero that history forgot. The book is on sale now via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Mascot Books, and more.
A rocket-armed passer on the football field and an ankle-breaking playmaker on the basketball court, Wilmeth Sidat-Singh was also a scholar, civil rights pioneer, World War II veteran, and one other thing—forgotten. In this novelized account of Sidat-Singh’s life, fictional sportswriter Breanna Shelton stumbles upon the compelling story of the rocket-armed Syracuse football player who hid his identity in order to play, leading to climactic moments when race and sports collided. As a young Black woman making her way in a profession not ready to fully accept her, Shelton immerses herself in the research, determined to resurrect an inspirational man who time left behind. Along the way, she finds courage and perseverance to transform herself and her career.
Drawing on their experience as nationally honored journalists and historians, authors Pitoniak and Burton spent years meticulously researching and conducting interviews to get to the core of their subject and the times in which he lived. Post–civil rights era society still grapples with dispiriting obstacles that Sidat-Singh faced more than a half century earlier, when he was “passing” to play, serving as a Tuskegee Airman in World War II, and interacting with luminaries such as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Grantland Rice, Sam Lacy, and Joe Louis.
This fictionalized account, as timely now as ever, honors an American hero whose life was cut short while serving a country that didn’t recognize him as a full-fledged citizen because of the color of his skin.
“The story of Wilmeth Sidat-Singh is both heroic and heartbreaking,” writes NBC sportscaster Mike Tirico. “The authors place a much-needed spotlight on a forgotten superstar athlete.”
Invisible No More is on sale now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Mascot Books. To learn more, visit invisiblenomorenovel.com.
