THE OWNER’S BOX
Book One: The Inheritance
A Negro League Football™ Dynasty
Nothing was given, so they built their inheritance.
Set in 1936 Birmingham, Alabama, The Owner’s Box: Book One—The Inheritance brings the world of Negro League Football™ to life through a story of Black ownership, family, and the fight to defend a legacy.
THE STORY
Every inheritance has enemies.
Depression-era Birmingham. The NFL has shut out Black players. Banks won’t lend. Night riders still prowl the country roads.
Yet on five acres of red Alabama clay, Cornelius James has built something extraordinary: the Birmingham Hammers, a crown jewel of Negro League Football™. For nearly twenty years, Mitchell Field has stood as proof that something built by Black hands can be owned, defended, and passed forward.
When the undefeated Harrisburg Trojans come south for a championship showdown, powerful outsiders arrive seeking more than football. They want the land, the business, and the legacy.
Inspired by historical Black football teams across the country—including the Harrisburg Trojans, Chicago Black Hawks, and the Brown Bombers of New York and Norfolk—The Owner’s Box brings this overlooked part of American Sports History to life through historical fiction.
The history came first. The story followed.
MEET THE CHARACTERS
CORNELIUS JAMES
The Builder. The Visionary. Football Legacy.
A man determined to build something that will outlive the barriers, the prejudice, and the time itself.
LUCY WEBB
Owner. Educated. Strategist.
A woman with the strength, intelligence, and independence to build a life and protect what matters.
BEAUMONT SELLERS
Quick. Relentless. Born to Lead.
A young star of the Birmingham Hammers whose talent, determination, and leadership make him a player to watch.
