Richard Santillan

Richard Santillan is Professor Emeritus at California State Univeristy at Cal Poly Pomona in the Department of Ethnic and Women’s Studies. Dr. Santillan has taught Chicano Studies and Political Science for 42 years at the state and community colleges. He has published numerous academic articles and books on the political, social, and cultural history of the Mexican American community throughout the United States. For the past 15 years, his research interest has centered on the roles that baseball and softball played in advancing political, civil, cultural, and gender rights among the Mexican American population.

He is currently a member of the Latino Baseball Project housed at CSU San Bernardino and the lead author of a pictorial book series on Mexican American baseball and softball between the 1890s and 1950s. The books are Mexican American Baseball in Los Angeles (2011); Mexican American Baseball in the Inland Empire (2012); and Mexican American Baseball In Orange County (2013). A 4th book, Mexican American Baseball on the Central Coast, will be released this December 9th. Mexican American Baseball in the Pomona Valley will be released next Fall of 2014 followed by Mexican American Baseball in the San Fernando Valley in 2015. Professor Santillan is a long time Dodger fan going back when the Dodgers played at the Memorial Coliseum.