The Era begins in 1947 with Jackie Robinson changing major league baseball forever by taking the field for the Dodgers. Dazzling, momentous events characterize the decade that followed-Robinson's amazing accomplishments; the explosion on the national scene of such soon-to-be legends as Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Bobby Thomson, Duke Snider, and Yogi Berra; Casey Stengel's crafty managing; the emergence of televised games; and the stunning success of the Yankees as they play in nine out of eleven World Series. The Era concludes with the relocation of the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, a move that shook the sport to its very roots.

    Although the oldest rookie around, he was already a legend. For twenty-two years, beginning in 1926, Paige dazzled throngs with his performance in the Negro Baseball Leagues. Then he outlasted everyone by playing professional baseball, in and out of the majors, until 1965. Struggle—against early poverty and racial discrimination—was part of Paige's story. So was fast living and a humorous point of view. His immortal advice was "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you."

    For more than a quarter century the Bard of the Booth captured great moments in baseball—and effortlessly interwove them with essential and often hilarious insights into the human condition.In loving commemoration and celebration of the life and career of an exceptional Man of Baseball, this new edition of O Holy Cow! includes a new foreword by baseball legend Bobby Murcer, a new poem written by editors Tom Peyer and Hart Seely, and more than sixty additional never-before-published masterworks of short, impromptu verse that capture the unmistakable voice of the unforgettable Rizzuto.

    The World Series was underway, and the game the day after Mathewson's death took on the trappings of a state funeral: officials slowly lowered the flag to half-mast, each ballplayer wore a black armband, and fans joined together in a chorus of Nearer My God to Thee. Newspaper editorials recalled Mathewson's glorious career with the New York Giants, but also emphasized his unstinting good sportsmanship and voluntary service in World War I. The pitcher known to one and all as Matty or Big Six was as beloved for the strength of character he brought to the national pastime, as for his stunning 373 career victories. I do not expect to see his like again, said his best friend and former manager, John McGraw. But I do know that the example he set and the imprint he left on the sport that he loved and honored will remain long after I am gone. In Matty, Ray Robinson tells the story of a man who became America's first authentic sports hero. Until Mathewson, Robinson reveals, Americans loved baseball, but looked down on ballplayers and other athletes as hard-drinking, skirt-chasing ne'er-do-wells. Deprived of real-life role models, millions of readers followed the serialized exploits of Frank Merriwell, a fictional hero who excelled at sports from baseball to billiards and never drank, smoke, or swore. Robinson shows how an eager public greeted Mathewson as a flesh-and-blood version of Merriwell from his first year at Bucknell University, where he shone as star pitcher, premier field-goal kicker, and class president. Lured into the big leagues before he could graduate, the tall, handsome pitcher soon won over men, women and children with his sense of fair play and his arsenal of blazing fastballs, sweeping curves, and infamously deceptive fadeaway pitches. Robinson skillfully details the highlights of Mathewson's career, including his showdowns against the great batters of his day and his encounters with the young Brooklyn, Chicago, Pittsburgh and St. Louis teams. Here are the six remarkable days in October, 1905 when Mathewson became the only pitcher ever to hurl three straight shutouts in a World Series, and the afternoon at West Point when he won $50 in a bet that he could throw 20 of his best pitches to exactly the same spot. Robinson does not underplay Mathewson's occasional failings, but the most surprising aspect of this fascinating portrait is just how close America's first Hall of Fame pitcher came to living up to his image. Drawing on rare interviews, press clips, and long overlooked eyewitness accounts, Matty brings baseball's golden age to life--not only the great teams and the early superstars, but the long train trips between games, with cramped berths and no air conditioning; the small town ballplayers let loose amidst big city vice; and the two-bit gambling that eventually led to the infamous Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 Series (a scandal that might have escaped detection if the sportswriters in the press box with Mathewson had not been able to rely on his experienced eye for clues to how ballplayers might throw games). Offering rare insight into the making of an early twentieth century American hero, Matty is must reading for anyone who loves baseball.

    Offering play-by-play descriptions of the games, historical trivia, and lifetime statistics of key players, this book shows how life goes on even after the worst moments--and how a little mistake can sometimes make a very big difference. Photos.

    Ron Santo has a remarkable story to tell, from the trauma of a serious illness to his fame as one of the greatest third basemen in the history of baseball.Loaded with untold stories about the greatest players ever to grace the game, and updated for seasons to come, this book will delight not only Cubs fans, but baseball fans everywhere.

    The Official Book of the 1993 World Series, featuring more than 300 color photographs.

    Baseball: A Treasury of Art and Literature

    Until now, no single volume has focused on the historical development of these special spaces, from the crossroads of neighboring cornfields to the intersections of state highways. In Diamonds, Michael Gershman carefully traces the often curious genesis of these cultural landmarks that mirror, in many respects, the evolution of our urban landscape. All the great parks - Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Sportsman's Park, Ebbets Field, Shibe Park, Crosley Field, the Polo Grounds, Comiskey Park, Forbes Field, Tiger Stadium - and lesser-known gems - Baker Bowl, South End Grounds, Palace of the Fans, and Hilltop Park - are celebrated with a rich blend of meticulously researched history, illuminating anecdotes, rare photographs, and evocative illustrations. Diamonds also tells the story of more modern baseball palaces - Candlestick Park, the Astrodome, and Camden Yards - and describes parks that were proposed but ne

    "The Mozart of baseball statisticians" (Chicago Tribune) sets the tune for the new season with player-to-player ratings of more than 1,050 major league players and minor league prospects.

    Communities can exploit it to promote economic and social well-being, but not without risk. Drawing on case studies of fifteen locales including Fresno, Birmingham, Durham, Buffalo, Indianapolis, and Colorado Springs, Arthur Johnson systematically analyzes the political process by which communities decide to invest in stadiums for minor league baseball teams. He explores such factors as the presence or absence of a development strategy as a guide in decision making, and the value to a community of a minor league team and its stadium. Johnson also describes the dynamics of minor league baseball franchise relocation, the importance of intergovernmental relations to stadium financing, and the organization and business of minor league baseball, including its formal relationship with major league baseball.

    Describes the life and times of the Hall of Fame pitcher who gained wide-spread recognition in the Negro Leagues before becoming the first black pitcher in the American League.

    "Everything you wanted to know about parks, stadiums, fields and domes."--Baltimore Sun. 200 photographs throughout.

    Bartell was an inspirational sparkplug whose career began with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1927. He later played for the Phillies, Cubs, and Tigers, as well as the Giants twice, and finished with a lifetime batting average of .284 for almost 8,000 at-bats. Earthy, witty, and remarkably astute, Bartell tells a tale of baseball intrigue that is hard to put down and which brings back a forgotten era.

    

    Coming into focus in these pages - perhaps for the first time - are such mythic sports personalities as Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis, Army football's Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside; Bob Kurland and George Mikan, college basketball's original "twin towers"; Casey Stengel, master of the tortured sentence; and Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, the era's most feared hitters. Also to be found in these pages are such figures as Satchel Paige, history's greatest strikeout machine; Oklahoma football's Bud Wilkinson, whose depth chart was his greatest weapon; Bill Russell, the NBA's premier defensive specialist, who often became queasy before his clashes with scoring phenomenon Wilt Chamberlain; and benevolent Red Sox owner Toni Yawkey, who loved to take batting practice and often hailed Gowdy as he entered the clubhouse: "Hey, Curty, guess how many I hit off the wall?" From an intriguing account of Bob Cousy's court vision to an amusing reminiscence of Ted Williams's skill at fly fishing, it's all here - exactly what you'd expect from the man who is universally acknowledged as the voice of America's postwar sports explosion: Curt Gowdy.

    

    A narrative tour de force that reveals not only a deeply troubling image of the way things are, but also a glimpse of the way they might be.

    Giving sensible advice on how to build a baseball card collection, an illustrated guide explains how to grade and protect cards, with tips on trade shows, how to spot fakes, sources of additional information, and more.

    But how many are aware that, long before those changes, the Brooklyn Dodgers were known as the Brooklyn Robins and the Washington Senators were originally called the Washington Nationals? Or that before the New York Yankees were the New York Highlanders (aka Hilltoppers), they were actually known as the Baltimore Orioles? From 1869 (the founding of the Cincinnati Red Stockings) to the present (as the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins expansion teams begin major league play), Professional Baseball Franchises traces the history of every team that ever played professional ball. Arranged alphabetically by city, each team listing includes the league in which the team played; years in existence; type of franchise (charter, renamed, relocated or expansion); cross-references to the team's past and present names; and alternate team names, if applicable. The book also contains a handy Appendix of Leagues, a Bibliography and an Index of Team Nicknames. For the baseball buff, the journalist, the researcher and the sports trivia whiz, Professional Baseball Franchises will delight those who want to know about the Giants in Chicago, Dallas and Poughkeepsie, as well as the team in San Francisco.

    -- High-interest biographies with easy-reading text about star athletes.-- Written for the reluctant reader, these books give lively accounts of the most famous sports stars.

    The first atlas devoted strictly to baseball features sections on all twenty-eight Major League teams, detailed stadium maps, baseball vacation ideas, and much more.