He spoke out against player trading. He banned Pete Rose from baseball for gambling. He even asked sports fans to clean up their acts. Bart Giamatti was baseball's Renaissance man and its commissioner. In A GREAT AND GLORIOUS GAME, a collection of spirited, incisive essays, Giamatti reflects on the meaning of the game. Baseball, for him, was a metaphor for life. He artfully argues that baseball is much more than an American "pastime." "Baseball is about going home," he wrote, "and how hard it is to get there and how driven is our need." And in his powerful 1989 decision to ban Pete Rose from baseball, Giamatti states that no individual is superior to the game itself, just as no individual is superior to our democracy. A GREAT AND GLORIOUS GAME is a thoughtful meditation on baseball, character, and values by one of the most eloquent men in the world of sport.

    He grew up in the shadows of Fenway Park, and smashed a long home run in his first at bat there at the age of 19. He led the American League in homers at age 21, and at 22 become the youngest player in AL history to reach 100 home runs. Then, as a key member of the 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox, disaster struck in the form of a fastball to the face. Tony C's season was over; he was fortunate his life was not. He sat out 1968, but worked his way back to a huge season in 1970, with 36 HR and 118 RBI. But things were not right. His vision was deteriorating. In the winter of 1970, the Red Sox dealt him to the Angels. Did they sense a problem, or was the ego of megastar Carl Yastrzemski the catalyst? By 1972, Conigliaro was out of baseball. He couldn't see. But he wouldn't quit, and he fought his way back again, making the 1975 Red Sox - their next World Series team - as Designated Hitter. But the devastation from that beanball was too great, and Conigiaro by June of 1975 he was forced to retire again, this time for good. Nevertheless, Tony C. remained immensely popular in Boston. He turned to announcing and opened a successful restaurant. But then, in the winter of 1982, while driving with his brother, Conigliaro suffered a heart attack. He slipped into a coma from which he never emerged, lived on for years in a vegetative state, until finally passing away in 1990. TONY C., by Boston sportswriter David Cataneo, takes readers through the incredible life and tragic demise of the iconic Red Sox player, from his early years as the brash hot shot, with "Ted Williams confidence," to his success on the field, and then through the injury, the elation of a second life, and the horror of his deteriorating vision. Tony C. also covers in depth the thrilling off-the field life of the slugging right fielder. Conigliaro had no shortage of female companionship, nor did he ever back down from confrontations with Yastremski or any of his other teammates, He was also known to battle with his unyielding and sometime seemingly unfeeling manager, Dick Williams. Tony C also had a successful run as a pop singer in the mid-1960s, and when his career as a slugger fell into doubt, he pursued a career in karate and tried to make it as a pitcher, showing some success on that front. No other book on Tony Conigliaro matches this one for its detail on the incredible highs and lows of his career as a ballplayer, or his wild and at times desperate life away from the game. And no other book provides a more intimate look inside the head and heart of the beloved and tragic character known simply as “Tony C.”

    Led by future Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers, the A's captured five consecutive division titles, three American League pennants and three World Series trophies from 1971 to 1975.Baseball's Last Dynasty recounts the history of those colorful, controversial, and highly successful teams. As only the second franchise in major league history to win three consecutive Wold Series, the A's Ruled baseball in the era prior to the advent of free agency. With the help of an astute team of scouts, owner Charlie Finely assembled a nucleus of home-grown future stars wearing Oakland's garish green and gold uniforms: Bert Campaneris, Sal Bando, Joe Rudi, Gene Tenace and Vida Blue in addition to Reggie, Rollie and Catfish.In spite of such talents, the A's struggled to surpass the level of mediocrity until the hiring of baseball's version of Vince Lombardi -- Dick Williams. A fiery disciplinarian and disciple of Branch Rickey, Williams led Oakland to a first place finish in 1971, followed by consecutive world championships in 1972 and 1973.In chronicling the team known as the "Mustache Gang" and the Swinging A's, Baseball's Last Dynasty details the many fights and arguments in the Oakland clubhouse, the many controversies as well as the departures of Williams and Hunter.In the nearly quarter of a century that has passed since the A's won their trio of titles, no team has managed to duplicate the feat. Given the instability created by free agency and the difficulty of keeping a championship team's payroll under control, no team may be able to match theaccomplishments of Charlie Finley's A's. Exhaustively researched and including recent interviews with many of the key players, Baseball's Last Dynasty brings the story of this extraordinary team to life.

    The Yogi Book, the New York Times bestseller, now has a fresh new design throughout, new photographs, a career timeline, and all-new appreciations by some of his greatest fans, including Billy Crystal. And it's timed to coincide with the 85th birthday of this American legend who's more beloved than ever.As for the quotes, well, Yogi Berra's gift for saying the smartest things in the funniest, most memorable ways has made him a legend. Or, as The New Yorker put it, "Hardly anybody would quarrel that . . . Winston Churchill has been replaced by Yogi Berra as the favorite source of quotations." The Yogi Book brings all of his famous quotes together in one place—and even better, gives the story behind them. "It ain't over 'til it's over."—that’s Yogi's answer to a reporter when he was managing the Mets in July 1973, and they were nine games out of first place (not only quotable, but prophetic—they won the pennant). "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded."—Yogi's comment to Stan Musial and Joe Garagiola about Ruggieri's Restaurant in St. Louis 1959. "It gets late early out there."—Yogi describing how shadows crept across Yankee Stadium's left field during late autumn afternoons.

    

    Their newfound interest in the sport, combined with the postwar economic boom and the resultant growth of many cities, took the game from one practiced by a few amateur clubs in New York City before the war to a professional sport covering almost the entire northeastern United States. Researched from primary sources, the game of the late 1860s is described season-by-season: the fields, the crowds, the strategy, the rules, the style of play, and the confusing struggles to crown a national champion, with all the chicanery and machinations of the contenders. Such landmark events as the Washington Nationals pioneering 1867 tour and the Cincinnati Red Stockings undefeated 1869 season are covered.

    Starting out as Bennett Park, a wooden facility with trees growing in the outfield, Tiger Stadium has played a central role in the lives of millions of Detroiters and their families for more than a century. During the last century, millions of fans have come to Michigan and Trumbull to watch the Tigers' 7,800 home games, as well as to attend numerous other sporting, social, and civic events, including high school, collegiate, and professional football games, prep and Negro league baseball contests, political rallies, concerts, and boxing and soccer matches. A companion to the narrative history, almost two hundred rare photographs capture the spirit of 140 years of baseball in Detroit. A Place for Summer furnishes a sense of the relationship between the community, its teams, and the various fields, parks, and stadiums that have served as common ground for generations of Detroiters.

    Each photo is accompanied by a caption by Julia Ruth Stevens in which she identifies and reflects on the event.

    They explain how to develop a coaching philosophy, motivate and teach players, and plan for each season. You'll also find proven offensive and defensive strategies, including 116 drills for developing players' hitting, fielding, pitching, and baserunning. Complete with sample practice and conditioning plans, scouting cards, evaluation forms, community sponsorship activities, and more than 220 illustrations, Coaching Fastpitch Softball Successfully is an all-in-one resource for softball coaches at all levels.

    We cover all the bases for 32 sports and have more than 300 titles in print. Our list boasts such sports heavyweights as The Sporting News, Gold's Gym, /Ironman, and Joe Weider. More than just rules and equipment books, NTC/Contemporary's titles include biographies, commentary, humor, instruction, and statistics. NTC/Contemporary is the one team that produces winners every season.

    Included are proven techniques and ready-to-use materials for virtually every aspect of the coach s job, from recruiting to training talent for each position.

    Players had names like Mule Suttles, Pee Wee Butts, and "Twitchy Dick" Porter—but also Wee Willie Keeler and John McGraw, Babe Ruth and Lefty Grove, Roy Campanella, Satchell Paige, and Jack Dunn. In Baseball in Baltimore: The First Hundred Years, James H. Bready presents a vivid and compelling portrait of the players, the managers, the ballparks, and the games that shaped the history of the national pastime in one of America's oldest baseball towns.It was 1859 when the game of baseball came to Baltimore, as George F. Beam's Excelsiors played their first games at Flat Rock in Druid Hill Park. In the century that followed, Baltimore had franchises in eight different professional leagues and games were played in nine city parks—from the Madison Avenue Grounds to Union Park, from old Oriole Park to Bugle Field.Packed with rare illustrations, colorful anecdotes, and fascinating details—many of them skillfully brought to life from the original box scores on preserved newspaper pages and scorecards— Baseball in Baltimore tells a story that will captivate baseball fans everywhere. Among the highlights:• The first-ever intercity baseball game outside the New York area took place on June 6, 1860, when the Baltimore Excelsiors defeated the Washington Potomacs 40-24 on an empty lot (now The Ellipse) behind James Buchanan's White House.• On July 4, 1863, as climactic battle raged at Gettysburg, sixty miles away many Baltimoreans eased the tension by watching baseball—the Pastimes played an inter-squad game at the Madison Avenue Grounds.• Early baseball seasons extended well into November (games on ice skates were attempted but soon abandoned).• Baltimore Oriole Wee Willie Keeler's 44-game hitting streak in 1897 still stands as the National League record (though tied by Pete Rose).• Game tickets in 1872, when the Lord Baltimores won a game 39-14, cost 50 cents (not cheap; the typical workingman earned a dollar a day).• The National League champion 1894 Orioles near the ballpark, at the Oxford House on Greenmount Avenue, where team members harmonized on the porch while 21-year-old John McGraw read the sports news in the hammock, "breathing the pure air of Waverly."(The team would go on to win three straight pennants—only to drop to the minors in 1903.)Here is young Babe Ruth, a pitcher for the minor-league Orioles for just three months in 1914, who never homered as an Oriole and who was sold to the Boston Red Sox in midseason. Here is pitcher Matt Kilroy, a 46-game winner in 1887. Here are Wee Willie Keeler and John McGraw, duking it out in the clubhouse in 1897—until team captain Wilbert Robinson threw them both into the oversized team bathtub (team showers came much later).Bready also revisits the International League teams of the first half of the twentieth century—some of them of storybook quality (the seven-time pennant winners, from 1919 onward—a record unmatched in the majors or high minors—were known as the "endless chain champs"). He also describes the teams Baltimore fielded in the old Negro leagues—the Black Sox and Elite Giants—whose patrons, in fairly intimate surroundings, saw some of the finest players the game has ever produced.Throughout, Baseball in Baltimore is enriched by 150 rare illustrations. They show the Orioles of 1885, in pin-striped splendor; former players Ned Hanlon, Steve Brodie, and others, inspecting the new Municipal Stadium in 1922; Wee Willie Keeler laying down a bunt; the legendary Wilbert Robinson, mask and mitt in hand; the minor-league Orioles raising the flag on Opening Day, 1910; Lefty Grove on the mound; Roy Campanella, a teenaged regular; Babe Ruth tending bar with his father in 1915; and the big parade of 1954, when major league baseball at last returned to Baltimore.From the future hall-of-famers of the 1890s Orioles to the 4F minor-leaguers of the World War II years, from the amateur teams of wealthy businessmen (complete with neckties) of the 1860s to the talented but underpaid Negro League stars of the twentieth century, from the city's humiliating loss of major league baseball in 1902 to its triumphant return in 1954, the story of Baseball in Baltimore, and of the players who contributed so much legend to it, make this book a joy to read.

    Wallace uses autobiographies, interviews and newspaper articles to create a dialogue among players from the late 19th century to the present day. It includes such names as Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Mickey Mantle.

    Sullivan presents a fascinating array of provocative, unexpected, and illuminating materials revealing the rich history of baseball. The 105 pieces in this work cover such topics as the Merkle Boner, Jim Thorpe, Christy Mathewson, the Black Sox scandal, Lou Gehrig, the death of Ray Chapman, Ty Cobb, Dizzy Dean, and more from the storied major leagues. Lesser-known treasures celebrate semipro teams, boys' baseball fiction, Japanese baseball, college ball, black baseball, the minor leagues, women's teams, and other facets of the wonderful game of baseball.

    She was a sophisticated woman who owned a baseball team. She never shrank from going head to head with men, who dominated the ranks of sports executives and considered sports their exclusive domain. That her life story has remained unchronicled can only be attributed to one thing: her team, the Newark Eagles, belonged to the Negro Baseball League. This book furthers a growing awareness of black baseball before integration and profiles many of the other highly-competitive owners in the Negro league. It also describes a thriving black community in Newark that took the Newark Eagles into their hearts, creating a fascinating relationship between a community and their sports team. This book was the first to draw extensively on Eagle team records, left behind by Mrs. Manley when she left Newark in the 1950s, and rediscovered nearly intact thirty-five years later. The files are the most comprehensive source of information about the Newark Eagles. They reconstruct the relationship between the baseball team and the community to an extent never thought to be possible. Also included is material from Mrs. Manley's scrapbook chronicling her days as a baseball owner and an active home front volunteer during World War II. Her scrapbook is now part of the collection of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This important work shines the spotlight on a previously unsung segment of baseball history. Originally published in cloth as Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles, No. 1 in the American Sports History Series. Reviews of the Original Edition: "...a book that speaks volumes about the history of all of us who grew up in Newark at a time when the city stood for something very different. It's a dandy read." --NEWARK STAR-LEDGER "...the story of a dynamic woman who, with her husband, owned the New Jersey team in the Negro National League.... Recommended." --LIB

    Drawing exclusively form the Daily News archives, Yogi Berra: An American Original, is the most complete collection of photographs and stories ever published about Yogi's remarkable career. With nearly 200 classic photographs, some of which have never before been published, the story of how Yogi became one of America's most famous personalities leaps to life.

    The outcry could be heard in nearly every town in which the sport was played. Wright, however, paid little heed to their protests and went about his business of signing players. By the start of the season he had inked ten players to contracts, with salaries ranging from $600 to $1,400 annually. By June of 1870, the Red Stockings had compiled a 90-game winning streak and were recognized as the finest team in the game. How the Red Stockings were formed, who the players were, and why things came to an end are all fully covered in this detailed history.

    In 1906, the teenage pitcher defied his father and became a ballplayer. Two years later, the Giants purchased his contract for the then record $11,000. He soon became the best left-handed pitcher in the game; over the course of his career he won 201 games, threw a no-hitter and pitched in five World Series. Off the field, Marquard was a master at marketing himself, recreating his story as it suited him. He wrote his own newspaper column, starred in movies, delighted crowds by catching balls thrown off high buildings, and even appeared as a female impersonator. But it was his affair and brief marriage with vaudeville sensation Blossom Seeley that caused the most uproar. Along with Seeley, Marquard became the toast of Broadway to the chagrin of his baseball fans. Throughout his life, the pitcher re-created his story as it suited him; his largely fanciful account of his career in Lawrence Ritter's Glory of Their Times (1966) was largely responsible for his election to the Hall of Fame in 1971. This book gives for the first time the true story of one of the most colorful and controversial baseball players of the century.