Baseball Books

"The fans and the fanfare, the talented stars and the unique rivalries, atmospheric stories and snappy prose.Vivid and evocative."

New York City Baseball tells about how the Dodgers, Giants and Yankees dominated the late 40's and early 50's baseball.
I really enjoyed the opening chapters discussing the reasons for the departure of the Giants and Dodgers to the west coast.
It made me feel really in on the move.
The rest of the books talks about the feuds, history and outcomes of the seasons metioned.
Frommer is a gifted writer and it was a pity that the book had to end.
There are some neat photos and I would reccommend this book right up there with Dynasty (about the Yankees).

Don't hesitate to buy this marvelous book. It told with an exact and actually atmosphere everything about NYC baseball... when the Giants were called 'Polo Grounders' and the Dodgers 'Da Bums'. The dramatic move also is well explained.

y Harvey Frommer, 1992, 219 pps, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. At one time New York had three major league teams: the Yankees, Giants and Dodgers. What a time! In the days after World War II, some of the most heady times ever in the city, there was one incredible Baseball Decade. From 1946-57 the New York teams owned baseball. Relive the golden days of the 1950s in this amazing account. And loaded with photos and stats that fans love. Here's to you, Jackie Robinson and Joe DiMaggio.

When the lights came on again after World War II, they illuminated a nation ready for heroes and a city --New York--eager for entertainment. Baseball provided the heroes, and the Yankees, the Giants, and the Dodgers--with their rivalries, their successes, their stars--provided the show. Oisk and Newk, Pee Wee and Skoonj, Ski, Campy, Preacher, Westy, Blacky, Whitey, Yogi, the Yankee Clipper, the Peepul's Cherce, the Old Reliable--New York City Baseball recaptures the golden decade of 1947-1957, when the three New York teams were the uncrowned kings of the city and the very embodiment of the national pastime for much of the U.S. In those ten years, Casey Stengel and his Bronx Bombers went to the World Series seven times; Joltin' Joe DiMaggio stepped gracefully aside to make room for a yong slugger named Mickey Mantle; one Bobby Thomson hit "the shot heard 'round the world"' and the Brooklyn (but not for much longer) Dodgers achieved the impossible by beating the Yankees in the 1955 World Series.

Robert Peterson (1925-2006) wrote this pioneering history in 1970 when many ex-players were living. Drawing on interviews, Peterson makes the Negro Leagues come to life. Readers learn of stars like Bullet Joe Rogan, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson ("the black Babe Ruth"), Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, etc., and teams like the Kansas City Monarchs, Homestead Grays, Indianapolis Clowns, Chicago American Giants, etc. The Negro Leagues were one of the largest black-owned businesses, though a couple teams (Pittsburgh Crawfords) were run by racketeers. Readers learn about Rube Foster, who founded the Negro National League in 1920, the annual All-Star game in Chicago's Comiskey Park, barnstorming against white big leaguers, and travel conditions that ranged from decent to difficult and discriminatory. There is also an appendix with team rosters and yearly standings.

The Negro Leagues began to fade as Jackie Robinson joined the Dodgers in 1947, and folded completely in 1960 - a sad day signalling a better era. Then this book arrived to bring attention to the Leagues and its players. One, Ted "Double-Duty" Radcliffe (1902-2005), became a fixture at White Sox games, signing autographs, and throwing out the first ball on his 101st and 102nd birthdays.

Today fans can visit The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, buy team merchandise, and enjoy several good books on the subject, including I WAS RIGHT ON TIME (by Buck O'Neil), BASEBALL'S GREAT EXPERIMENT and several others. Peterson deserves at least a little credit for this.

A scholarly effort by a great Negro Leagues historian, evidenced by Oxford University Press imprint. Highly informative, a tremendous read! Five-star plus*****

"Negro baseball," writes Robert W. Peterson, "was both a gladsome thing and a blot on America's conscience."

And in that one sentence, Peterson defines the glory of Negro Leagues baseball and how it also magnified the sordid race hatred of this nation, with the ramifications still being felt today.

When the book was published in 1970, the Negro Leagues was not really known by a whiter (oops, I mean "wider") audience. Peterson, who had a journalism background as an editor for the New York World-Telegram and The Sun, set out on this journey in 1966 by interviewing players, studying microfilm of black newspapers and delving into game accounts & features in sporting publications.

He traces the history of some of the greatest players and teams ever in the game from post-Civil War to 1947. Along with a history highlighted through extensive interviews are a recap of yearly standings and a register of players and league/team officials.

Names such as Cool Papa Bell, Judy Johnson, Buck Leonard and Rube Foster & teams like the Kansas City Monarchs, Cleveland Buckeyes and Pittsburgh Crawfords come to life and opened a door to a wealth of research into NLB that continues today.

Peterson, who passed away in February 2006 at the age of 80, was on a 2006 committee that selected players/executives from NLB and the pre-NLB era for baseball's Hall of Fame. His ballot was filled out before his death and used in the vote.

It can't be forgotten that NLB welcomed whites and women on the field of play, in the grandstands and in the front offices. Truly, Peterson shows in Only the Ball Was White that there were no rear entrances, separate facilities and racial hatred in Negro Leagues Baseball. The book will never lose its standing as a true beacon to a history that must never again be forgotten.

I consider myself a self-educated baseball historian, but had very little knowledge of the Negro Leagues - until I read this book. It's a wonderful introduction to the proud but sad history of the African American experience in baseball in the first half of the 20th century. I now have a strong working knowledge of the dominent personalities of the Negro Leagues and its many extraodinary athletes - many of whom would have been certain stars in the Majors.

As I read it, I kept thinking to myself what a tragedy it was that these great black ballplayers were barred from the Major Leagues. How different the game would have been. Cool Papa Bell - maybe the fastest man ever to play the game. Satchel Paige - one of the greatest pitchers of all time, black or white. Josh Gibson - the Babe Ruth of the Negro Leagues. Pop Lloyd - the Black Honus Wagner.

It's a overwhelmingly sad chapter in American history for sure; but it's also a compelling story of perseverence and dedication that allowed the Negro Leagues to succeed for so long in the face of incredible obstacles. If you love baseball history, do yourself a favor and read this book. Your baseball knowledge will not be complete without an understanding of the Negro Leagues.

Robert Peterson originally published this book in 1970 so it's really the original and standard history of the Negro Leagues. Peterson not only tells the history of these leagues and some of the great players, but also provides brief biographical sketches of dozens of players whose big league service would otherwise be lost to history. The book also has extensive appendices with annual standings and box scores of all-star games. The book gives us glimpses into Jim Crow America (and it was not just in the South).

Peterson portrays the often overlooked fact that the Negro Leagues were a business venture run almost exclusively by and for black people. And it was a tough business at that, but one that drew often sizeable crowds, especially on exciting and exhausting barnstorming tours. The Negro Leagues could not survive integration as its best players were siphoned off to the 'majors'. Despite the obvious benefits to those men who were finally broke through the wall of prejudice, the reader also understands that there was a sense of loss when the leagues shut down in 1960. More powerfully, the reader experiences the lost opportunities suffered by those players who never got the chance to play in the majors and make major league money, like Jimmie Crutchfield, the Black Lloyd Waner, who barely made a living on one side of Pittsburgh playing for the Crawfords while Waner hauled down $12,000 a year (a princely sum at the time) playing for the Pirates.

A must read for anyone interested in baseball, race relations, or American history.

I was initially not going to write a review of this book, as there are already many justly praising it. The one negative review, however, saying that this book has little in it not in Harold Peterson's "The Man Who Invented Baseball" (published over thirty years ago) gave me pause. On one level it is clearly true. I remember as a boy my father telling me about Alexander Cartwright and the New York Knickerbockers, and dismissing the Abner Doubleday story. I don't know that he read Peterson's book, but the timing is right and Peterson did popularize the Cartwright story. This provoked me to dig out my out copy of Peterson and read it for the first time in many years. I can now definitively assure you that David Block is most certainly not just recycling Peterson's book.

They agree that there were earlier versions of ball-and-stick games, which they discuss, and that the version of the game that has come down to us as modern baseball was standardized by the Knickerbocker club.

That may make it look like they have similar theses, but they really do not. Peterson's thesis is right there in his title: someone invented baseball and he knows who it was. Earlier versions were fundamentally different from the Knickerbocker game, and the Knickerbocker game was the product one man's flash of genius. Earlier games are discussed, but they don't really matter, since the Knickerbocker game is taken as being so different. The discussions of earlier games mostly are there to discredit the Doubleday story, which typically has predecessor games being even more primitive than in the Cartwright story

Block's goal is also named in his title: he is seeking baseball's roots. The Knickerbocker game is part of a story that began centuries earlier. Earlier versions aren't a distraction, they are the story. Only by knowing what came before can we see what the Knickerbockers did and didn't do: what parts of their game were selections from an existing menu of options and what parts were true innovations. It turns out to be far more interesting than any myth of a heroic lone genius.

Why should we believe Block rather than Peterson? Peterson's is a book with no footnotes, but with detailed descriptions of events down to quoted conversations. Even if the events were found in histories that actually cited sources, we would know that this is fiction. Peterson probably considered it putting a human face on the story. I consider it making stuff up. He does that a lot. The chapters on early ball-and-stick games are a mish-mash of solid data, poorly understood facts, and utter fiction. So it is that he can, on adjacent pages, give two contradictory accounts of the origin of cricket. He has a story to tell and he isn't going to let facts get in the way. Block's book started out as an annotated bibliography of early baseball sources and Block is meticulous about documentation. When he is forced to interpret beyond the actual evidence he tells us this. You come away knowing exactly what is really known and what is educated guesswork. It is honest history.

I rarely give five stars in my reviews, but I have no qualms about doing so here. The book is quite simply the important book on the subject published in my lifetime. It may be surpassed some day, but that day isn't likely to be soon. For the foreseeable future this is the one book to own if you have any interest in the origins of baseball.

Having just been to Block's talk at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago, this reader got an eeyeful and an earful, bought the book and began reading it on the "el" on the way home and kept reading far too long into the wee hours of the morning.

Althought I'd like to have seen some of the compelling documents that were at Block's library presentation included in this volume, as a reference book on the incredible linkages to the game of baseball, Block's work is fascinating and as he said, still ongoing.

I'm a SABR member, too, as well as the Executive director of The Old Timers' Baseball Association of Chicago. sorry, I've never heard of the 1972 book that the sole negative reviewer mentioned, but this award-winning hunt for the origins of baseball takes odd turns throughout history, and while it may not be worth a hill of beans to fans in the Cubs bleachers today, for researchers, this is a great mystery that will, no doubt, be ripped off endlessly by hack writers for decades to come.

Kudos to ya, Dave; if this is your first big dig, I'm stoked to see what you unearth next!

The author seems to be primarily engaged in trying to debunk three myths: (1) that Gen. Abner Doubleday invented the game, (2) that the real inventor was Alexander J. Cartwright of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, and (3) that the game developed from the English game of rounders.

For the first, there has already been so much evidence that Doubleday had nothing in particular to do with baseball, so it would seem there was little more that could be said, except that, in fact, the author finds out some interesting evidence that he believes to be the main reason that A. G. Spalding might have favored Doubleday's claim-- that Spalding and Doubleday were both adherents of the same religious cult!

Regarding the Cartwright claim, the author has much less to say. He accepts that the Knickerbocker Rules were an important step in the development of baseball, but in addition he states that there is evidence that Cartwright's role in developing those rules was less significant than has been believed. And he shows that organized baseball games occured before the adoption of the Knickerbocker Rules.

It is in debunking the third "myth," I think, where the author strains to do something undeserved. So the name "rounders" does not seem to have been used prior to the nineteenth century. But the author admits that "rounders" was simply a name that has come to be assigned to an earlier English game, and that baseball developed from that game. The difference between that and the "myth" he is trying to debunk is minimal. If you really think it makes a difference between saying "baseball developed from rounders" and "baseball evolved from a number of games, but the most important was the game now known in England as 'rounders,'" you can accept this book's argument. I don't see it that way; to me "developed from rounders" and "developed from the game now known as rounders" are not significantly different.

But the book is interesting. It should be in your possession if you're interested in baseball, and especially in its history.

Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search For The Roots Of The Game by baseball historian and expert David Block is a well researched, expertly written, inherently interesting, reader engaging, in-depth study of baseball and its historical roots. Baseball's actual origin is in Europe and Baseball Before We Knew It resents a wry and informative authorship of Block's intricate study of the great 'American' sport. Baseball Before We Knew It is very highly recommended reading for baseball fans and students sports history for its invaluable documentation and seminal, groundbreaking collection of information compiled and comprised to create what may easily be seen as the ultimate book of baseball. No personal, academic or community library Sports History collection can be considered complete or comprehensive without the inclusion of David Block's Baseball Before We Knew It!

I have just read a number of rave reviews for Baseball Before We Knew It, so I won't try to outdo them. But I am a member of SABR and interested in tracing the development of 19th century uniforms and caps. I had email contact with Mr. Block before he finished his book, so my anticipation was high, and now I can say my expectations were more than met. From a practical and special point of view, I can now hang my "uniforms" on Block's chronological reconstruction, knowing that not every issue is settled, but that wide new vistas have been opened for my own research. His chronological flow chart toward the back is most helpful for the historian. Now we need to watch a good documentary movie on the Discovery Channel, so we can "see" what a game of ball looked in the Middle Ages. Would Kevin Kostner be interested?
Great job, David Block!
Jim "Batman" Battenfield of California

I read this book this past week during a cross country flight. I have been a Yankees fan since 1959 and have consumed almost every word written on the team. This publication is the very best of anything I have read on the team in the past 43 years. The writing took even familiar Yankees' lore to another level by digging beneath the surface to fully understand how being a Yankee impacted each and every one of the subjects even beyond their playing days. Regardless of the player's era, the author delivered a consistently enjoyable book that flowed and entertained at the highest level.

I think this is the best book that I ever read. I couldn't put this book down. This is a good book for die hard Yankee fans or just people who love baseball. Bill madden goes out to find players from past Yankee seasons. This is a good book I recommend this book for all baseball fans.

Baseball is a game of stories, and Bill Madden has transversed the United States to garner tales from a unique group of alumni, those who played for the New York Yankees through the twentieth century. The title is something of a misnomer. Some of Madden's subjects were never young Yankees. Reggie Jackson cut his teeth in Oakland, Lou Piniella caught fire in Kansas City, and Paul O'Neill even won a World Series ring in Cincinnati in 1990 before arriving at the East Coast. And even with the Yankee "lifers" interviewed for this work, many of the best remembered stories are about established ball players and their antics in their prime. Whitey, Mickey, Billy and Hank were hardly kids the night the Yanks trashed the Copa in 1957-in fact, it was Billy's 29th birthday that sparked the occasion. Yet this tale appears-more than once-among the multitude of memories along this nostalgic trail.

There are some interviews that actually do shed new light on Yankee history-or hagiography, if you will. Marius Russo's inclusion among Madden's subjects is fortuitous. One of the team's lesser known talents over the years, Russo, a left handed pitcher who joined the Yanks in 1938, was included in this work as one of the last living connections to the Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig. Russo sheds light on a remarkable Yankee pitching staff of 1939 remembered both for its depth and its sabermetrics. Seven starters finished the season with double figure wins: Ruffing [21-7], Hadley [12-6], Pearson [12-5], Gomez [12-8], Donald [13-3], Sundra [11-1], and Hildebrand [10-4]. Russo, added to the rotation late in the season [why?], went 8-3, including a 7-0 stretch in September. Russo would never win more than 14 games in any of his six Yankee seasons, but one of his most poignant memories involved fallout from the demise of Gehrig. When the Yankee team fell to fifth place in 1940, columnist Jimmy Powers of the New York Daily News reported that the entire team had been infected by Gehrig's "polio," as his affliction was then diagnosed. The report shook baseball and resulted in a $1 million lawsuit against the writer.

Another lesser-known Yankee interviewee was the observant bench jockey and reserve catcher Charlie Silvera, whose entire nine years of backing up Berra, Houk, and Howard produced only 429 at bats. Silvera recalls an obscure but impressive Casey Stengel accomplishment: winning five successive World Series with a depleted roster. The Yankees, under the rules of the day, carried two or three prospects who never made the team but counted against the 25-man roster. Silvera's recollections also highlight one of the secrets of the Yankee dynasty: a network of astute West Coast scouts who steered reports of promising young prospects to the East Coast Yankee front office that took such reporting seriously. Silvera as much as anyone recounts the awe that most players since 1920 have felt about donning the Yankee pinstripes. Silvera and others-including many of the household names--are as proud of their being Yankees as their personal stats as Yankees. In a year where Silvera, for example, did not get his first at bat until June 17 [1949], he still won his first of five consecutive World Series rings.

As all of the interviewed players wore Yankee pinstripes, it is hard at times to separate the individuals from the history of the team itself. And one era that Madden treats with considerable detail is the post 1964 Yankee decline. Some of the best interviews come from Yankees who played or managed through that ten year era: Yogi, Ralph Houk, Mel Stottlemyre, Joe Pepitone, Bobby Richardson, Ron Blomberg, and Bobby Murcer. There are many theories of the fall of the Roman Empire, nearly as many as to the decline of the Yankees in those years. The author and the players named above are in fair agreement that poor front office management [trading Roger Maris to St. Louis, for example], the failure of certain Yankee veterans to obey "one of their own," Yogi Berra, as manager, the free agent draft, the decline of the farm teams, and parity. One other applicable statistic: I looked up the 1965 Yankee roster, and discovered exactly one African-American in the starting lineup, Elston Howard [whose widow Arlene is the only non-player interviewed for this work], and one black pitcher on the staff, Al Downing.

As an interviewer Bill Madden is more Eddie Lopat than Vic Raschi. The questions arrive to the plate with a gentle thud in the catcher's mitt or get obscured in the dust in front of home plate. Madden has no problem getting his subjects to cry, but he is averse to making them squirm. Thus the free pass to Whitey "Slick" Ford, whose nickname comes from the old expression "city-slicker." Whitey's description of himself as a "professional drinker" in his playing days says nothing and says everything. It is no surprise he does not like to talk about Mickey and Billy, and Madden does not press.

But perhaps we should not be surprised that Madden is no Bob Woodward where investigative reporting is concerned. The author has covered the Yankees for a quarter century. I hardly think he would endanger the source of his bread and butter. It is in his vested interest in continue the legend, and he does this in a warm and congenial way. And we always have Jim Bouton for the hardball accounts.

Author Bill Madden has come up with a first rate book on significant Yankee players who have had distinguished careers with the team over the past several decades. The book reminds me of Roger Kahn's effort on the Brooklyn Dodgers of the early 1950's in which he traveled across the country to visit surviving members of that team. Madden has come up with a similar book on the Yankees with the only difference being the players that were interviewed didn't necessarily play on the same team. The oldest player interviewed by Madden was pitcher Marius Russo who concluded his career in 1946 with Paul O'Neill being the most recent Yankee included in the book. Madden interviewed the late Elston Howard's wife Arlene. Otherwise the book includes interviews only with still-living Yankee greats. The only disappointing omission from the book is Ron Guidry who certainly should have been included. However, Yankee fan or not, this is a first rate book for anyone who considers themself a baseball fan.

There have been a whole bunch of book put out to celebrate the first century of New York Yankee, of which "Pride of October: What it Was to Be Young and a Yankee" by Bill Madden is one of the best. It is also one of the more different, consisting basically of a series of conversations (they would not really be considered "interviews") between Madden and 17 former Yankees (and one very special Yankee widow). The other common denominator, obviously, is that they have to be alive, which sounds stupid when you write it down like this, but matters because it leads to some interesting and poignant choices.

Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin have died, which leaves only Whitey Ford to talk about the hell-raising days in the Fifties. Madden does talk with Hall of Famers Phil Rizzuto, Yogi Berra, and Reggie Jackson, but the chief charm here is in names that do not come to mind. I have all the New York Yankees Topps baseball cards from the year I was born, so I recognize the names Tommy Byrne and Charlie Silvera, but I do not know a lot about them. However, the name that stands out is Marius Russo, one of the last remaining links to Lou Gehrig, because I do not think I had ever heard (or even read) his name before.

I became a Yankee fans in 1965; in other words, the year after they stopped winning championships. So my early memories are watching Mel Stottlemyre hit an inside-the-park grand slam homerun at Yankee Stadium and my biggest (early) heartbreak was when my favorite player, Bobby Murcer, was traded for my father's favorite player, Bobby Bonds. So while "Pride of October" starts with as far back in Yankee history as living voices can remember, it eventually gets up to the teams and players of our lives. Even if, like Ron Blomberg, they never played in a postseason game. When Madden has chapters on Bobby Richardson and Joe Pepitone back to back, you know you are getting a true cross-section of the guys who have played for the Yankees.

The one exception to this rule is Arlene Howard, the widow of Elston Howard, who was the first African-American ballplayer to play for the Yankees. I totally buy into the argument that the reason the Yankees went from first to worst in the 1960s was because the front office was racist and refused to sign any blacks when they probably could have signed anyone they wanted (Mantle, Mays and Aaron in the same outfield? Sure, why not?). The only way to touch on that issue is for Howard's widow to relate what it was lie, talking forth in the home in Teaneck, New Jersey where the city fathers once tried to keep her and her husband from occupying.

My recommendation is to do what I did, which was basically to only read one chapter a day. Just enjoy the Scooter's stories about his friendship with Gerry Priddy and be offended by the way the Yankees forced him to retire, before moving on to Russo's recollections of the Iron Horse, Cro, and Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons. There is a brief section of black & white photographs, that starts with Gehrig and DiMaggio kneeling side by side in Spring Training and ends with Paul O'Neill cleaning out his locker for the last time. The photographs are just the frosting on the cake, because the main treat here is just reading how Madden sat down with each of these individuals, who told their stories, with Madden supplying relevant information to fill in the gaps.

Do not be deceived by its appearance. This is in no sense a "coffee table book" except that you will want to have it near at hand on prominent display. Credit Mark Vancil and Alfred Santasiere III with selecting and editing a wealth of information and photographs (most in vivid full-color) that create quite literally both a comprehensive biography and multi-dimensional portrait of Yankee Stadium. Various contributors provide individual retrospective analyses of these segments:

In "A Walk Through Time" (Pages 16-35), Santasiere allows the reader "to take a gander at the ballpark itself" " during an extensive tour (e.g. ushers, the press box, George Steinbrenner's office and its various collection of memorabilia, the stadium's "frieze," the playing field, the clubhouse, the manager's office, the dugout, and Monument Park. The quality of the photographs in this section comes about as close as photographs can to making the viewer feel as if she or he were actually roaming throughout the stadium in person. In this section and in all others, the crisp copy that accompanies the photos creates a context for each.

In "The Birth of a Ballpark" (Pages 36-75), Bob Klapich reviews the team's history since 1912 when its name was the Hilltoppers (the team's home field was Hilltop Park) and finished in last place. Renamed the Yankees, they later played their home games at the Polo Grounds (also home of the Giants), were also-rans from 1916-1920, acquired George Herman ("Babe") Ruth from the Boston Red Sox, and finally the franchise had a permanent home when Yankee Stadium was built. The opening day was April 18, 1923. Construction requirement included removal of 45,000 cubic yards of dirt, 800 tons of rebar, 2,300 tons of mechanical steel, 116,000 square feet of sod, 13,000 yards of topsoil, 950,000 three million board feet of lumber for the bleachers, and 284 days to complete. There are dozens of archival photos of various stages of construction. Also included in this section are "First Person" reminiscences such as those provided by Ray Robinson, Phil Rizzuto Mario Cuomo, and Ernie Acorsi, Regis Philbin, Michael Bloomberg, and Dan Quale.

In "Iconic Moments at the Stadium" (Pages 76-137), Klapich provides a retrospective commentary on Lou Gehrig's memorable farewell and then Babe Ruth's farewell eight years later, the 1928 game when Knute Rockne's Notre Dame team defeated favored Army 12-8 and won it "for the Gipper," Frank Gipp, Joe DiMaggio's record of getting a hit in 56 consecutive games (a record that still stands 67 years later), Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers (with a mini-commentary provided by Dick Young), arguably the greatest NFL game ever when the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants in overtime for the league championship in 1958 (23-17), Joe Louis' defeat of Max Schmeling (1938) and Muhammad Ali's defeat of Ken Norton (1976), Roger Maris' 61st homerun in 1961 to break Babe Ruth's record of 60 in 1927 (with a mini-commentary provided by Phil Pepe), Pope Paul VI's visit in 1965, the Army-Notre Dame football game in 1946 (with a mini-commentary provided by Johnny Lujack), and Pope Paul II's visit in 1979 (with a mini-commentary provided by Edward Cardinal Egan). Once again, as elsewhere throughout the book, the photographs are stunning.

In "Yankee Stadium Baseball History" (Pages 138-185), Bill Madden reviews some of the greatest highlights of a history that is probably unsurpassed among Major League Baseball in terms of great players, great games, and memorable moments. The reader is briefed on "Home Run Factoids" accompanied by "First Person" observations by Hank Aaron, Al Kaline, Jerry Coleman, Lou Piniella, Chris Chambliss, Reggie Jackson, David Cone, George H. W. Bush (whose son threw out the first pitch - a strike - during the third game of the 2001 World Series following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon), Derek Jeter, Paul O'Neil, Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius, Brian Cashman, Joe Torre, Dave Winfield, Paul McCartney, Whitey Ford, and Jose Pasada. I identify these contributors because almost all of them were directly involved in some of the memorable moments while playing or managing some of the greatest Yankee teams. Again, the photographs are superb.

In Section Four, "America's Amphitheater" (Pages 186-230), Ira Berkow takes a somewhat different approach as he reviews impressions of first visits to Yankee Stadium and favorite memories of it that are shared in "First Person" reminiscences by Bobby Murcer, Rich Gossage, the Rev. Billy Graham, Don Mattingly, Bill Clinton, Joseph P. Kennedy III, Lance Armstrong, Steve Richardson, Charlie Weis, Frank Gifford, Jim Brown, Don Shula, Sam Huff, Roger Clemens, Bob Sheppard, Alex Ridriguez, Bert Randolph Sugar (who also lists what he considers to be the ten most memorable fights), Angelo Dundee, and Ron Guidry.

No commentary such as this could possibly do full justice to the scope and depth of the text, nor to the quality and diversity of the photographs that are seamlessly integrated with the narrative. Perhaps the best way to express my appreciation of this book is to say that if it were only a text without photographs, I would rate it Five Stars and wish there were a higher rating available. And if it were only a collection of photographs with brief captions, I would have the same opinion when rating it. Thank you, Mark Vancil, Alfred Santasiere III, and your associates.

I gave this to my son for his birthday present and he loved it. Lots of pictures and historical data.

All true NYY fans will love this book. This "coffee table" book has great insight into the history of Yankee Stadium. The photography alone is worth the price of the book - it makes you realize what a tremendous part of baseball, and history, this stadium has been. The interviews and memories of many great Hall Of Famers and future Hall Of Famers are a joy to read. I highly recommend this retrospective on an American treasure. What a loss!!!

The book is a very excellent book; it is very worthwhile for N.Y. Yankee fans. I am glad that I have it.

Thanks again.

This book made a Great Father's Day Gift,my husband who is a Yankee fan
enjoys it.

Okay maybe if you're looking at very realistic portrayal of what it's like to be a gay teacher at a high school this isn't the best book to pick up. It doesn't delve into the issues that surround what all of that entails. Nonetheless! I very much enjoyed this book. It's warm and melty and spreads in your insides until you become a puddle of goo - at least that's what it did to me. It's funny and cute and the protagonists fall in love. This may or may not be the type of story you want to read but there it is - and of course there's hot sex!

I'm not an avid book reader, but this book was just one of those stories that I couldn't put down. I fell in love with the characters, and their story of love and coming together. Thank you.

I have been reading m/m romance/erotica for about a year now, starting with fan fiction and moving up to original character, for-pay stories in the last few months. Gobbling up what I can find, I admit that much of what I have purchased has been worse than some of the worst free fan fiction (and in some cases, the free stuff is amazingly more well-written and developed). I have been terribly disappointed with the unlikely story lines, laughable dialog, absurd character actions/reactions, bad writing and worse editing. I may not be a gay male, but I live in a very diverse community, have gay friends with whom I have had discussions about their lives and loves, and I can certainly appreciate a good story laced with hot sex regardless of the subjects' gender. For me, much of my immersion into books of any kind is the story, the character development, and the interactions, and the majority of what I have read so far simply doesn't do it for me. They are little more than PWP (Porn Without Plot), which I can get better for free through sites like Nifty.

Enter "Caught Running." I did not have high hopes as I read it in a string of terrible books and was prepared for yet another disappointment. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised! I really loved this book, and I can't say enough good things about it. I've read it three times and I'm starting on a fourth. Finally, a keeper!

This is a romance first, erotica (and there are plenty of steamy scenes!) second, so if you are looking for one tumble in the sheets -- or the hay, or the sand, or the back seat -- after another with little plot in between, this isn't the book for you. I am a sucker for stories where the protagonists meet again years later and/or where a relationship develops once friendship is established, so this one is a match on both parts. Don't get me wrong, I am certainly not a prude -- I wouldn't be reading this genre if I was! -- and I don't mind sex in the first chapter, but it was refreshing for the authors to wait until page 107 before there was even a kiss. It's a slow, gentle builder. I liked that the first half of the book was spent with them learning to put aside biases and prejudices to come to respect one another, becoming friends. Because of this, there is an emotional layer to the physical that many of the other books I've read just don't have. Not that there wasn't a healthy dose of Unresolved Sexual Tension, but that made it fun. I enjoyed watching their mutual attraction as they try to hide it from each other and themselves, and play the "is he or isn't he" game; seems to me that these boys have some broken gaydar! I was glad to see that their insecurities and worries were brought forth to us in a way that didn't make me want to tear my hair out at the angst. And once their relationship was consummated, I was in awe of their reactions to each other, especially Jake's to Brandon.

I can believe this tale; there is no major drama, no moral dilemmas, no character flaws so large that the Happily Ever After is threatened, no Big Misunderstanding, no secret past life that will come back to bite someone in the arse, no hateful antagonists trying to break them apart, no last-minute quickie tying up of the ends, no obviously contrived way to get these two together. None of the supporting characters seemed over-the-top in personality or interference, but were lovable and supportive in their own rights as good supporting characters should be. I thought the pacing was perfect: good buildup for attraction, consummation, commitment. It is a simple, gentle, sweet, romantic story that drew me in and made me want to care and root for Brandon and Jake. I believed in these guys, they seemed real, like they could be friends of mine. Despite their seeming incompatibility, they are perfect for and complement one another. Like other readers, I was disappointed that there wasn't any more of the book to come and felt sad for it to end.

Two small things that bothered me, though neither ruined my enjoyment of the story nor would cause me to give this review less stars:

First, there was a portion of the plot line that wasn't fully developed that I would have loved to see. Without giving it all away, Brandon mentions wanting to help Jake with his medical issues and it never really happens. I kept waiting for it, but nothing after a first mention. It would have increased the UST between these two and maybe given Jake some relief.

Second, as another reviewer mentioned, the shifting point of view made me a little wacky. I often needed to back a paragraph or two to figure out which character I was living. It's unfortunate; I've read many books where the POV shifts successfully, but usually it is chapter-by-chapter, or by clearly defined sections. I must have gotten used to it, however, because after a while I barely noticed it.

Overall, if you're looking for a book in this genre, I can't recommend this book enough. Go read and enjoy.

I really enjoyed this book. I read it in one day, I couldn't put it down. I thought that it was really well written. Although there was hot sex, it wasn't on ever other page. There was actually a story to follow and a really good one at that. I actually hope that there is a sequel to this story, although it didn't leave you hanging. I just really enjoyed these two characters. I would definitely read these authors again.

This is another example of outstanding gay erotic fiction. There is a good story, the characters are well fleshed-out and well-developed, there are chatty and real-feeling secondary characters, and there is just enough danger and uncertainty to keep you reading and involved.

The principal characters are polar opposites in many ways (both no longer "young men") including a "jock type" (who is somewhat physically damaged by former athletic pursuits) and a "nerd type" who is actually smart AND a great athlete. Neither is at all sure the other is gay, and neither thinks the other is interested in someone as different as they are.

But hope springs eternal, and we are treated to not only a fine courtship but a fine romance which grows and deepens nicely through the skillful work of this author.

Truly a pleasure to read, filled with humor and warmth, this is a fine work of gay erotic fiction that does not disappoint in any way. If you're looking for deep meaning and jaw-dropping action and conflict, you won't find it here, but if you're looking for sweet romance and M/M heat, "Caught Running" won't disappoint. Enjoy!

Rick Reilly has a unique gift for communicating his humorous tales. Thumbs up.

Every Thursday I check the mailbox when I get home, see my Sports Illustrated, and go straight for the back page so I can read Mr. Reilly's column. There is a reason he has been named Sportswriter of the Year so many times, he is simply the best. Reilly writes about the humorous, the sad, and the ironic of sports. I laughed at why he hates the Yankees so much, and almost bawled when reading about the Columbine teacher who gave his life for his students. I do some writing myself and even in my dreams I am not half as good as Mr. Reilly is, and never will be. If you are a fan of good, solid writing, pick this book up and read it over and over again.

There are serious columns in the book. The humorous ones are what made me read the book again. The chapter on the Olympics is the funniest thing I have ever read. Anyone who thinks Reilly is boring has no sense of humor.

Nobody writes about sport like Reilly. This is a great collection of his Sports Illustrated pieces. If you are a fan of sports journalism, this is a must read for you.

I had the privilege of being interviewed several times by Rick when I was a high school track athlete and he was a young flip-flop wearing sports writer for the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, Colorado earning his stripes covering high school sports. Even way back then it was obvious that he enjoyed sports writing and it came as little surprise to see him eventually end up as SI's most notable writer. This collection of some of his best (but not all of his best) SI columns is a gem. Not all are "laugh out loud" humorous, but many are (a testament to his versatility as a writer). His postscript comments are also entertaining. After a thorough reading, this book is a keeper. I can't wait for Volume 2.

If you are a guy or gal who was born before 1950 and enjoy the game of baseball then Phillip Hoose's "Perfect, Once Removed" should be right up your alley. Author Phil Hoose had just moved to Speedway, Indiana with his mom and dad in late 1955. He was eight years old and having an awfully hard time adjusting to his new school and making friends. To make matters worse, no one had ever taught young Phil how to play baseball. He had never swung a bat or even had an opportunity to play catch! Kids being kids, they jumped all over Phil in gym class and at the playground after school. Phil was completely miserable until one day his mom casually mentioned that his dad's cousin pitched for the New York Yankees. And so Phil Hoose took it upon himself to write to his dad's cousin Don Larsen and ask for some advice. A short time later Phil received a postcard from Don Larsen that would literally change his life forever.
It is always wonderful to read a story like the one portrayed in "Perfect, Once Removed". Sometimes we never realize how such a simple act of kindness can impact someone so much. But Don Larsen not only sent that postcard but he also arranged for Phil and his parents to attend a Yankees--White Sox game at Commiskey Park. While in Chicago Phil had an opportunity to meet several of the Yankee players at the hotel where they were staying. It was an experience that would make him a baseball addict for life. It turns out that as usual the New York Yankees under legendary manager Casey Stengel would win the 1956 American League pennant. This time their opponents in the World Series would be their crosstown rivals the Brooklyn Dodgers. And in Game Five on a Monday afternoon in October Don Larsen would make World Series history! Due to the heroics of his cousin, once removed, Phil Hoose was suddenly the BMOC (big man on campus) at school. Quite a turnaround in just 6 or 7 months!
If I had to pick one adjective to describe "Perfect, Once Removed" it would have to be "charming". That may sound odd for a book about sports but I think the term fits here perfectly. For this book is so much more than a book about a perfect game. It is also a real period piece. For those old enough to recall those days it will bring back a flood of fond memories. I found "Perfect, Once Removed" to be a great change of pace from the much more serious fare that I ordinarily read. A great book to read while lounging at the beach or relaxing by the pool. This is an extremely well written and thoroughly enjoyable book that is am very pleased to recommend.

Anyone who grew up loving baseball needs to read this book. It perfectly captures the romance of the game from the perspective of a 9-year-old, back when 9-year-olds lived and breathed baseball. Five stars!

Served well by its brevity and the honesty of its recollections, Hoose's memoir is a perfect accompaniment as you follow your team through another spring training, because it's not so much about the team or the players as it is about your own hopes.

A great book really hitting the emotions of one's childhood growing up around baseball. A wonderfully written book and a very easy read. It is so much more than just the history of baseball's greatest pitched game. A very special book!

With ease and skill, Phillip Hoose recalls his childhood days when baseball ruled his world, consuming his thoughts during the school day, and consuming his play time at night. Hoose chronicles his childhood, from his family's move to the center of the racing world, Speedway, Indiana to his discovery of the great game of baseball, to his relationship with distant cousin Don Larsen, a Yankee great.

The book is an exceptional tale of baseball, and the effect it truly has on so many of our nation's youth. From his intense, yet usually fruitless baseball practice sessions to his late night attempts at finding a signal for a baseball game, Hoose adds a personal touch to the greatest game in the world. His personal touch, then, is what makes this book so special. In an age where baseball is struggling to keep a clean image, amidst steroid use and huge salary contracts, Hoose takes the reader back to the magic of the game. Hoose accomplishes what all good books should do, he transports us into another time, and another place: our youth, and our neighborhood. He reminds us, the kid in us, the joy it felt to first pick up a ball and bat, and the disappointment we felt when we lost our neighborhood pick-up game.

A refreshing and inspirational tale, Hoose's book should not be missed by even the casual baseball fan. Hoose's writing establishes a deep connection between baseball and life, and lessons which each can learn from the other. His tale is one of up's and downs, triumphs and heartaches. Through it all, however, Hoose maintains a sense of hope for life and a sense of love for the game. This hope is what propelled so many of our own baseball dreams, and it is what helps make Hoose's book a truly wonderful read.

This is a great resource for teaching kids to hit. Easy to follow, laid out very well.

This is by far the best resource that I've found, and I've seen many, for teaching players the proper swing and approach to hitting. Get it and use it, you won't be disappointed. Appropriate for all age groups.

This book has a lot of good advice. It has additional information for "advanced" hitters, so the separate section does not overwhelm the reader for the majority of applications.

The pictures are clear and very helpful. Each section requiring one has one or more. There are many nuggets hidden here -- I learned one that I had not known in about 15 years of playing and "coaching" (as the author puts it).

Especially good for kids in Little League, so check it out!

It works very well. Our 9-10 girls just finished in 2nd in the state LL tournament. I was the batting coach and our girls carried a team average of .362 against state-level pitching! I have a shelf full of books and tapes. If I had to pick a keeper, this would be it. The first tape is excellent, too.

The pidgeon-toe stance and the inward turn (we call it "tuck") will improve bat speed, power, and balance.

My son is really starting to get into baseball, so I wanted to make sure I knew enough about hitting to get him started in the right direction.

Dusty Baker's book is teriffic because it breaks down the swing into several components. My boy is only 5, so it would be counter-productive to try and cram every component down his throat. Instead of doing that, I was able to keep him focused on one thing at a time - basically, building his swing from scratch. Important basics like "head down, eyes on the ball," and generating power with your lower body are explained well, and given drills or mnemonic devices to help retention, etc.

After working with him for one month, using Dusty Baker's book as my guide, my son had a noticeably better swing, and (amazingly for a 5-year old) better focus at the plate. He was always good at making contact, but this book helped put his swing together and give him better power without sacrificing his ability to get the bat on the ball.

Whether you know a lot about hitting, or you were a novice like me, this book really does live up to its title. Even my wife has picked up on the components of a swing, and can remind my son of something when he's playing around and I'm not there. There are other books that get more philosophical and go deeper (like Charlie Lau, Sr.'s), but for a FIRST book, that helps you teach, this one is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

With the backdrop of the emerging black middle-class in segregated Washington, D.C., during World War II, author Brad Snyder tells the compelling story of two baseball clubs and the push to integrate one professional league.

There is Homestead Grays founder Cum Posey, who is looking to relocate his franchise from Pittsburgh before the start of the 1940 season. And there is Clark Griffith, owner of the pathetic Washington Senators, who can briefly shuffle aside his racism for a business deal that will bring a new revenue stream to his bank account when the team is playing away from Griffith Stadium.

This initial tenuous partnership delivered a surprise to Griffith; the Grays exemplary play on the field found them outdrawing the cellar-dwelling Senators and galvanizing a new generation of baseball fans. That success - even with onerous stadium leases common when NLB teams played in facilities used by Major League Baseball clubs - helped propel the integration of MLB in 1947.

The era is also seen through legendary sportswriters Sam Lacy & Wendell Smith, Buck Leonard - the greatest pro first baseman - and in the offices of MLB, especially the Senators.

Griffith - who certainly could have worked out some type of agreement with the Grays for players to bolster the Senators before the Dodgers signed Robinson - was only a pioneer in segregation, integrating his team seven years after Robinson's debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers and ultimately fleeing Washington, D.C., relocating his team to the whiter Minneapolis-St. Paul market.

With the success of Robinson came the slow disintegration of NLB - the league that was truly integrated on the field, in the stands and in the front offices - as MLB teams raided the club rosters for established stars and began scouting & signing younger players to contracts.

Snyder has brought this forgotten period beyond the shadows of the simplistic retelling of the past that plagues all levels American history.

Let me be clear, this is a great book, rather than just a very good one. In nine chapters, plus an introduction and conclusion, Washington, D.C., based attorney turned writer has told the powerful and sometimes provocative story of how the Homestead Grays moved to Washington, D.C., and set the stage for the breaking down of the color line in Major League Baseball (MLB). In this important book Brad Snyder moves beyond the singular actions of Branch Rickey's Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson, which most people are familiar with, to explore the broader implications of race relations in baseball during the 1940s.

In telling this story, "Beyond the Shadow of the Senators" is filled with heroes and villains. The most significant hero is unquestionably Sam Lacy, a black writer with the "Washington Tribune," a weekly oriented toward D.C.'s large African American community, who consistently called for the desegregation of MLB. Also heroic are the great stars of the Negro Leagues, especially Buck Leonard, Satchel Paige, and Josh Gibson, all of whom came to Washington to play before large crowds in the nation's capital. They demonstrated through their exploits the quality of talent in the Negro leagues, especially when juxtaposed against the hapless play of the Washington Senators of the American League. The villains include Clark Griffith, the financially strapped owner of the Senators whose willingness to rent Griffith Stadium to the Grays proved lucrative, and Grays owner Cumberland Posey who shifted his team from the Pittsburgh area to Washington to cater to the large middle-class African American community in Washington. Both Griffith and Posey had every reason to keep the segregated system intact because of the money they made. Moreover, Griffith was a blatant racist who integrated reluctantly and eventually moved the Senators from Washington to Minneapolis-St. Paul because, as he said in 1978, "you've got good, hardworking white people here" (p. 289).

Ranging broadly from social history to baseball and back, Snyder captures the essence of the history of the Senators, the Grays, and wartime Washington's racial situation. It is a story of love and hate at the same time, as well as the quest for dignity of the minority population in a divided city. "Beyond the Shadow of the Senators" is a powerful book. Enjoy.

Brad is an excellent researcher and writer. This book is not only enjoyable but educational. I met Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe and Lester Lockett, two former Negro League players, a few years ago and their stories started my interest. Brad fed that interest beautifully. I look forward to Brad's next book on Curt Flood and the reserve clause. His attention to detail is consistent with his legal background.

Tim Moreland, PhD
Salisbury, NC

"Beyond the Shadow of the Senators'' is a must read for any serious student of baseball history. The author put a massive amount of research into this engaging account, of which I knew nothing even though I grew up in Washington not long after these events took place. This is an outstanding work in every regard. I have never met the author and I am not an African-American (not that anybody should care); I am just a fan of baseball and its history. If you are, too: Read this book.

This is a great, and true-to-life (i.e., "complex") story about the institution of 'Negro' League baseball and the various parties who profited and railed against it.

Key people that are introduced and brought to life are:
Buck Leonard, Satchel Paige, and Josh Gibson -- three of the greatest ballplayers who ever lived;
Clark Griffith -- the pioneering, penurious and controlling owner of the Washington Senators;
Sam Lacy -- the ahead-of-his-time, DC-native who tirelessly advocated for the integration of Major League Baseball; as well as
Cum(berland) Posey -- the shrewd owner of the Homestead Grays -- the dominant team of the loosely confederated Negro Leagues during the late 30's and 40's.

Tangential to this story are:
the decimation of the post 1933 Senators, mostly due to finances and an inadequate ballpark;
the relative prosperity of Washington DC during the years of the depression and WWII and the partial equality of African-American government workers that led to a vibrant culture and ability to spend on entertainment;
the move by Posey and his "partner" (many of the Negro League baseball teams were financed by numbers entreprenuers) to Washington from their Pittsburgh home and the welcome of their rental payments and gate pctgs. by Clark Griffith;
Judge Landis' death, the increasing awareness of America's incongruity in its fight for freedom and democracy in Europe while maintaining a virtual apartheid culture at home; and
the greed/opportunity of baseball owners to find the best talent at the lowest price which ultimately led to Rickey's "great experiment");

This book also fleshes out the background and conflict around Jackie Robinson, who was rightly judged to be a great man and the right vehicle for Rickey's efforst, and the shared opinions that he was a good, but not all-time great Negro baseball player. [Check out how well a 42-yr old Satchel Paige pitched for the World Championship Indians in 1948.]

The shifts in attitude between "separate but equal" and complete integration by the various parties reveal primarily self-interest. Judged by the standards of our time, I share many others' great respect for Sam Lacy and his tireless, moral advocacy and feel sorry for the Negro League baseball owners who were mostly left with nothing as they rarely had enforceable contracts that protected their relationship with their players.

Clark Griffith was an "innovator" in attracting inexpensive talent from Cuba. Many of these players represented themselves well on the ballfield but would only be acceptable if they were of "Spanish" descent.

Utterly inconceivable now, but the norm for over 60 years (since Cap Anson helped institute the "gentleman's agreement" against employment of African Americans in the early 1880's) was to allow a Major or Minor League ballclup to employ pretty much anyone (Swedes, Germans, Irish, Italians, Jews, etc.) anyone, except African-Americans.

It has often been discussed that without Jackie Robinson (& the parts played by Branch Rickey, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Ben Chapman, etc.) the 1954 "Brown vs. Board of Education" decision would not have happened as quickly.

This book provides a wonderful companion story to the integration of major league baseball which, in my opinion, is one of the most significant stories of 20th Century United States.