Baseball Legends

 
 

Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Legends: The Truth, the Lies, and Everything Else by Rob Neyer Paperback from Fireside The well-told baseball story has long been a staple for baseball fans. In Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Legends, Neyer breathes new life into both classic and obscure stories throughout twentieth-century baseball -- stories that, while engaging on their own, also tell us fascinating things about their main characters and about the sport's incredibly rich history. With his signature style, Rob gets to the heart of every anecdote, working through the particulars with careful research drawn from a variety of primary sources. For each story, he asks: Did this really happen? Did it happen, sort of? Or was the story simply the wild invention of someone's imagination? Among the scores of legends Neyer questions and investigates... Did an errant Bob Feller pitch really destroy the career of a National League All-Star? Did Greg Maddux mean to give up a long blast to Jeff Bagwell? Was Fred Lynn the clutch player he thinks he was? Did Tommy Lasorda have a direct line to God? Did Negro Leaguer Gene Benson really knock Indians second baseman Johnny Berardino out of baseball and into General Hospital? Did Billy Martin really outplay Jackie Robinson every time they met? Oh, and what about Babe Ruth's "Called Shot"? Rob checks each story, separates the truths from the myths, and places their fascinating characters into the larger historical context. Filled with insider lore and Neyer's sharp wit and insights, this is an exciting addition to a superb series and an essential read for true fans of our national pastime.

100 Baseball Legends Who Shaped Sports History (100 Series) by Russell Roberts Paperback from Bluewood Books ISBN: 0912517522

Johnny Bench (Baseball Legends) by Mike Shannon Hardcover from Chelsea House Publications ISBN: 0791011682 A biography of the outstanding catcher who led the Cincinnati Reds to four National League pennants and two World Series victories in the 1970s.

Baseball Legends of Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery (NY) (Images of Baseball) by Peter J. Nash Paperback from Arcadia Publishing Media Published: 2003- ISBN: 0738534781 Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 and soon became one of America's foremost tourist attractions. It is the resting place for many notables, including Tiffany, Steinway, and Currier and Ives, but the cemetery also has a hidden baseball history. Green-Wood is home to almost two hundred baseball pioneers: members of the Knickerbocker, Atlantic, and Excelsior Clubs of the nineteenth century; Brooklyn's beloved Charles Ebbets; stadium owners; ball makers; and "the Father of Baseball," Henry Chadwick. The first baseball monument appeared at Green-Wood in 1862 to honor the game's first martyr and star, James Creighton Jr., initiating baseball's tradition of honoring its own with stone or bronze memorials. Green-Wood Cemetery has since served as a model for other tributes, including those found at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Yankee Stadium's Monument Park. Baseball Legends of Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery, through painstaking research, brings these baseball legends back to life with a compelling array of rare images that tell the story of the game's birth in Brooklyn, New York City, and Hoboken.

1941 -- The Greatest Year In Sports: Two Baseball Legends, Two Boxing Champs, and the Unstoppable Thoroughbred Who Made History in the Shadow of War by Mike Vaccaro Hardcover from Doubleday Media Published: 2007- Joe DiMaggio . . . Ted Williams . . . Joe Louis . . . Billy Conn . . . Whirlaway Against the backdrop of a war that threatened to consume the world, these athletes transformed 1941 into one of the most thrilling years in sports history. In the summer of 1941, America paid attention to sports with an intensity that had never been seen before. World War II was raging in Europe and headlines grew worse by the day; even the most optimistic people began to accept the inevitability of the United States being drawn into the conflict. In sports pages and arenas at home, however, an athletic perfect storm provided unexpected--and uplifting--relief. Four phenomenal sporting events were underway, each destined to become legend. In 1941--The Greatest Year in Sports, acclaimed sportswriter Mike Vaccaro chronicles this astounding moment in history. Fueled by a somber mania for sports--a desire for good news to drown out the bad--Americans by the millions fervently watched, listened, and read as Joe DiMaggio dazzled the country by hitting in a record-setting fifty-six consecutive games; Ted Williams powered through an unprecedented .406 season; Joe Louis and Billy Conn (the heavyweight and light-heavyweight champions) battled in unheard-of fashion for boxing's ultimate championship; and the phenomenal (some say deranged) thoroughbred, Whirlaway, raced to three heart-stopping victories that won the coveted Triple Crown of horse racing. As Phil Rizzuto perfectly expressed, "You read the sports section a lot because you were afraid of what you'd see in other parts of the paper." Gripping and nostalgic, 1941--The Greatest Year in Sports focuses on these four seminal events and brings to life the national excitement and remarkable achievement (many of these records still stand today), as well as the vibrant lives of the athletes who captivated the nation. With vast insight, Vaccaro pulls back the veil on DiMaggio's anxieties and the building pressure of "The Streak," and chronicles the brash, young confidence Williams displayed as he hammered his way through the baseball season largely in DiMaggio's shadow. He takes readers inside the head of Billy Conn, a kid who traded in his light-heavyweight belt for a shot at the very decent and very powerful Joe Louis, and tells the story of the fire-breathing racehorse, Whirlaway, who was known either for setting track records or tearing off in the wrong direction. Rich in historical detail and edge-of-your-seat reporting, Mike Vaccaro has crafted a lasting, important book that captures a portrait of one of America's most trying, and extraordinary, eras.

Beisbol: Latino Baseball Pioneers and Legends by Jonah Winter Paperback from Lee & Low Books ISBN: 1584302348 A celebration of 14 Latino baseball superstars from 1900 to the 1960s who were pioneers of the sport.

The 500 Home Run Club: From Aaron to Williams
Bob Allen, Bill Gilbert
The 500 Home Run Club tells the stories of the 15 men who hit more than 500 home runs-out of 14,000 major leaguers who played the game-in their own words talking about themselves and about each other. Over 180 former major leaguers, from Yogi Berra to Don Zimmer, have been interviewed to get their first-person accounts of playing with and against baseball's 15 most dominant sluggers. Amazon.com
Hardcover

Musial : From Stash to Stan the Man (Missouri Biography Series)
by James N. Giglio
Hardcover - 345 pages
University of Missouri Press; ISBN: 0826213367

Rube Waddell : The Zany, Brilliant Life of a Strikeout Artist
by Alan Howard Levy

Mel Ott : The Little Giant of Baseball
by Fred Stein

Cy Young : A Baseball Life
by Reed Browning

Mickey Cochrane : The Life of a Baseball Hall of Fame Catcher
by Charlie Bevis
(Paperback)

Jimmie Foxx
by Mark R. Millikin
(Hardcover )

Jimmie Foxx : The Life and Times of a Baseball Hall of Famer, 1907-1967
by W. Harrison Daniel
(Hardcover)

Honus Wagner : The Life of Baseball's 'Flying Dutchman'
by Arthur D. Hittner
(Hardcover- August )
Out of Print - Try Used Books

Honus Wagner : A Biography
by Dennis DeValeria, Jeanne Burke DeValeria
(Paperback- April )

Honus : The Life and Times of a Baseball Hero
by William Hageman
(Hardcover- June )

Dugout Days : Untold Tales and Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Career of Billy Martin
by Michael DeMarco
(Hardcover- April )

Whitey Ford (Baseball Hall of Famers)
by Arthea Nolan
(Library Binding)

Micky Mantle

Minnie and the Mick : The Go-Go White Sox Challenge the Fabled Yankee Dynasty, 1951 to 1964
by Bob Vanderberg
(Hardcover- November )

Mickey Mantle : The Yankee Years : The Classic Photography of Ozzie Sweet
by Ozzie Sweet (Photographer), Larry Canale
(Hardcover)

The Quality of Courage
by Mickey Mantle, Robert W. Creamer (Introduction)
(Paperback)

The Mick
by Mickey Mantle, Herb Gluck (Contributor)
(Paperback - April 1986)

My Favorite Summer, 1956
by Mickey Mantle, Phil Pepe
(Paperback)

All My Octobers (Harper Spotlight)
by Mickey Mantle, Mickey Herskowitz
(Paperback- April )

Yogi Berra

The Yogi Book : 'I Really Didn't Say Everything I Said'
by Yogi Berra, et al
(Paperback)

When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It! Inspiration and Wisdom from One of Baseball's Greatest Heroes
by Yogi Berra, et al
(Hardcover)

Connie Mack

Connie Mack : A Life in Baseball
by Ted Davis
Paperback - 232 pages
Lightning Source; ISBN: 0595121128

Connie Mack's '29 Triumph : The Rise and Fall of the Philadelphia Athletics Dynasty
by William C. Kashatus

Hank Greenberg

The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg ()
Listed under Baseball Movies

Hank Greenberg : The Story of My Life
by Hank Greenberg, Ira Berkow (Contributor)
(Hardcover)

Hank Greenberg : Hall-Of-Fame Slugger (The JPS Young Biography Series)
by Ira Berkow, Mick Ellison (Illustrator)
(Hardcover - April 1991)

Walter Johnson

Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train
by Henry W. Thomas
Hardcover - 458 pages (March )
Farragut Pub Co; ISBN: 0964543907
 

Cal Ripken Jr

Cal: Celebrating the Career of a Baseball Legend
by Sporting News (Editor), The Sporting News
Hardcover - 176 pages (October 24, )
McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing

Cal : A Tribute to an American Hero
by York Daily Record (Editor)

Lefty Grove

Lefty Grove : American Original
by Jim Kaplan
Paperback - 225 pages
Bison Bks Corp; ISBN: 0910137803

Joe Jackson

Shoeless : The Life and Times of Joe Jackson
by David L. Fleitz
Paperback - 320 pages
McFarland & Company; ISBN: 0786409789

Don Zimmer

Zim : A Baseball Life
by Don Zimmer, et al
Hardcover - 304 pages (April 9, )
Total Sports; ISBN: 1930844190

Casey Stengel

Stengel : His Life and Times
by Robert W. Creamer
Paperback Reprint edition
Univ of Nebraska Pr; ISBN: 0803263678

Roger Maris

Roger Maris : A Man for All Seasons
by Maury Allen
Out of Print - Try Used Books

Roger Maris : A Title to Fame
by Harvey Rosenfeld
Out of Print - Try Used Books

Maris, missing from the Hall of Fame
by C. W. Edwards
Out of Print - Try Used Books

Fouled Away : The Baseball Tragedy of Hack Wilson
by Clifton Blue Parker
A hundred and ninety-one. Mention the number anywhere near a ballpark and before you can ask who or what, fans will almost certainly shape their lips with a single word: Wilson. Amazon.com
Paperback - 232 pages
McFarland & Company; ISBN: 0786408642
Out of Print - Try Used Books
 

Lou Brock Mordecai Brown Herb Pennock John Evers Mickey Cochrane Carl Hubbell Jimmie Foxx Tony Lazzeri Pete Rose Honus Wagner Billy Martin Mickey Mantle Cy Young Walter Maranville Roy Campanella Mel Ott Burleigh Grimes Grover Alexander

Lefty Gomez Gil Hodges Satchel Paige Edd Roush Rogers Hornsby Eddie Collins Rube Marquard Dizzy Dean Frank Chance Tris Speaker George Sisler Leo Durocher Ralph Kiner Jim Kaat Don Larsen Carl Erskine

Christy Mathewson Thurman Munson Pie Traynor Johnny Mize Harmon Killebrew Early Wynn Smokey Joe Wood Willie Keeler Zack Wheat Jim Palmer Whitey Ford Bob Feller Eddie Mathews Enos Slaughter Fergie Jenkins Monte Irvin

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