Classic
Tribe: The 50 Greatest Games in Cleveland Indians History (Classic Cleveland)
by Jonathan Knight
Paperback from Kent State University Press
ISBN: 160635017X
A countdown of the Cleveland Indians' greatest games
It's far too easy to allow the national media and disparaging fans to
undermine Clevelanders' views of their professional sports teams. While
the Browns, Indians, and Cavaliers have certainly caused more than their
fair share of frustration and heartbreak over the past century, there are
countless moments of glory in the fertile athletic history of Northeast
Ohio that receive little notice east of Shaker Heights or west of Rocky
River. Jonathan Knight's Classic Cleveland Series sets out to combat this
trend, bundling together the most memorable moments of Cleveland's beloved
athletic clubs. In three separate publications, Knight ranks the fifty
greatest games in each franchise with entertaining accounts of each contest,
properly placing them in the broad landscape of civic history.
Regardless of what the current editions of the Browns, Indians, and
Cavs accomplish, every contest played is another chapter in an epos connecting
each generation of fans to the ones before it. The Classic Cleveland Series
colorfully illustrates that regardless of today's final score, the simple
continuation of the saga is reason enough for reflection and celebration.
Classic Tribe counts down the fifty greatest Cleveland Indians
games, from wild ninth-inning comebacks to dazzling pitching performances
to spellbinding playoff encounters. The storied history of Cleveland's
endearing baseball franchise is sprinkled throughout these tales, from
weekday matinees at cozy League Park at the dawn of the twentieth century
to unforgettable autumn nights at Jacobs Field.
Knight ranks World Series masterpieces alongside incredible individual
performances and historic achievements: two perfect games seventy-three
years apart, the most memorable of the 1954 Tribe's record 111 victories,
and the greatest comeback in baseball history. Included in these pages
are the heroics of Tribe legends like Stan Coveleski, Bob Feller, Lou Boudreau,
Rocky Colavito, and Omar Vizquel to name just a few. Whether played on
a balmy summer night on the lakefront or on a golden October afternoon
at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, each game included in Classic
Tribe is worth remembering and revisiting. Sure to spark interest and
debate, Classic Tribe will appeal to Indians fans everywhere. |
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Cleveland
Indians: Yesterday & Today
by Phil Trexler, Foreword by Bob Feller, Preface by Rick Manning
Hardcover from Publications International, Ltd.
Everybody loves an underdog, and few teams can claim to have as many
decks stacked against them as the Cleveland Indians. Despite winning only
two World Series in more than 100 years, the Indians have captured the
hearts of their fans. With riveting text and action-packed photos, Cleveland
Indians: Yesterday & Today gives you the inside scoop on the franchise
s storied history, from the early years featuring Nap Lajoie and Tris Speaker
to the glory days of Bob Feller and Al Rosen to the modern era of Manny
Ramirez and Jim Thome.
Here are some of the other memorable characters you ll meet in the
book:
The original Cleveland Indian, Louis Sockalexis, a member of the Penobscot
tribe who hit .338 for the Cleveland Spiders in 1897 and inspired the change
in the team s nickname in 1915
Larry Doby, the first African American player to join the American
League and the first African American to hit a home run in a World Series
game
Bill Veeck, baseball s version of P.T. Barnum, who bought the Indians
in 1946 and lured crowds to the ballpark with wild theatrics, fireworks,
and bizarre giveaways, like rabbits and livestock
With a heartfelt foreword from the legendary Bob Feller, who energized
the team in 1936 when he was only 17, Cleveland Indians: Yesterday &
Today is an essential book for every Indians fan. |
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Dealing:
The Cleveland Indians' New Ballgame: How a Small-Market Team Reinvented
Itself as a Major League Contender
by Terry Pluto
Paperback from Gray & Co., Publishers
ISBN: 1598510495
Go behind closed doors in the Cleveland Indians' front office as award-winning
sportswriter Terry Pluto analyzes the team's controversial recent moves
to scrap a roster of popular stars and rebuild a new kind of contender.
Granted unprecedented access to the team's top management and financial
data, Pluto delivers an up-close account of how decisions were made to
radically reshape the franchise.
Indians fans grew accustomed to winning in the mid-1990s. They had
an owner with deep pockets, a brand-new ballpark, and a team of high-priced
all stars who delivered a division championship nearly every year.
But that glorious ride ended with a jolt of reality after savvy owner
Richard Jacobs sold the franchise at the top of the market in 2000. New
owners Larry and Paul Dolan and new general manager Mark Shapiro faced
a challenge: an aging team, a mounting payroll, and a shrinking budget.
First they made mistakes. Then they made bold changes. Stars such as Manny
Ramirez, Roberto Alomar, and Jim Thome were gone, replaced with roster
of unproven youngsters and veteran rehab projects. Fans were alarmed and
dismayed. Then, in 2002, Shapiro boldly predicted that the Indians would
return to contend for the playoffs after just three years of rebuilding.
Critics scoffed.
Yet at the end of the 2005 season, the Indians were indeed back in
contention, one tantalizing game away from a return to the playoffs. The
core of an exciting young team was beginning to take shape, and Shapiro
was voted American League Executive of the Year as his team won an impressive
93 games despite a payroll ranked in baseball's bottom five.
How was it done? In his familiar clear writing style, Pluto carefully
explains the many risky moves made by management and tells which ones have
paid off, which ones haven't, and why.
This rare behind-the-scenes look at a modern front office will intrigue
fantasy leaguers and fans fascinated by baseball dealmaking. It will be
an eye-opener for Indians fans who may still be wondering, What happened
to my team? |
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The
Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Cleveland Indians: Heart-pounding, Jaw-dropping,
and Gut-Wrenching Moments from Cleveland Indians History (The Good, the
Bad, and the Ugly) (Good, the Bad, & the Ugly)
by Mary Schmitt Boyer
Hardcover from Triumph Books
ISBN: 1600780474
Named the Indians in 1915 to honor Louis Sockalexis, the Tribe has
had its share of ups and downs. After winning championships in 1920 and
1948 and a pennant in 1954, the Indians slumped, after the 1960 trade of
fan favorite Rocky Colavito, not coming within 11 games of first place
until 1993. But in the '90s, with the help of players like Sandy Alomar,
Jim Thome, Kenny Lofton, and Manny Ramirez, the Indians turned around,
even though the decade culminated in an ultimately disappointing trip to
the 1997 World Series. Ten years later, the Indians' future is again bright
with big hopes and new stars. Through it all, the Indians faithful have
stood by their team. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Cleveland Indians
is a must for every fan who wants an unflinching look at the greatest--and
worst--players, coaches, and moments in Indians history! |
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Indians
Essential: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Real Fan! (Essential (Triumph))
by Mary Schmitt Boyer
Hardcover from Triumph Books (IL)
ISBN: 1572439335
The Cleveland Indians are one of baseball's most vibrant and beloved
franchises, and everything you need to know about them is in Indians Essential:
the clutch hitters, the dominating pitchers, and the memorable flakes.
Looking for a handy reference for milestones in Indians history? They're
all in here, as are the greatest moments and biggest disappointments, the
biggest goats and heroes, and all the personalities that make the Indians
such an endearing and captivating club. You'll read about Hall of Fame
legends Nap Lajoie and Tris Speaker, World Series champions Larry Doby
and Bob Feller, and today's superstars Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner.
But that's only the beginning of what you'll learn in this fun, fact-filled
compilation of Indians history. |
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Endless
Summers: The Fall and Rise of the Cleveland Indians
by Jack Torry
Paperback from Taylor Trade Publishing
ISBN: 0912083980
Here in a new updated edition of his bestseller, Jack Torry tells the
compelling story about the relationship between a city, its financial leaders,
and its baseball team. |
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Indians
Journal: Year-by-Year and Day-by-Day with the Cleveland Indians Since 1901
by John Snyder
Paperback from Clerisy Press
ISBN: 1578603080
This definitive chronicle of one of major league baseball's most
beloved -- and beleaguered -- teams covers every season from 1901 to 2007.
Dividing its history by decades, years, and even days, Indians Journal
features hitting and pitching highlights, team and individual player stats,
interesting and unusual facts, historical and contemporary photographs,
and unique "season in a sentence" recaps. Author John Snyder includes it
all -- starting line-ups, trade info, annual attendance, all-time franchise
numbers beyond the ERAs, batting averages including on-base percentages,
shut-outs, complete games, and more. |
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Summer
of Shadows: A Murder, A Pennant Race, and the Twilight of the Best Location
in the Nation
by Jonathan Knight
Paperback from Clerisy Press
ISBN: 1578604672
Summer of Shadows is
an intertwining narrative that tells the story of the 1954 Cleveland Indians
(which would etch itself in history as one of the greatest baseball teams
in MLB history) and the infamous murder of the wife of Dr. Sam Sheppard
in their home along the shore of Lake Erie -- which held both the city
and the nation spellbound that summer. Both of these generation-defining
stories take place in the final days of the "Best Location in the Nation,"
the nickname for the Cleveland of the 1950s, which truly was one of the
great and most influential cities in America. These two parallel tragedies
harbinger an onslaught of adversity that dragged Cleveland from its lofty
standing as a leading American city to one with a bleak -- even comic --
reputation. |
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Whatever
Happened to "Super Joe"?: Catching Up With 45 Good Old Guys From The Bad
Old Days of Cleveland Indians
by Russell Schneider
Paperback from Gray & Co., Publishers
ISBN: 1598510274
From the mid-1950s through the mid-1990s, the Cleveland Indians fielded
team after team that just couldn't win. Those forty long years, before
the opening of Jacobs Field and the "era of champions," are remembered
by many as the "bad old days."
Yet each of those lousy teams had its share of pretty good guys, likeable
and colorful young men who earned a spot in fans' hearts, if not the Hall
of Fame.
Guys like "Super Joe" Charboneau, whose Rookie of the Year season inspired
a nickname, a book, and a theme song, but whose career flamed out fast.
Or Gomer Hodge, the former farm boy who went 4-for-4 in his first plate
appearances with the Tribe and proudly announced that he had a 4.000 batting
average.
Veteran sportswriter Russell Schneider caught up with 45 former Indians
players who played in Cleveland during the "bad old days" and found out
what they think now about their playing days and their lives after baseball.
There's good-fielding shortstop Duane Kuiper, who was satisfied hitting
just one home run in eight seasons because, he said, "Any more than that
and people start expecting them." And former knuckleball pitcher Tom Candiotti,
who never pitched a no-hitter but did throw a perfect game--as a pro bowler.
"Immortal" Joe Azcue tried hard to live up to his early nickname but
whose batting average proved him merely human. And shortstop Frank Duffy
considered the Indians of the mid-'70s "just like a happy family" compared
to what he found when he was traded to the Boston Red Sox.
Sometimes nostalgic, sometimes tinged with disappointment, often humorous
and insightful, their stories will take Tribe fans back to an age before
multi-million dollar superstars, when the players were in it for the love
of the game. |
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Indians
on the Game: An Inside Look at Baseball in the Words of Cleveland's Favorite
Players (and coaches, grounds crew, broadcasters, vendors . . .)
by Wayne Stewart
(Paperback)
Legends
of the Tribe: An Illustrated History of the Cleveland Indians
by Morris Eckhouse
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing; 1st ed edition (October
25, )
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0878331972
Our
Tribe: A Baseball Memoir
by Terry Pluto
(Hardcover)
Epic
Season: The 1948 American League Pennant Race
by David E. Kaiser
At no time in the 1948 season did any team lead the American League
by four games. With less than a month remaining, the Yankees, Red Sox,
Indians, and A's charged down the stretch heads apart. Cleveland eventually
captured the flag in a one-game playoff against Boston, but it wasn't just
the pennant race that year that was so remarkable; it was the season itself.
In Cleveland, Lou Bourdreu experienced his greatest days as player-manager,
Larry Doby took his place in the outfield, and the team's charismatic owner,
Bill Veeck, brought in a 42-year-old rookie named Satchel Paige, who won
six, lost one, did to Major League hitters what he'd been doing to their
Negro League counterparts for decades, and perfectly complemented a couple
of other Hall of Fame hurlers, Bob Feller and Bob Lemon. In Boston, long-time
Yankee manager Joe McCarthy went over to the enemy, and Ted Williams came
off a Triple Crown title with a season just as good. The A's, under Connie
Mack, naturally folded first, but the Yankees, behind the heroics of an
injured Joe DiMaggio and the emergence of Yogi Berra, stayed in it until
the last weekend.
Using interviews with such stars as Doby, Feller, Dom DiMaggio, and
virtually every newspaper and magazine account of the times, Kaiser, a
historian by profession, replays the season in painstaking detail, almost
game by game, keeping in sight his larger context: a postwar game for a
postwar nation. From time to time, that bigger picture turns his prose
a little purple, but his subject is big enough to deflect that like an
overmatched fastball. To keep things feeling contemporary, he drops the
standings in every few pages, a visually dramatic effect that, like a good
cliffhanger, keeps you gasping for how it all turns out, even though it
turned out the way it did 50 years ago. Jeff Silverman, Amazon.com
(Paperback)
The
Boys of the Summer of '48
by Russell Schneider
(Hardcover)
The
History of the Cleveland Indians (Baseball (Mankato, Minn.).)
by Wayne Stewart
(Library Binding)
Indians
Memories: Heroes, Heartaches and Highlights from the Last 50 Years of Cleveland
Indians
by Tim Long, Don Fox
(Paperback)
The
Cleveland Indians Baseball Team (Great Sports Teams)
by David Pietrusza
(Library Binding)
Tribe
Memories...the first century
by Russell Schneider
(Paperback)
