YANKEE STADIUM FIRSTS (a very partial list)

As the days draw closer to a precious few for Yankee Stadium, herewith some "firsts" on the big ballpark in the Bronx that has been with us since 1923.

First regular season game at Yankee Stadium, April 18, 1923, a 4-1 win over Boston.
First pitch thrown in Yankee Stadium, Bob Shawkey, Yankees, April 18, 1923.
First batter at Yankee Stadium, Chick Fewster, Red Sox April 18, 1923.
First hit at Yankee Stadium, George Burns, Red Sox April 18, 1923, second inning single.
First Yankee hit at Yankee Stadium, Aaron Ward April 18, 3rd-inning single.
First error, Babe Ruth, April 18, dropped fly ball in 5th inning.
First home run in Yankee Stadium, Babe Ruth hits a two-run shot in third inning off Boston's Howard Ehmke in a 4-1 Yankee victory, April 18, 1923.
First Yankee winning pitcher in World Series, Joe Bush, October 14, 1923.
First loss at Yankee Stadium, 4-3 to Washington , April 22, 1923.
First World Series game in Yankee Stadium, first one heard on a nationwide radio network, October 10, 1923.
First World Series home run at Yankee Stadium, Casey Stengel of the New York Giants hit an inside-the-park shot in Game 1 of the 1923 World Series.
First player to have his number retired, Lou Gehrig, #4, on Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day, July 4, 1939.
First night game at Yankee Stadium, May 28, 1946, a 2-1 loss to Washington.
First World Series pinch-hit home run, Yogi Berra against the Brooklyn Dodgers, Game 3 of the 1947 World Series.
First Yankee Stadium day game completed with lights, August 29, 1950.
First Yankees game behind the microphone for Bob Sheppard, April 17, 1951, New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox.
First home game outside of Yankee Stadium since 1922, April 6, 1974, as the Yanks begin playing the first of two seasons at Shea Stadium.
First home run at refurbished Yankee Stadium, Dan Ford of Minnesota, April 15, 1976.
First Yankee winning pitcher at refurbished Yankee Stadium, Dick Tidrow, April 15, 1976.
First home run by a Yankee at refurbished stadium, Thurman Munson, April 17, 1976.
First championship series game at Yankee Stadium, October 12, 1976, a 5-3 win over Kansas City.
First World Series game played by Yankees at night, October 17, 1976, at Cincinnati, a 4-3 loss to Reds.
First night World Series game at Yankee Stadium, October 19, 1976, a 6-2 loss to Cincinnati.
First team to host both the All Star Game and World Series in the same season, 1977.
First pitcher to throw a regular-season perfect game at Yankee Stadium, David Wells May 17, 1998.
First time a U.S. President visits Yankee Stadium during the World Series, George W. Bush, who threw out the first ball, Game 3, October 30, 2001 First November World Series Game, November 1, 2001, Yankees beat Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-2, at the Stadium.
First team in postseason history to win two straight games when trailing after eight innings, 2001 World Series, games four and five.

Adapted from the just published REMEMBERING YANKE STADIUUM: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT

Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published September 1, 2008 as well as a reprint version of his "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball.".

REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM (The Definitive Book) BOOK TOUR: as of 9/1

New York, Vermont, Virginia, New Hampshire, Florida, New Jersey, Connecticut
******************************************************
September 3 Wednesday/talk/signing 7:30 PM BARNES AND NOBLE, 396 Ave. Americas NY (8th St.) (212) 674-8780
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September 4th, 7:45 PM Happy Ending Lounge,VARSITY LETTERS 302 Broome St. (between Forsyth and Eldridge) 212-334-9676 NYC
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September 5th, Friday, 7pm Friday BOOK REVUE 313 New York Avenue , Huntington, NY 631-271-1442 http://www.bookrevue.com/frommer.html
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Sept. 20, 2008 / 7 p.m. NORTHSHIRE BOOKSTORE 4869 Main Street Manchester Center, VT 802-362-3565
(scroll) http://www.northshire.com/events.php
(scroll) http://www.northshire.com/images/Sept08Calendar.pdf
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September 26 2-3pm Friday/FALL FOR THE BOOK FESTIVAL GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY,Fairfax, VA (703) 993-3986 (scroll a lot) www.fallforthebook.org
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October 10 7:00PM Friday, BORDERS 59th St & Park Avenue NYC 212-980-6785
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October 11th. DARTMOUTH BOOKSTORE , Hanover, NH
(afternoon) bksdartmouth@bncollege.com
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October 21 Lord & Taylor Manhasset store, Long Island (details
TK)
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October 24, 25, ST. PETE TIMES FESTIVAL OF READING, Tampa Bay, Florida
(scroll)
http://www.festivalofreading.com/authorbios.html#frommer
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November 8, 2008 Saturday 11:30 AM BOOKS AND GREETINGS 271 Livingston Street, Northvale,NJ 07647 201-784-2665
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MIAMI BOOK FAIR November Nov 14-16, Time TBA

=================================
November 18 Lord & Taylor ,Eastchester store, NY (details TK) =====================================
December 4 Thursday 7PM /RJ JULIA, Madison, CT 800 747
3247 talk and signing
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Working on "Remembering Fenway Park" -to feature stories­ first game attended, marker moments, odd events, tales of a special player, architectural features... Please contact me .

*Yankee Stadium Prisms and Sidebars (A Very Partial List)

As the days draw closer to a precious few for Yankee Stadium, herewith some oddities, factoids and singular information on the big ballpark in the Bronx that has been with us since 1923.
Ron Guidry was a good drummer and once kept a trap set at Yankee Stadium. He played in a post-game concert with the Beach Boys.

Outside the stadium is a 120-foot high baseball bat with Babe Ruth’s signature and the Louisville slugger logo. Its purpose is to cover a boiler vent.

A Letter to Don Larsen:
"Dear Mr. Larsen:
It is a noteworthy event when anybody achieves perfection in anything. It has been so long since anyone pitched a perfect big league game that I have to go back to my generation of ballplayers to recall such a thing ­ and that is truly a long time ago. "This note brings you my very sincere congratulations on a memorable feat, one that will inspire pitchers for a long time to come. With best wishes,
Sincerely,
Dwight D. Eisenhower
President of the United States

Bob Sheppard’s Favorite Names:
1. Mickey Mantle
2. Shigetoshi Hasegawa
3. Salome Barojas
4. Jose Valdivielso
5. Alvaro Espinoza

Yankee World Series Game-Ending Homers
Tommy Henrich, New York Yankees vs. Brooklyn, 1949, Game 1, 9th, 1-0.
Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees vs. St. Louis, 1964, Game 3, 9th, 2-1.
Chad Curtis, New York Yankees vs. Atlanta, 1999, Game 3, 10th, 6-5
Derek Jeter, New York Yankees vs. Arizona, 2001, Game 4, 10th, 4-3

Bob Sheppard's Favorite Stadium Moments:

• Don Larsen's perfect game.
• Roger Maris belting his then-record 61st regular-season home run in 1961.
• Chris Chambliss blasting a homer leading off the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 1976 ALCS against Kansas City that gave the Yankees their first American League pennant in 12 years.
• Reggie Jackson's three home runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers on three consecutive pitches in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series.
• Babe Ruth never homered into the right field upper deck. The grandstand in right field ended at the foul pole and was not extended until 1937 three years after the Sultan of Swat was no longer a member of the Yankees.

The outfield wall at Yankee actually was always of uniform height. It was the ground beneath it that sloped. At the original Stadium, there was a shap pitch to the outfield grass uphill to the fence , just three feet high.

FIRSTS

• First World Series home run at Yankee Stadium, Casey Stengel of the New York Giants hit an inside-the-park shot in Game 1 of the 1923 World Series.
• First player to have his number retired, Lou Gehrig, #4, on Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day, July 4, 1939.
• First night game at Yankee Stadium, May 28, 1946, a 2-1 loss to Washington.
• First World Series pinch-hit home run, Yogi Berra against the Brooklyn Dodgers, Game 3 of the 1947 World Series.
• First rookie to get two hits in one inning, Billy Martin, in a nine-run, eighth-inning rally at Fenway Park, April 18, 1950.
• First Yankee Stadium day game completed with lights, August 29, 1950.
• First Yankees game behind the microphone for Bob Sheppard, April 17, 1951, New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox.
• First home game outside of Yankee Stadium since 1922, April 6, 1974, as the Yanks begin playing the first of two seasons at Shea Stadium.
• First home run at refurbished Yankee Stadium, Dan Ford of Minnesota, April 15, 1976.
• First Yankee winning pitcher at refurbished Yankee Stadium, Dick Tidrow, April 15, 1976.
  First home run by a Yankee at refurbished stadium, Thurman Munson, April 17, 1976.
• First championship series game at Yankee Stadium, October 12, 1976, a 5-3 win over Kansas City.
• First night World Series game at Yankee Stadium, October 19, 1976, a 6-2 loss to Cincinnati.
  
  
  
  *Adapted from the author's forthcoming book -
  REMEMBERING YANKE STADIUUM: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT
  Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) will be published in September 2008 as well as a reprint version of his "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball.".
  
  Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in excess of one million and appears on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Harvey Frommer on tour for 'Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral & Narrative History of 'The House That Ruth Built''

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Harvey Frommer on tour for 'Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral & Narrative History of 'The House That Ruth Built''
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Relive the history that took place in a legendary sports landmark. From the day that it opened in 1923, Yankee Stadium has been the ultimate sports icon. Renowned baseball historian Harvey Frommer has chronicled the stadium's spectacular 85-year journey with priceless photographs, a decade-by-decade narrative, and vivid reminiscences by Hall-of-Famers, fans, sports journalists and historical figures. It is a thrilling history that is a must-have for all baseball enthusiasts. Harvey Frommer is one of the country's leading authorities on baseball history
****************************************************************

CURRENT BOOK TOUR DATES AND LOCATIONS
http://harveyfrommersports.com/Yankeestadium.html#bookings
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September 3 Wednesday/talk/signing 7:30 PM BARNES AND NOBLE, 396 Ave. Americas NY (8th St.) (212) 674-8780
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September 4th, 7:45 PM VARSITY LETTERS 302 Broome St. (between Forsyth and Eldridge) 212-334-9676 NYC
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September 5th, 7pm Friday BOOK REVUE 313 New York Avenue Huntington, NY 631-271-1442
http://www.bookrevue.com/frommer.html
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Sept. 20, 2008 / 7 p.m. NORTHSHIRE BOOKSTORE 4869 Main Street Manchester Center, VT 802-362-3565 (SCROLL) http://www.northshire.com/events.php
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September 26 2-3pm Friday/FALL FOR THE BOOK FESTIVAL GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITYFairfax, VA (703) 993-3986 (scroll a lot) www.fallforthebook.org
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October 10 7:00PM Friday, BORDERS 59th St & Park Avenue NYC 212-980-6785
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October 11th. DARTMOUTH BOOKSTORE , Hanover, NH (afternoon) bksdartmouth@bncollege.com
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October 21 Lord & Taylor Manhasset, Long Island (details TK)
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October 24, 25, ST. PETE TIMES FESTIVAL OF READING, Tampa Bay, Florida
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November 8, 2008 Saturday 11:30 AM BOOKS AND GREETINGS 271 Livingston Street, Northvale,NJ 07647 201-784-2665
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIAMI BOOK FAIR November?? Date and Time TBA
=================================
November 18 Lord & Taylor ,Eastchester NY (details TK)
=====================================
December 4 Thursday 7PM /RJ JULIA, Madison, CT 800 747 3247 talk and signing
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http://www.dartmouth.edu/~frommer/shoelessjoe.new.htm

REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM/CURRENT BOOK TOUR DATES AND LOCATIONS

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September 3 Wednesday/talk/signing 7:30 PM Barnes & Noble, 396 Ave. Americas NY (8th St.) (212) 674-8780
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September 4th, 7:45 PM Varsity Letters 302 Broome St. NYC 212-334-9676
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September 5th, 7pm Friday Book Revue 313 New York Avenue Huntington, NY 11743 Ph. 631-271-1442
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Sept. 20, 2008 / 7 p.m. Northshire Bookstore 4869 Main Street Manchester Center, VT 802-362-3565
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September 26 2-3pm Friday/Fall for the Book Festival George Mason University Fairfax, VA (703) 993-3986 www.fallforthebook.org
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October 10 7:00PM Friday, Borders 59th St & Park Avenue NYC 212-980-6785
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October 11th. Dartmouth Bookstore, Hanover, NH (afternoon) bksdartmouth@bncollege.com
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October 21 Lord & Taylor Manhasset, Long Island (details TK)
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October 24, 25, St. Pete Times Festival of Reading, Tampa Bay, Florida
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November 8, 2008 Saturday 11:30 AM Books & Greetings 271 Livingston Street, Northvale,NJ 07647 201-784-2665
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIAMI BOOK FAIR November?? Date and Time TBA =================================
November 18 Lord & Taylor ,Eastchester NY (details TK) =====================================
December 4 Thursday 7PM /RJ JULIA, Madison, CT 800 747 3247 talk and signing

*YANKEE STADIUM BY THE NUMBERS*

1
Joe DiMaggio, only player to get at least one hit in All-Star Games at Yankee Stadium, the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field.

1 ½ - Uniform number worn by opera star Robert Merrill, the man who for many years sang the national anthem at Yankee Stadium.

3
All three perfect games in Yankee Stadium history were seen by Joe Torre: Larsen's beauty as a 16-year-old fan, and the gems spun by David Wells and David Cone from the dugout as Yankee manager.
Don Zimmer was Torre's bench coach for the last two and he played in the first one as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956. The Yankees have the most perfect games pitched by one club, all at Yankee Stadium.

Babe Ruth's uniform number, retired June 13, 1948.

4
Lou Gehrig's number, retired on July 4, 1939, the first athlete in any sport. He is the only Yankee to have worn number 4.

5
Mickey Mantle reached the copper facade that hung from the old stadium's roof five times.
Joe DiMaggio's uniform number, retired in 1952

6
Stadiums:
Hilltop Park 1903-1912
Polo Grounds 1913-1922
Yankee Stadium 1923-1973
Shea Stadium 1974-1975
Yankee Stadium 1976-2008
New Yankee Stadium 2009 -

On June 6, 1934 - Yankee outfielder Myril Hoag tieD an American League record with six singles in six at-bats at the Stadium.

The number of Yankee starters: Bill Dickey, Joe DiMaggio, Joe Gordon, Red Rolfe, Red Ruffing, and George Selkirk in the 1939 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium.
Mickey Mantle's rookie uniform number, changed by equipment manager Pete Sheehy to #7 after Mantle was recalled from Kansas City.

7
Mickey Mantle's number, retired June 8, 1969. He wore it from 1951 on.

8
The only number to be retired twice by the same team is Number 8 of the Yankees. It was retired in 1972 for Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra, both catchers. Berra took number 8 in 1948 after Dickey retired but before he was a coach.

Dwight Gooden's no-hitter on May 14, 1996, the eighth in Stadium history.

9
Joe DiMaggio's rookie number.
Roger Maris' number, retired, July 13, 1985
Most hits in an inning yielded by Roger Clemens, August 2, 2007

10
The Yanks used a record 10 pinch hitters on September 6, 1954 in a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox. They won the opener 6-5, and the BOSox took the second game, 8-7.

Mickey Mantle homered from both sides of the plate in the same game for a record 10th and final time on August 12, 1964. OR 1965

11
June 3, 2003, the Yankees named Derek Jeter their 11th captain.

12
Billy Martin's rookie uniform number.

13
Home plate was moved 13 feet forward in 1924, to eliminate the "bloody angle" in the right field corner

14
Yogi Berra stayed away from Yankee Stadium for 14 years, unhappy with the treatment he had received from George Steinbrenner.

$15.00
Bob Sheppard's per game earning in 1951 when he began working for the Yankees.
15
July 18, 1999 -- David Cone’s perfect game against the Montreal Expos was the 15th regular season perfect game.
Thurman Munson's Number 15 jersey and catching gear remains in his locker as it was the day he was killed in a 1979 airplane crash. His uniform number 15 is retired.

16
Whitey Ford's Number retired 1974. The slick southpaw wore number 19 in his rookie season. Returning from the army in 1953, he wore number 16 for the rest of his career.
Dallas Green becomes George Steinbrenner's 16th manager to be fired on August 16, 1989.

18
Joe DiMaggio's original uniform, number given to him by equipment manager Pete Sheehy and later changed to 5 for historical significance reasons, Ruth wore number 3 and Gehrig 4.

19
Whitey Ford's rookie uniform number.

21
Paul O'Neill's number 21. Since O'Neill retired after the 2001 World Series, no Yankee has worn that number. Latroy Hawkins actually wore #21 (in honor of Roberto Clemente) in 2008 until the fans literally booed it off his back.

23
Don Mattingly's number retired, August 31, 1997.

24
In 1927, 24 of Lou Gehrig's 47 home runs were hit at Stadium.

25
Gene Michael was the 25th Yankee manager in history.
Uniform number selected by Jason Giambi upon his signing with New York. The significance: the digits add up to 7, the number worn by Giambi's dad's idol, Mickey Mantle.

26
Thirty World Series have been played at Yankee Stadium, with the Yankees winning 26.

28
Thurman Munson's rookie uniform number.
Of the 60 record-setting home runs hit by Babe Ruth in 1927, 28 of them are hit at Yankee Stadium.

29
Of the 61 home runs hit by Roger Maris in 1961, 29 were hit at Yankee Stadium.
Mel Allen was a Yankee broadcaster for 29 seasons.

33
Yankee Stadium has hosted 33 World Series,

37
Of the 37 players who performed for the 1949 Yankees, only Yogi Berra still played for them in 1960.

40
Phil Rizzuto spent parts of 40 seasons as a Yankee broadcaster

42
Mariano Rivera, last player to wear No. 42, which has been retired from Major League Baseball in honor of Jackie Robinson.

44
Reggie Jackson's number, retired 1993.

46
Don Mattingly's rookie number.

49
Ron Guidry's number, retired 2003.

50
On June 1, 1999 at Yankee Stadium, Derek Jeter had reached base in all 50 Yankee games.

56
Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak included 56 singles and runs scored. It covered 53 day games 3 night games, 29 at Yankee Stadium, 27 road games.
Dave Righetti's rookie number.

58
Mariano Rivera's original number.

88
Number of pitches David Cone tossed in perfect game, July 19, 1999 - 68 strikes and 20 balls.

89
The Yankees and the Orioles played to a 1-1 tie in 15 innings, the 89th tie in franchise history. It was Cal Ripken's last game at Yankee Stadium.

97
Don Larsen used this number of pitches to hurl his perfect game against the Dodgers at Yankee Stadium in the 1956 World Series.

100
Babe Ruth on September 24, 1920 hits his 100th home run off Washington's Jim Shaw.

120
In his perfect game pitched on May 17, 1998, David Wells threw 120 pitches.

126
The number of games that Cal Ripken played at Yankee Stadium - more than any other opposing player (June 18, 1982 - September 30, 2001).

174
The number of pitches Doc Gooden threw in his no-hitter on May 14, 1996.

185
Number of working days it took for the original Yankee Stadium to be built.

266
Mickey Mantle hit 266 homers at Yankee Stadium 1951-68, most ever.

300
Roger Clemens becomes the 21st pitcher in Major League history to win his 300th game, June 13, 2003. He is first Yankee to win it in front of the home fans.

413
Smallest home attendance for a game, September 25, 1966

500
The number of workers who built the original Yankee Stadium.
Alex Rodrigues his his 500th home run August 4, 2007.

536
On September 20, 1968, Mickey Mantle hits his 536th and final home run.

1903
For the first time since 1903, two teams played two games in different stadiums on the same day, July 8, 2000. Game One was at Shea Stadium and the second game was at Yankee Stadium.

2,385
The number of backless seats spread over 27 rows behind the right-field fence in the bleachers.

3,654
Number of home runs Yankees hit at old Yankee Stadium,1923-1973

$5,000
The reward promised to the one who caught the 61st home run ball of Roger Maris.

$6,000
The amount Don Larsen received for being on Bob Hope's TV show after he pitched his perfect game in 1956.

20002
After Allie Reynolds pitched his second no-hitter for the Yankees in 1951, the Hotel Edison where he along with some teammates lived changed his room number from 2019 to 0002.

20,000
Letters that Mickey Mantle never answered were not bid on in the old Yankee Stadium fire sale in 1974.

32,238
Attendance at Final Game at old Yankee Stadium, September 30, 1973.

51,800
Capacity of new Yankee Stadium scheduled to open April 2009

64,519
Number of people in attendance at Yankee Stadium in 1956 when Don Larsen pitched the Perfect Game

$451,541
The uniform Lou Gehrig wore during his Farewell speech in 1939 sold for this amount in 1999.

*Just a nosh adapted from the author’s forthcoming book –
REMEMBERING YANKE STADIUUM: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT (The Definitive Book, September 2008)
Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 39 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) will be published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball.". Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in excess of one million and appears on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.

THE BOOK REVIEW: RED SOX THREADS & other August Reads

Bill Nowlin has worked on more than a dozen books about the Red Sox and it shows in this compendium, book of lists and tales, stats and streaks and all kinds of seat of the pants info and data about the team that packs Fenway every game out.

"Red Sox Threads: Odd and Ends From Red Sox History” (Rounder Records, $18.95, 545 pages) is a mother lode of interesting, insightful and intelligent ruminations on Red Sox Nation - - -nicknames, Jewish , Latino, Foreign born Sox, the first Woman who played at Fenway, numbers and uniforms, opening days and more and more. For fans of the Old Towne Team – required reading and for the rest of us a book to browse through and enjoy.

“Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World" by David Maraniss (Simon & Schuster $26.95 496 pages) by the Washington Post journalist and author of acclaimed biographies of Bill Clinton and Vince Lombardi, is a page turner dealing as it does in great detail with games played 48 years ago in a simple era, without terrorism threats, crass commercialism and inane and "stop-it-already” TV coverage. The skilled Maraniss carefully crafts chapter after chapter and goes into detail on such items as the controversial decision in the men's swimming event, the Tigerbelles' encounters with predjudice. Muhammad Ali, Rafer Johnson and others are once again given that "up close and personal look.” HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

From Oxford comes a slew of titles geared to China and Olympic reading for these lazy, languid summer days: "China: Fraigile Superpower” by Susan L. Shirk, (Oxford University Press $27.00, 336 pages), “Fallun Gong and the Future of China” by David Ownby, $29.95, 312 pages), "Modern China” by Rana Miller, $9.95, 168 pages, paperback), “Oxford Chinese Mini Dictionary,” $9.95, 656 pages, paperback). If China is your cup of tea - -these are books just for you.

"The Crowd Sounds Happy” by Nicholas Dawidoff (Pantheon, $27.95, 272 pages) is a true page turner of a memoir as the author takes us back to his childhood struggles with baseball in the foreground and background. It is a brilliantly told tale and one would expect no less from Dawidoff, author of "The Catcher Was a Spy.”

Harvey Frommer, now in his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books, is the author of 39 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Red Sox Vs Yankee: The Great Rivalry.” Frommer’s REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) an oral/narrative history will be published in September as well as a reprint version of his SHOELESS JOE AND RAGTIME BASEBALL.

Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and appears on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.

REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM (Fall 2008)

You had time to see all the new books on Yankee Stadium, now see what the professionals say about Harvey Frommer's Upcoming Book "REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM"


"I feel very fortunate that I experienced the mystique of playing in Yankee Stadium. There is no other stadium that had that aura. And Harvey Frommer captures it all in this terrific book." - --Nolan Ryan

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"In this biography of a building in the Bronx, Harvey Frommer, an accomplished writer about many facets of baseball, illuminates the truth of Winston Churchill's famous aphorism that "we shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us." This history of Yankee Stadium is a fine contribution to the history of the national pastime."-- GEORGE F. WILL

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"When you're a kid growing up in the Bronx in the 40's, a visit to Yankee Stadium is something you never forget. It was a thrill then and now all these years later, it means even more to me. In this terrific book, Harvey Frommer brings it all back again." REGIS PHILBIN

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"Author Harvey Frommer brings the story of Yankee Stadium's past to us in its full and vivid glory."
BOB SHEPPARD

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"You're going to keep this book around the house for a long time. You're going to devour it. You're going to keep going back to it five years, 10, 20, 30 years in the future as you sit with kids and grandkids and tell them about the people who ran across a stretch of green grass in the Bronx."
LEIGH MONTVILLE, "The Big Bam"

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"Another instant classic from Baseball's greatest author, Harvey Frommer" SETH SWIRSKY, "Baseball Letters"

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"As a Red Sox fan living behind enemy lines, this one's kind of hard to take: a lively, colorful, altogether winning illustrated biography of the House Our Former Pitcher Built. The pictures take you through the portals, and the voices of fans and players bring the place alive. The Stadium is preserved for eternity in Harvey Frommer's wonderful book."
ROBERT SULLIVAN, "Our Red Sox: A Story of Family, Friends & Fenway"

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"This book is big and beautiful and filled with glorious memories, just like the ball park it memorializes. Harvey Frommer has the eye of a historian and the heart of a fan.
Fans will treasure this gem for many, many years.
JONATHAN EIG, "Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig"

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Claire Bamundo, Publicity Director

212.229.8823 • cbamundo@hnabooks.com

REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM

An Oral and Narrative History of The House That Ruth Built

1923–2008

Harvey Frommer
Foreword by Bob Sheppard

From the day it opened in 1923 with Babe Ruth’s famous third-inning home run, Yankee Stadium has been, to baseball fans and New Yorkers alike, the ultimate sports icon. When “The House That Ruth Built” closes its doors at the end of the 2008 season, a remarkable era in baseball history will end. Renowned baseball historian Harvey Frommer’s Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral and Narrative History of “The House That Ruth Built” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang; ISBN 978-1-58479-716-6; $45.00 U.S. / $48.95 Canada; Publication month: September 2008) chronicles the Stadium’s spectacular eighty-five-year journey, through priceless photographs, a decade-by-decade narrative, and vivid first-person reminiscences. This rich and compelling book offers a one-of-a-kind account that is sure to move and inspire every baseball fan.

When it opened, Yankee Stadium was more than double the size of any ballpark at the time, and it has proven to be as intimidating and magnificent a presence as the storied team that calls it home. From Babe Ruth’s record-breaking 60 home runs in the 1927 season, to the home-run race between Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in 1961, to the modern era of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, the Stadium remains an almost century-old testament to the highs and lows of what is arguably the best sports team of all time. “The Home of Champions” has been host to 33 World Series, a staggering 26 of them won by the Bronx Bombers.

Remembering Yankee Stadium relives the history of a team—and a nation—through the lens of those who experienced the ballpark over the years. Moving testimonials from Hall-of-Famers, fans, sports journalists, and historical figures coupled with striking images re-create the magic and mystique of this great cathedral of sports. This thrilling history of one of America’s most beloved landmarks is a must-have for all baseball enthusiasts and New Yorkers.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
This is Harvey Frommer’s 40th sports book. He is one of the country’s leading authorities on baseball history and has written such books as Red Sox vs. Yankees: The Great Rivalry (2004) and The New York Yankee Encyclopedia (1997). Frommer also wrote for Yankees Magazine for 18 years. He and his wife teach at Dartmouth College and live in Lyme, New Hampshire.

Bob Sheppard, “The Voice of Yankee Stadium,” has been the Yankees’ P.A. announcer since 1951 and was announcer for the New York Giants from 1956 to 2005. He lives in Baldwin, New York.

Significant moments in Yankee Stadium history, as noted in Remembering Yankee Stadium

1919: Babe Ruth is purchased from the Red Sox; when Yankee Stadium opens in 1923, it is given the nickname “The House That Ruth Built.”

“Some thought the new baseball park should be named ‘Ruth Field.’ Ruppert, however, was adamant that it be known as ‘Yankee Stadium.’ It would be the first ballpark to be referred to as a stadium.”

1923: Yankee Stadium opens with an historic home run by Babe Ruth, and that fall the Yankees win their first World Series in the new stadium.

“Bam! Ruth slugged the ball into the right-field bleachers—the first home run in Yankee Stadium history. The New York Times called it a ‘savage home run that was the real baptism of Yankee Stadium.’”

1941: Joe DiMaggio hits in 56 consecutive games, setting a new record.

“Over the next two months, the Yankee center fielder notched at least a hit a game. Joe DiMaggio was in a hot groove. And his fire added fuel to the Yankee engine. The team began winning.”

1961: Roger Maris breaks Babe Ruth’s record, scoring 61 home runs in a single season. There was a $5,000 reward for anyone who could catch the ball.

“As soon as Maris hit the ball, I knew it was going to be a home run that would go over my head. I jumped up on my seat and reached as high as I could. The ball hit the palm of my hand. It didn’t hurt. It was a thing from heaven that knocked me over into the next row.” (Sal Durante, Yankees fan)

1974–75: After being purchased for $10 million in 1973, the Yankees play in Shea Stadium while Yankee Stadium is being refurbished.

“I went to Opening Day for the Yankees at Shea Stadium, and that was a surreal experience. On the top of the scoreboard where there was always a Mets logo, they had the Yankee logo. We went to that game for the novelty of it more than anything else.” (Tracy Nieporent, Yankees fan)

1977: Reggie Jackson hits three home runs in a row during game six of the World Series.

“I felt like Superman,” said Reggie afterward. “Nothing can top this. Who in hell’s ever going to hit home runs in a deciding World Series game? Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio. At least I was with them for one night.”

1999: The Yankees win their third of four World Series titles in five years. The following year, they would beat the Mets in the first Subway Series.

“For hours after the game in the Yankee Stadium clubhouse, the champagne flowed and splashed amid shouts of triumph. NBC’s Jim Gray asked George Steinbrenner, ‘How long can this go on?’ ‘Forever!’ replied the principal owner.”

2006: Groundbreaking for the new Yankee Stadium, set to open in 2009.

“I think it’s a great day,” Derek Jeter said. “There’s a lot of history here. There were a lot of good memories here. Now we’ll try to take that over across the street.”

ROLL OUT THE BARREL:THE 1927 Yankees

The season was anything but over for the Yankees and for Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. They just were rolling along, rolling over teams. Like the team’s theme song – it was the time of “roll out the barrel, we’ll have a barrel of fun!”

The mystique and drawing power of the Yankees was such that a second big-voiced man was kept on the payroll to use a megaphone to shout out the names of the pitchers and batters to those who sat in the distance reaches of Yankee Stadium. The mystique and drawing power of Murderer’s Row was such that more than ever before fans came to the ballpark with baseball gloves hoping to catch a ball smashed by Ruth or Gehrig or one of the other Yankee sluggers.

There was a culture in place for all the sluggers, for all members of the Yankees. Miller Huggins had schooled each and every player about attitude, disposition, bearing. If they didn’t get it the first time there was always time for lectures and lessons in Hug’s spartan Yankee Stadium office that consisted of a desk for him, a desk chair and a leather couch for all others.

Players were required to report for games at 10:00 at the Stadium - -to sign in, not to practice. It was a way designed to cut down on late night goings on. No food, no beer was allowed in the clubhouse between games of a doubleheader. There was a machine-like way about the Yankees, a precise, orderly, ritualistic rhythm that was repeated game after game. When the team was at bat and there were two outs, the regulars stood at the ready, poised at the second step of the dugout primed to rush out to their defensive positions on the field when the final out of the inning occurred.
There was to be no blackslapping, no flamboyant displays, no noisemaking or razzing, no teasing of players on the other teams.

"We were never rough or rowdy," Waite Hoyt said, “just purposeful."

Throughout that long 1927 season, no Yankee ever had a fight on the field. And only once was a player thrown out of a game by an umpire - Joe Dugan

Unseen by the fans and the opposition, the only emotional show taking place at Yankee Stadium after a victory was players exiting the dugout into the clubhouse chanting all the way:
"Roll Out the Barrel!"
"Roll Out the Barrel."
Waite Hoyt explained: “When we were challenged, when we had to win, we stuck together and played with a fury and determination that could only come from team spirit. We had a pride in our performance that was very real. It took on the form of snobbery. And I do believe we left a heritage that became a Yankee tradition"

Those Yankees who were not in the day’s starting lineup were expected to pay attention to everything that was happening on the field. There was no slouching in the dugout and no conversation about anything but baseball despite Waite Hoyt’s famous lines: “In the daytime you sat in the dugout and talked about women. And in the nighttime you went out with women and talked about baseball. It’s great to be young and a Yankee.”

The Yankee bullpen was in left field on an embankment that was slightly graded. Huggins called down when he needed to and when the phone rang it was usually a signal that a pitcher should get ready. Ed Barrow sat in his mezzanine box at Yankee Stadium observing all that took place on the field. If there was any lolling around, any one trying to sneak a snooze, any food being consumed "Cousin Eggbert" used the telephone in his box to get things in Yankee order usually blending profanity with annoyance with questions like "What the hell do you think we are paying you for?"
(Excerpted from Harvey Frommer’s FIVE O’CLOCK LIGHTNING: : BABE RUTH, LOU GEHRIG AND THE 1927 NEW YORK YANKEES, THE GREATEST BASEBALL TEAM EVER)

Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 39 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) will be published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball.". Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in excess of one million and appears on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.

UPDATED BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE

"BOOK TOUR" for REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM
(as of July 29, New York, New Jersey, Florida, New Hampshire)

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September 3 Wednesday/talk/signing 7:30 PM Barnes & Noble, 396 Ave. Americas NY (8th St.) (212) 674-8780
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September 4th, 7:45 PM Varsity Letters 302 Broome St. NYC 212-334-9676
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September 5th, 7pm Friday Book Revue 313 New York Avenue Huntington, NY 11743 Ph. 631-271-1442
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Sept. 20, 2008 / 7 p.m. Northshire Bookstore 4869 Main Street Manchester Center, VT 05255 802-362-3565
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September 26 afternoon Fall for the Book Festival George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030 Phone: (703) 993-3986 FftB@gmu.edu www.fallforthebook.org
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October 10 7:00PM Friday, Borders 59th St & Park Avenue 212-980-6785
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October 11th. Dartmouth Bookstore, Hanover, NH (afternoon) bksdartmouth@bncollege.comOctober 22. Hanover Rotary Club, Noon, Hanover Inn.
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October 24, 25, St. Pete Times Festival of Reading, Tampa Bay, Florida
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November 8, 2008 Saturday 11:30 AM Books & Greetings 271 Livingston Street, Northvale,NJ 07647 201-784-2665
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December 4 Thursday 7PM /RJ JULIA, Madison, CT 800 747 3247 talk and signing

THE BOOK REVIEW "Baseball Bits" and other August reads . . .

"Baseball Bits" by Dan Schlossberg (Alpha/Penguin Group, $16.95, 253 pages) is a home run of a book dealing with as it does in an interesting, highly organized manner all kinds of facts, stats, trivia about the national pastime. The prolific Schlossberg , author now of 33 baseball books and more than 25,000 articles about the sport produced in an almost 40-year career, hasn't lost a step. Go for his newest.

We learn all kinds of things thumbing through the pages of this tome: Ken Griffey and son Jr. were the only father-son to go back to back with homers; the original lighting system for night baseball in Cincinnati cost $55,000; when Fenway was re-sodded in 1967, Carl Yastrzemski was able to have the bluegrass removed from left field to his lawn in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. These and other nuggets are all over "Baseball Bits." HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

"Crazy Good" by Charles Leerhsen (Simon & Schuster, $26.00, 368 pages) evokes another time, another America, one that existed at the turn at the 20th century. It is about a real hero of that era - not Ty Cobb who made $12,000 in salary but Dan Patch (a horse) who made over a million dollars. Leerhsen skillfully weaves time and place and the world of the pacer, one that Dan Patch dominated. This is a "crazy good" read.

Mike Lupica, the storied New York Daily News columnist, is at it again in his other life as best-selling author of sports books for young readers. Coming soon from Penguin - - "Comeback Kids: "Safe at Home" and "Long Shot."

And for you fans of the Amazin's there are books right up your alley: "Mets By The Numbers by Joel Springer and Matthew Silverman(Skyhorse, $14.95, 304 pages, paper) and "The New York Mets" by Richard Grossinger (Frog, Ltd., North Atlantic Books, $16.95, 315 pages). Both books have much merit. The Springer/Silverman effort leaves no number unturned in this exhaustive study of the history (by uniform number) of the team from Flushing. The Grossinger effort serves up essays on what it has been like through the years to root for the Mets through good times and bad ones. The book has an attitude about it just as the Mets have always had.

From Welcome Books (Insight Editions) comes a welcome book – especially for fans of the team - - “San Francisco Giants: 50 Years” by Brian Murphy. Priced at $50.00 with hundreds of over-sized pages, this is lush, lavish, loving tribute to the team, its players and fans and management. With a foreword by Danny Glover and an afterword by Willie Mays, what could be better. This is a collectible worth collecting.
With the football season soon gearing up there is “Pro Football Prospectus: 2008 by Aaron Schatz (Plume, $21.95, 409 pages). If you want all you need to know about the pro grid game – this is the tome for you.
Another book of interest in a similar vein is “The Football Uncyclopedia” by Michael Kun and Adam Hof (Clerisy Press, $15.95, 272 pages). The book is billed as “a highly opinionated myth-busting guide to America’ game.” It is not quite that but it is very interesting reading and rummaging.

Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 39 of them including “New York City Baseball,1947-1957″ and “Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball”. His “Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral and Narrative History of the House that Ruth Built” (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) will be published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his “Shoeless Joe and Ragtime

REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM (The Definitive Book)
Fall 2008 (Abrams, STC) http://baseballguru.com/hfrommer/analysishfrommer50.html
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimEUvGSq5ALqH8ROmU0W5ozvSco-w7FoOT71joduRJU34Kp3Cs-FIXHoUScZ39RyeR38qR5CuN4aj8HeJf5-CJ1xHqf4-SViLk_tmJZYdQxTM-F0ob15ks3BHI2EV22SJW33q_4Q/s1600-h/catalog.jpg

Call for Fenway Memories - now working on "Remembering Fenway Park" - will feature stories– first game attended, marker moments, odd events, tales of a special player at the Fens, architectural features... Please contact me by e-mail if you have something to contribute. Harvey

Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in excess of one million and appears on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.

Call for Fenway Memories

**Call for Fenway Memories - now working on "Remembering Fenway Park" - (companion to REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM) will feature stories­ first game attended, marker moments, odd events, tales of a special player at the Fens, architectural features... Please contact me by e-mail if you have something to contribute.

Harvey

UPDATED BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE

Harvey Frommer "BOOK TOUR" for
REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM
(as of July 23)

Harvey Frommer "BOOK TOUR" for REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM
(as of July 25)
September 3 Wednesday/talk/signing 7:30 PM Barnes & Noble, 396 Ave. Americas NY (8th St.) (212) 674-8780

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September 4th, 7:45 PM Varsity Letters 302 Broome St. NYC 212-334-9676

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September 5th, 7pm Friday Book Revue 313 New York Avenue Huntington, NY 11743 Ph. 631-271-1442

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Sept. 20, 2008 / 7 p.m. Northshire Bookstore 4869 Main Street Manchester Center, VT 05255 802-362-3565

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September 26 afternoon Fall for the Book Festival George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030 Phone: (703) 993-3986 FftB@gmu.edu www.fallforthebook.org

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October 10 7:00PM Friday, Borders 59th St & Park Avenue 212-980-6785

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October 11th. Dartmouth Bookstore, Hanover, NH (afternoon) bksdartmouth@bncollege.com

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October 24, 25, St. Pete Times Festival of Reading, Tampa Bay, Florida

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November 1, 2008 Saturday 11:30 AM Books & Greetings 271 Livingston Street, Northvale,NJ 07647 201-784-2665

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December 4 Thursday 7PM /RJ JULIA, Madison, CT 800 747 3247 talk and signing
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Yankee Stadium Fire Sale

It is not exactly what one would refer to as a fire sale. Nevertheless, all the ingredients are there - - making an extra buck, capitalizing on people’s nostalgia and their desire to get a piece of the action, the right timing . . .

From all reports the New York Yankees are poised to profit from selling off parts and pieces of 85-year-old Yankee Stadium before it is no more. What will be on the selling block remains pure speculation. But the famous blue plastic seats seem fair game. Derek Jeter’s locker, used by him for his 14-year career could fetch $50,000 to $100,000 if the Yankees decide to auction it. At a hundred bucks a pop, pieces of the white frieze plastic replica running around the top of the bleacher's billboards would fetch a pretty penny or two or three.

And there is so much more – railings, pitching rubber, jock straps, uniforms, furniture from George Steinbrenner’s office. . . .

We have been here before but in a much less hyper way. That was when Yankee Stadium was renovated and refurbished after the 1973 season and re-opened again in 1975.

The final game in the “old Yankee Stadium was September 30, 1973.

DUKE SIMS: I caught that last game for the Yankees. It was only at the moment of the final out when I saw the crowd hit the field that I went "Whoa! They want souvenirs." It seemed there were thousands of people, all in a frenzy, tearing up everything, even scooping dirt from the ground. I was right at home plate. If I were smart, I would have grabbed it.

DAN MARENGO: By the sixth inning of that last game, all you heard was hammers. When the game finally ended, people jumped out of the stands trying to get anything that was not nailed down. They even took stuff that was: second base, sod, signs, advertising paraphernalia, chairs. Using tools my father had brought along, my friend Jerry and I took the chairs we had been sitting on. But we saw people carrying off rows of seats.

The Stadium was chaos, a free for all to get souvenirs. People had come not only to see the last game but to take pieces of the Stadium, and they were tearing it apart. Back then, they didn't have that much security.

JOEY COOPERMAN: I took the wooden chair I had been sitting on. Heck, nobody stopped me. People were wandering around with chairs. It was like a riot broke loose. Phil Rizzuto, on the broadcast, was very, very upset that somebody stole second base.

Afterwards, a more civilized disposition of Yankee artifacts was organized. The bat racks and bullpen steps were donated to the Smithsonian. Babe Ruth's widow received home plate; Lou Gehrig's widow was given first base. George Steinbrenner loaned a group of seats for the audience to the producers of a new television show: "Saturday Night Live." (Never returned, they remain in use to this day.) Those seats that had escaped the free-for-fall following the final game were sold to ex-players and fans.

PHIL SPERANZA: I went down with three friends and we all bought seats, thirteen dollars each, the old wooden seats, all blue, the ones that when fans banged on them, an echo would go through the Stadium. I also picked up a one-piece grounds crew uniform which had the Yankee logo on the back for about eight dollars.

JIM BOUTON: I bought a whole bunch of stuff: pictures, chairs which I have in my basement right now, a stool from the clubhouse --Babe Ruth used to sit on a stool like that.

TRACY NIEPORENT: My brother Drew and I got ourselves a chair for just ten bucks. It had iron stanchions and was very heavy. We'd come up to the Stadium by subway and now had to climb that damn El on 161st Street to get back home. When we did, we found a piece of petrified gum underneath the chair. At first, I thought to scrape it off. But then I thought it might have been there when Joe DiMaggio had his 56th game hitting streak.

SETH SWIRSKY: I got one of the seats. It has the original paint on it, that particular blue and the slats in the back. I sit in it in my house now, and I think about whoever sat in this seat over the years

The 1973 season marked an end of an era whose time was captured by Bob Sheppard in an elegiac ode:

Farewell, old Yankee Stadium!
You've filled these fifty years
With a treasury of memories
Some laughter, thrills and tears.
Farewell, old Yankee Stadium!
We'll miss your graceful sweep...
The far façade...that triple deck...
That centerfield so deep.
Farewell, old Yankee Stadium!
We'll miss you while at Shea;
But we'll be waiting anxiously
For your next Opening Day.

The 1973 "Fire Sale" of artifacts and mementos sold off by Invirex of Long Island, the firm hired to dismantle the Stadium, netted:
$30,000: lights purchased by Oasaka baseball team of Japan
$10,000: foul poles purchased by Osaka baseball team of Japan
$500: box seats, enlarged photos of Babe Ruth on Babe Ruth Day, and clubhouse stool purchased by Jim Bouton
$300: sign "Gate A"
$200: huge picture of a young Joe DiMaggio
$150: photo of Dan Larsen making last pitch of perfect game
$100: turnstiles
$75: locker room scale
$50: an old duffel bag that belonged to Joe Pepitone
Box seats: $20
$10: groundskeeper's uniform
$5: trays of hot dog vendors
$3: Men's' lavatory "In" sign
$3: A sheet of World Series tickets, unused from the 1972 Yankees' near miss
50 cents: sign: "Scout Admission – 50 Cents"
Total proceeds from that sale were $300,000.
How much the 2008 “fire sale” will net is beyond imagining.
==

Harvey Frommer is the author of REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT (The Definitive Book) Fall 2008 (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori & Chang).

THE BOOK REVIEW: "The Greatest Game" and other Very Interesting Reads

Yankees Versus Red Sox makes for always interesting reading. In the interests of full disclosure that was the subject of what many call the definitive book on the subject "RED SOX VS YANKEES: THE GREAT RIVALRY written by yours truly and his son Frederic Frommer.

So it was with great interest that I read "The Greatest Game: The Yankees, the Red Sox and the Playoff of '78'" by Richard Bradley (Simon and Schuster, $25.00, 286 pages).

Even though the book is focused on one aspect of the "Rivalry," it does not disappoint. It is in fact riveting reading. Bradley interviewed so many to create this montage of wonderful memories. Even some of those who were actually on the field that fateful October 2, 1978,a warm day at Fenway when "Bucky hit the tin" are here telling the old stories with vivid recall: Bucky Dent, Fred Lynn, Lou Piniella, Goose Gossage, Carl Yastrzemski, et al.

"It's going to be Yaz, Goose Gossage thought. In the bottom on the ninth, it's going to be me against Yaz," that is how "The Greatest Game: The Yankees, the Red Sox and the Playoff of '78'" begins and it never lets up.

Still in a Yankee vein is "Rumor in Town" by Matt Dahlgren (Woodlyn Lane, California, $24.95, 300 pages). It is a grandson's paean and homage and keeping of a promise to his grandfather – former pinstriper Babe Dahlgren. Matt Dahlgren completed the book his grandfather who passed away in 1996 was working on. Rich in anecdote, filled with perceptions of players and long ago days of the national pastime, "Rumor in Town" is a winner.

"FAR FROM HOME" by Tim Wendell and Jose Luis Villegas (National Geographic, $28.00, 159 pages) is all about as its sub-title proclaims "Latino Baseball Players Chasing the American Dream." Fusing excellent narrative, interviews with top name former players like Orlando Cepeda, Minnie Minoso, Luis Tiant, Sammy Sosa and 100 full color and black and white photos – the book begins in 1878 when Cuba was the host to the first league in Caribbean.

In the same vein from the University of Illinois comes "Viva Baseball" by Samuel O. Regaldo (paper) all about Latin major leaguers and their special hunger in the words of the sub-title. The book does not shy away from controversy, from racism directed against Latino players even today.

For those into the history of the national pastime expounded by an expert "Baseball: A History of America's Game" third edition by Benjamin G. Rader (University of Illinois Press, paper) is the book for you.

"The Smart Girl's Guide to Sports" by Liz Hartman Musiker (Plume, $15.00, 332 pages) is as its sub-title cleverly declares "an essential handbook for women who don't know a slam dunk from a grand slam." Recommended.

MOST NOTABLE: "Netherland" by Joseph O' Neill (Pantheon, $23.95, 256 pages) is not exactly a sports book but a brilliant and lyrical and inventive novel set against the backdrop of post 9/11 New York City and the game of cricket. It is a joy to read and just a perfect treat for hazy and humid summer days evoking a time and a place so expertly.

WORTH OWNING: The 2008 Hank Greenberg 75th Anniversary Edition of Jewish Major Leaguers Baseball Cards. Contact info: JML,104 Greenlawn Avenue Newton, MA 02459, 617-969-6244, Martin_Abramowitz@yahoo.com

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Harvey Frommer, now in his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books, is the author of 39 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Red Sox Vs Yankee: The Great Rivalry." Frommer's REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) an oral/narrative history will be published in September as well as a reprint version of his SHOELESS JOE AND RAGTIME BASEBALL.

Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and appears on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.

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"BOOK TOUR" for REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM
(as of July 16)

---

September 3rd Wednesday/talk/signing 7:30 PM Barnes & Noble, 396 Ave. Americas NY (8th St.) (212) 674-8780

---

September 4th, 7:45 PM Varsity Letters 302 Broome St. NYC 212-334-9676

---

September 5th, 7pm Friday Book Revue 313 New York Avenue Huntington, NY 11743 Ph. 631-271-1442

---

Sept. 20, 2008 / 7 p.m. Northshire Bookstore 4869 Main Street Manchester Center, VT 05255 802-362-3565

---

September 26 afternoon Fall for the Book Festival George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030 Phone: (703) 993-3986 FftB@gmu.edu http://www.fallforthebook.org/

---

October 10,7pm/ BORDERS 59th &Park (212-980-6785)

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October 11th. Dartmouth Bookstore, Hanover, NH (afternoon) bksdartmouth@bncollege.com

---

November 1st Saturday 11:30 AM Books & Greetings 271 Livingston St., Northvale, NJ 201-784-2665

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December 4th Thursday 7PM /RJ JULIA, Madison, CT 800 747-3247 talk and signing

Remembering Bobby Murcer

Bobby Murcer became a Yankee just after the glory times of the franchise, 1949-64, and I followed his baseball exploits along with millions of others. There was always a pleasing presence about the man.

It was a stunner when he was traded on October 21, 1974 to the San Francisco Giants for Bobby Bonds, Barry’s dad. That was where I entered the story.

The summer of 1975 I was traveling about with the Philadelphia Phillies (The Mets had informed the League Office that they could not host me) writing my first book - A Baseball Century: the First Hundred Years of the National league.

It was a very interesting experience going from city to city and interviewing players, managers, coaches, owners. I used a big boom box tape recorder and an even bigger briefcase to store my tapes, credentials, media guide and notes. I truly was a “beginning author.”

I arrived at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park and interviewed the long-time owner of the Giants Horace Stoneham and his long-time publicist Garry Schumacher and other Giants.

Then I came upon Bobby Murcer. He was not a part of the National League story, not a part of the subject matter of the book I was writing and was so honed in on.

But I decided to talk to him anyway and get some of his thoughts. Affable, smiling, a bit out of uniform in the garb of the Giants, Murcer was a pleasure to be with.

I thanked him for his time and continued on in my relentless pace interviewing in the locker room and on the field. I must have stopped for a snack or something and came back to where I thought I had put my tape recorder and tapes.

They were not around. Weeks of work – not around. I started to panic. I asked everyone – no one had seen them. I re-traced my interview steps – no luck.

I was out on the windy Candlestick Park field and spied Bobby Murcer and explained my plight. He said something about never letting things important to you out of your sight. He suggested we go back into the dressing room to look.

He reached up and into his locker. “Here they are,” he smiled “Someone must have put them there,” he continued in that distinctive Oklahoma drawl. “Let me autograph a baseball for you to make your day a little better.”

I always suspected that Bobby Murcer was the “someone.” He was always the practical joker. I’ll never forgot that day and that moment of panic and the lesson Bobby Murcer taught me.


Harvey Frommer, now in his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books, is the author of 39 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Red Sox Vs Yankee: The Great Rivalry.” Frommer’s REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) an oral/narrative history will be published in September as well as a reprint version of his SHOELESS JOE AND RAGTIME BASEBALL.
Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and appears on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.

REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM: ALL-STAR GAMES

All kinds of hype, hoopla and probably histrionics will be part of the scene for Yankee Stadium's final All-Star Game set for the 15th of July 2008. This will be the fourth mid summer classic staged at the "House That Ruth Built."

The first one at the Stadium took place on the eleventh of July 1939 before 62,892. The big ballpark in the Bronx was chosen as the site to coincide with the World's Fair of 1939. As the American League lineups were announced, a fan bellowed: "Make Joe McCarthy play an All-Star American League team. We can beat them, but we can't beat the Yankees!"

Marse Joe McCarthy paid the fan no heed. Six starters were Yankees: Red Rolfe, Bill Dickey, George Selkirk, Joe Gordon, Red Ruffing and Joe DiMaggio. Other Yankees on the AL squad included Frank Crosetti, Lefty Gomez and Johnny Murphy. In all, counting McCarthy, there were ten Yankees on the All-Star team. The half dozen position starters played the entire game.
Lou Gehrig was there, too, an honorary member of the American League team. It was just a week after his “luckiest man” speech at the Stadium.

McCarthy pitched Red Ruffing for three innings, then brought in Tommy Bridges and closed out with rookie, twenty-year-old Bob Feller who was touched for but one hit in his 3 2/3 innings. Later he said: "I was never nervous on a pitching mound. I just reared back and let them go."

One of the big moments of the game for the home town fans was Joe DiMaggio’s fifth inning dinger highlighting the 3-1 American League triumph. After the All-Star break, the Yanks went on a tear winning 35 of 49 games.

From 1959 to 1962, Major League Baseball conducted two All-Star Games. Yankee Stadium hosted baseball's second All-Star Game in three days. On July 13th Seven Yankees were on the American League squad: starters Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle , Roger Maris and Bill Skowron. The Yankee reserves were Jim Coates and Elston Howard.

The first All-Star game of 1960 had been played two day’s before. Perhaps that was why attendance was just 38,362 for this second one. Whitey Ford started for the American League against Pittburgh’s Vernon Law. Al Lopez was the AL manager and Walt Alston was the National League pilot. For many New York baseball fans, the special appeal of the game was the return of the great Willie Mays to the city he starred in. The “Say Hey Kid” went three for four – one of his hits was a home run. The National League prevailed, 6-0.

On July 19, 1977 Yankee Stadium was once more the site of the All-Star Game. The teams prepared to square off before 56,683. The managerial matchup was Billy Martin of the Yankees against Sparky Anderson of Cincinnati. Joe DiMaggio was the AL Honorary Captain and Willie Mays had that role for the National League. DAN MARENG0: I had a seat behind home plate in the upper deck. I knew the press always made a big deal about the feud between Munson and Fisk. I looked down and the two guys were around the batting cage enjoying a conversation
with each other, smiling. What do you believe?

Willie Randolph recalled: “I was a young kid in that All-Star Game, in front of my hometown fans, my family, playing in the game with guys I had grown up idolizing like Reggie Jackson and Rod Carew.”

ROD CAREW: To play in the All-Star game with my mom there in the stands was a thrill. Just being in Yankee Stadium was an incentive to do well. The fans are special. They'll root for you if they like you. I think they knew I was from New York so they gave me a good ovation that day
and every time I played in the Stadium. Pitcher Jim Palmer took the mound for the AL. He lasted two innings, gave up five runs on five hits, walked one and was the losing pitcher. Joe Morgan led off the game with a home run.

DENNIS ECKERSLEY: I was like 22 years old. Before the game, Billy Martin -- who was a nut but I loved him -- told me I was going to pitch the fourth through sixth innings. Well, our starter Jim Palmer couldn’t get out of the third. They lit him up. I came in a little earlier and pitched two scoreless innings.

The National League prevailed in 1977, 7-5, and the 48th All-Star game was a matter of record.

Now Yankee Stadium, the place of mystique and memories, awaits its fourth and final All Star Game. All kinds of history will be made and millions will be watching.

Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books His REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) will be published in September.

The Harvey Frommer "BOOK TOUR" for REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM (as of July 7)

September 3 Wednesday/talk/signing 7:30 PM Barnes & Noble, 396 Ave. Americas NY (8th St.) (212) 674-8780

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September 4th, 7:45 PM Varsity Letters 302 Broome St. NYC 212-334-9676

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September 5th, 7pm Friday Book Revue 313 New York Avenue Huntington, NY 11743 Ph. 631-271-1442

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Sept. 20, 2008 / 7 p.m. Northshire Bookstore 4869 Main Street Manchester Center, VT 05255 802-362-3565

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September 26 afternoon Fall for the Book Festival George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030 Phone: (703) 993-3986 FftB@gmu.edu www.fallforthebook.org

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October 11th. Dartmouth Bookstore, Hanover, NH (afternoon) bksdartmouth@bncollege.com

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November 1, 2008 Saturday 11:30 AM Books & Greetings 271 Livingston Street, Northvale,NJ 07647 201-784-2665

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December 4 Thursday 7PM /RJ JULIA, Madison, CT 800 747 3247 talk and signing

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Baseball Names - and How They Got That Way! Part VIII

The words and phrases are spoken and written day after day, year after year - generally without any wonderment as to how they became part of the language. All have a history, a story. For those of you who liked Parts I thru VII and wanted more, here is more.

WALKING MAN THE Eddie Yost played nearly two decades in the major leagues. His lifetime batting average was only .254, but that didn't keep him off the bases. Yost coaxed pitchers into yielding I,614 walks to him--almost a walk a game through his long career--which places him fifth on the all-time baseson-balls list.

"The Weatherman" Mickey Rivers had a knack for predicting weather. WEE WILLIE He was born March 3, 1872, in Brooklyn, New York. He died on January 1, 1923, in Brooklyn, New York. William Henry Keeler made his debut at the Polo Grounds as a member of the New York Giants on September 30, 1892. He singled off the Phillies' Tim Keefe for the first of his 2,926 career hits. The son of a Brooklyn trolley switchman, Keeler Two years later became a member of the famed Baltimore Orioles.

A lefty all the way, he weighed only 140 pounds and was a shade over 5'4". His tiny physical stature earned him his nickname, but pound for pound he was one of the greatest hitters baseball ever produced. Keeler played for 19 years and recorded a lifetime batting average of .345, fifth on the all-time list. He collected 2,962 hits in 2,124 games, spraying the ball to all fields. Wee Willie's greatest year was 1897, a season in which he batted .432, recorded 243 hits and 64 stolen bases, and scored 145 runs. He swung a bat that weighed only 30 ounces, but as he said, he "hit 'em where they ain't" --and that was more than good enough to gain Keeler entry into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1939. In 1897, Keeler batted an incredible .432. A reporter asked the diminutive batter, "Mr. Keeler, how can a man your size hit .432?" The reply to that question has become a rallying cry for all kinds of baseball players in all kinds of leagues: "Simple," Keeler smiled. "I keep my eyes clear and I hit 'em where they ain't." That he did. The Sporting News offered this mangled prose about Keeler as a fielder. "He swears by the teeth of his mask-carved horse chestnut, that he always carries with him as a talisman that he inevitably dreams of it in the night before when he is going to boot one - muff an easy fly ball, that is to say, in the meadow on the morrow. 'All of us fellows in the outworks have got just so many of them in a season to drop and there's no use trying to buck against fate'." William Henry Keeler played 19 years in the major leagues and finished his career with a .345 lifetime batting average. Quite justifiably the little man was one of the first to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hal of Fame in 1939. WHIP, THE A 6'6" right-hander, Ewell Blackwell had a sidearm motion and a crackling fastball that terrorized National League batters in the 1940's and 1950's. The former Cincinnati star's right arm seemed to "whip" the ball in at the batter, and that's how his nickname came to be. Winner of sixteen straight games in 1947, he struck out almost a batter an inning during his tenyear career. WHIZ KIDS There is no clear explanation as to how the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies baseball team earned its nickname. Some ascribe the name's derivation to the club's youth and newness: only one regular on that team that won the National League pennant was over 30 years of age. Some claim the nickname was a spinoff from the phrase "gee whiz," since the Phillies of that year seemingly came from nowhere to challenge and defeat the great Brooklyn Dodgers for the pennant. It was a team that because of its youth, its underdog role, and its past history of failure, attracted national attention and fused its personality to its nickname. WILD HORSE OF THE OSAGE THE Johnny Leonard Roosevelt Martin, better known as Pepper Martin, starred for 13 seasons with the National League's St. Louis Cardinals. He could hit, he could run, he could field, he could throw, he could win--and he did all of these things with wild abandon, with an elan and a verve that earned him his nickname. If he couldn't stop a hard smash down to his third-base position with his glove, he would stop the ball with his chest. If he could not get into a base feet-first, he would leap into the air and belly-flop his way there. Martin took the extra base, risked the daring chance, played with fire and fury. Three times in the mid-1930's he led the league in stolen bases, and throughout that decade he functioned as the horse that led the Cardinal "Gashouse Gang" (see GASHOUSE GANG).

"Wizard of Oz" An abbreviation of his first name and tip of the cap to Ozzie Smith for his peerless fielding skills. No other shortstop could get to the ball as fast as, and utilize the fielders around him like Ozzie. WORLD SERIES In 1903 the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League won their third consecutive pennant. Owner Barney Dreyfuss was instrumental in arranging for a set of postseason games with the American League champion Boston Somersets (later Red Sox). The teams played a nine-game series, with Boston winning five of the games (one of their pitchers was Cy Young) and the World Championship. There was a one-year interruption in the competition, because the 1904 National League pennant-winner was the New York Giants, whose owner, John T. Bush, refused to allow his team to oppose an American League entry. Part of the reason behind Bush's refusal was the existence of a rival American League team in New York City. By 1905 Bush had changed his mind and even helped shape the new format for the World Series--a best-of-seven competition--and behind Christy Mathewson, who pitched three shutouts, the Giants defeated the Philadelphia Athletics in five games. Dubbed the Fall Classic, the World Series year in and year out has become an integral, appealing part of the American sports scene.

"YA GOTTA BELIEVE" In 1973 the New York Mets bolted from last place on August 30 to win the National League Eastern Division title on the final day of the season. Pitcher Tug McGraw had coined a slogan, "Ya gotta believe," which acted as the team's battle cry and motivation. Lacking a .300 hitter, a 20-game winner, a 100-RBI man, the "believing" Mets swept by Cincinnati in the play-offs and battled Oakland to the seventh game of the World Series before finally losing (see AMAZIN' METS).

"YANKEE CLIPPER" Joseph Paul DiMaggio was one of nine children of a fisherman father who had emigrated from Sicily. It was all planned for Joe to become a fisherman like his father, but Joe could not abide the smell of fish and he often got seasick. His real passion was playing baseball. In 1934, he was playing baseball about as well as it could be played when his contract with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League was purchased by the Yankees. The deal contained the clause that the graceful outfielder be allowed to play one more season for the seals. His 1935 season gave the people of San Francisco something to remember - he batted .398, recorded 270 hits, and drove in 154 runs. Permission was granted for DiMag in 1936 to drive cross-country with fellow San Franciscans Tony Lazzeri and Frank Crosetti to the Yankee spring training camp in St. Petersburg, Florida. Lazzeri turned to DiMaggio after the trio had concluded one day of driving and said, "You take over, Joe." "I don't drive," DiMaggio answered It was reported that these were the only words he uttered during the entire three-day automobile trek. As a Yankee he didn't do much talking either. His abilities on the playing field said it all. He would step into the batter's box and stub his right toe into the dirt in back of his left heel. It was almost a dance step. His feet were spaced approximately four feet apart, with the weight of his frame on his left leg. Erect, almost in a military position, Joe Dee would hold his bat at the end and poise it on his right shoulder - a rifle at the ready. He would look at the pitcher from deep in the batter's box and assume a stance that almost crowded the plate. He was ready. In DiMaggio's time - 13 seasons with the Yankees - they won 10 pennants. In 1951, the man they called the Yankee Clipper, retired at age 36. Management attempted to get him to perform in pinstripes for one more season. But he had too much pride, and too much pain. He knew it was over. Joseph Paul DiMaggio left behind the memory of a player who moved about in the vast centerfield of Yankee Stadium with an almost poetical grace. He had played when he was fatigued, when he was hurt, when it mattered a great deal, and when it didn't matter at all.

"Joe was the complete player in everything he did," said his former manager Joe McCarthy. "They'd hit the ball to center field and Joe would stretch out those long legs of his and run the ball down. He never made a mistake on the bases and in Yankee Stadium, a tough park for a right-hander, he was a great hitter, one of the best." DiMag had a career average of .325, 361 home runs, eight World Series home runs, and two batting championships. He also won three MVP's and hold the record of 56 straight games with a hit. "Those statistics don't even tell half the story," said DiMag's former teammate pitcher Eddie Lopat. "What he meant to the Yankees, you'll never find in the statistics. He was the real leader of our team. He was the best." Like the famed Yankee clipper ships that sailed the oceans riding the winds and the tides, DiMaggio moved across the reaches of the center-field pastureland of Yankee Stadium flawlessly playing his kind of game--steady, stoical, dependable. His nickname accentuated his role and style. DiMaggio was also known as Jolting Joe because of his power, and Joe Di, an affectionate abbreviation of his name. "The Yankee Clipper" - a slap at George Steinbrenner who always has had a longing to see his players clean-shaven.

"Yo-Yo" - for small size and hyper activity, Luis Arroyo "YOU COULD LOOK IT UP" Casey Stengel began his major league playing career in 1912, his managing career in 1934. He played for 14 years, managed for 25 years. His baseball career ended in 1965 after stints with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Giants, New York Yankees, New York Mets. Casey could talk for hours about baseball and life. And sometimes in the midst of animated conversation about a utility outfielder on the old Boston Braves, or a balk by a forgotten pitcher on the Pittsburgh Pirates--to emphasize that he was not relating fiction he would exclaim: "You could look it up!" YOUTH OF AMERICA Casey Stengel's beginning years as manager of the New York Mets were a time of trial and frustration for many. Afflicted with over-the-hill players and has-beens, Casey delighted in the potential of some of the younger Mets. Although not quite ready for prime-time baseball, they had promise and Stengel's feeling for them was revealed in this phrase, which he pronounced, "The yuth of America" (see "CAN'T ANYBODY HERE PLAY THIS GAME?").

Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig: "Great American Home Run Derby"

The New York Times had dubbed the Ruth-Gehrig race the "Great American Home Run Derby." Like two mighty boxers they slugged home runs trying to out-do each other and everyone else in 1927.

"There has never been anything like it," Paul Gallico wrote in the New York Daily News. " Even as these lines are batted out on the office typewriter, youths dash out of the AP and UP ticker room every two or three minutes shouting, 'Ruth hit one! Gehrig just hit another one!'"

Christy Walsh, born in Los Angeles in 1891, Ruth's business manager, coined the phrase: "The Babe and the Buster" for the pair. Hillerich and Bradley, manufacturer of Louisville Sluggers, supplied their dealers with posters that had places for fans to mark off the homers hit by Ruth and Gehrig and keep track of their progress.

It was the reserved, young and muscular, the dimpled and handsome college educated Gehrig versus the flamboyant older, moon faced, in and out of trouble Behemoth of Swing, Ruth "There will never be another guy like the Babe," Gehrig said.

" I get more kick from seeing him hit one than I do from hitting one myself."

In Waite Hoyt's view Gehrig was "A smooth faced Atlas, an All-American type, typical first-boy-in the seat in Sunday school."

The Babe had that wink - he'd wink at fans in the stands, people on the street, at the opposing pitcher, at fielders on the opposition as he circled the bases totting out a home run. The winking Babe said: "This is easy. This is a lot of fun."

Babe hated authority.

Lou accepted it.

Babe loved people.

Lou was a loner, shy, suspicious.

Babe left a ten-dollar tip for a five cents cup of coffee - sometimes a fifty dollar tip if he were in the mood to do so - where fifty cents would have been generous.

Lou left dimes.

The good guy and the bad guy. You paid your money and you made your choice.

Crowds like never before were everywhere the Yankees went - the home run race between Ruth and Gehrig, the powerhouse that was the 1927 team, the mystique of New York in the roaring twenties. The Yankees were New York and New York was the Yankees. It all was a package.

Richards Vidmer, a sportswriter who wrote with style and grace for The New York Times, a former minor league baseball player, he was a sophisticate and an adventurer. It was Vidmer who came up with the term for the Ruth-Gehrig battle - "The Great American Home Run Handicap."

And great it was. It was the first time Babe Ruth ever had any real competition in a home run race. And the competition was the man who batted behind him in the potent Yankee order, who watched him from up close from the on deck batting circle, who shook the Bambino's hand when he crossed home plate finishing the home run trot.

It was also Gehrig who was getting the publicity, who was becoming a fan favorite and a media darling, who was a total opposite in personality to the Big Bam.

"Holy shit, holy crap, holy moley, it was like two Babe Ruths," were the lines going around the American League. "One was bad enough but Gehrig too."

"Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig," noted Bill Werber, a Duke sophomore and a fly on the wall for a month of that season at the Stadium "were entirely different disposition-wise, but they both had an intense desire to win. And you'd better have the same disposition if you were on that ball club, or they were on your ass. Eating or drinking during the course of the game, you'd better not do that."