DR. HARVEY FROMMER ON SPORTS
Robert Weintraub’s “The House That Ruth Built” (Little Brown, $26.99, 420 pages) takes us back to the 1923 season, the creation of Yankee Stadium and the seeds of the Yankee dynasty that was to come.
Nice to see four references to works of mine in the bibliography – and a tip of the Yankee cap to Weintraub for an impressive list of references all of which he has made good use of in this detailed and dramatic narrative. Part memoir, part history of sports since 1957, part name dropping, part graceful and moving and nuanced love letter about sports “An Accidental Sportswriter” by Robert Lipsyte (Ecco, $25.99, 246 pages) leaves the reader wanting more. I can’t wait for Part II. Lipsyte, a former award winning sportswriter for the NY Times has penned an –inside-the- parker. MUST READ
“The Wisdom Wooden” by John Wooden and Steve Jamison (McGraw Hill, $22.00, coffee table size)is the final word of the late and great legendary hoops icon. It is a primer on living life the right way. Archival images, many never before published, adorn the pages of this appealing tome.
From Simon & Schuster comes Timothy M. Gay’s “Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert ($15.00, 349 pages, paper) a roller coaster ride through baseball before Jackie Robinson. The focus is on Satchel Paige, Dizzy Dean and Bob Feller and much more. Barnstorming as big business and social revolution and much more.
A piece of sports history that made big headlines back in 1968 but for many has faded into obscurity has now re-surfaced in “Something in the Air” by Richard Hoffer (University of Nebraska Press, $19.95, 268 pages, paper). A very interesting book that probes the stories of both black and white athletes gathered for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City and the paths they chose to express themselves.
2011 marks Harvey Frommer's 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work is REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams).
He is available for speaking engagements. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd.
FOLLOW Harvey on Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?locale=en_US.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Fenway Park Flashback: All Star Game 1999
(Excerpt from Remembering Fenway Park: An Oral and Narrative History of the Home of the Boston Red Sox/Abrams 2011 By Harvey Frommer - - now available in stores and on-line and direct from the author)
One of the marker times at Fenway Park not ony of that season, but the entire decade took place July 13, 1999 at the 70th All-Star Game. On hand were the candidates for the All-Century Team as well as the 1999 All Stars. And since it was staged on Boston’s home turf – the center of attraction was Theodore Francis Williams.
Four dollars ($3.80 plus 20 cents tax) was the charge at the All-Star Game for a Footlong Dog with fixings like onions, peppers, diced tomatoes and giardineira.
CHRIS ELIAS: A lot of the National League stars got their first look at the manual scoreboard. Many came inside for a closer view; some signed the walls.
ART DAVIDSON: Pre- game, the 50 greatest players and current All Stars were lined up on the baselines.
CHARLIE PATTERSON: PA announcer Sherm Feller said: " And now ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, please direct your attention to the doors in center field and welcome the greatest hitter of all time, THE KID, THE THUMPER, THE SPENDID SPLINTER, TEDDY BALLGAME------------THEODORE SAMUEL WILLIAMS!!!!!!!"
ART DAVIDSON: As Ted came out in a golf cart from center field to the Fenway Park infield. Spontaneously, players rushed to embrace Ted.
The 80-year-old legend of legends, clad in a blue shirt and tan pants, was visibly moved. He brushed away tears as he spoke to the players surrounding him.
Then Williams got set for the ceremonial pitch to Carlton Fisk. With San Diego’s Tony Gwynn steadying him, he waved at Fisk and lofted the ball 40 feet into the glove of the Hall of Fame catcher to cheers, shouts, and applause.
Wasn't it great!" a visibly moved Williams said afterwards. “It didn't surprise me all that much because I know how these fans are here in Boston. They love this game as much as any players and Boston's lucky to have the faithful Red Sox fans. They're the best."
LOU GORMAN: Ceremonies over, we escorted Ted to a luxury box. Through my Navy contacts I had arranged for a Navy fighter squad flyover over the top of the ballpark.
He wanted to meet the pilots. “Look," I told them, just shake his hand. He’s getting very tired." But Ted invited them to sit down, and they talked for about ten minutes.
A Marine Corps contingent had been down on the field. The very young captain who was in charge asked if some of his guys could meet Ted.
“Just meet him and shake his hand and be brief,” I told the Captain. He made them sit down and talked for another ten minutes. Ted said being a Major League player was a great honor and being a Hall of Famer was an even greater honor. But the greatest honor of his life was to have the privilege of wearing a Marine uniform.
The American League won the All Star Game, 4-1. Pedro Martinez thrilled the home town fans and everyone else – striking out the first three batters he faced and a total of five in two innings. He was the game MVP.
JOE CASTIGLIONE: Pedro is my favorite all-time pitcher, the best pitcher I’ve ever seen. When Pedro pitched, it was an event with Dominican flags flying and all the excitement in the ballpark.
TOM CARRON: The entire All-Star Game experience from the homerun derby to Landsdowne Street -- throbbing with people trying to get home runs balls as they came over the Monster, to Ted Williams being at the heart of it all, to Pedro’s performance, to the Sox taking over a parking lot for the media hospitality, using every nook and cranny, having something going on everywhere you would turn. . . it was special.
About the author
2011 marks Harvey Frommer's 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008. Frommer's newest work REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams) is available direct from the author or at online sites or at bookstores.
http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
He is available for speaking engagements.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
One of the marker times at Fenway Park not ony of that season, but the entire decade took place July 13, 1999 at the 70th All-Star Game. On hand were the candidates for the All-Century Team as well as the 1999 All Stars. And since it was staged on Boston’s home turf – the center of attraction was Theodore Francis Williams.
Four dollars ($3.80 plus 20 cents tax) was the charge at the All-Star Game for a Footlong Dog with fixings like onions, peppers, diced tomatoes and giardineira.
CHRIS ELIAS: A lot of the National League stars got their first look at the manual scoreboard. Many came inside for a closer view; some signed the walls.
ART DAVIDSON: Pre- game, the 50 greatest players and current All Stars were lined up on the baselines.
CHARLIE PATTERSON: PA announcer Sherm Feller said: " And now ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, please direct your attention to the doors in center field and welcome the greatest hitter of all time, THE KID, THE THUMPER, THE SPENDID SPLINTER, TEDDY BALLGAME------------THEODORE SAMUEL WILLIAMS!!!!!!!"
ART DAVIDSON: As Ted came out in a golf cart from center field to the Fenway Park infield. Spontaneously, players rushed to embrace Ted.
The 80-year-old legend of legends, clad in a blue shirt and tan pants, was visibly moved. He brushed away tears as he spoke to the players surrounding him.
Then Williams got set for the ceremonial pitch to Carlton Fisk. With San Diego’s Tony Gwynn steadying him, he waved at Fisk and lofted the ball 40 feet into the glove of the Hall of Fame catcher to cheers, shouts, and applause.
Wasn't it great!" a visibly moved Williams said afterwards. “It didn't surprise me all that much because I know how these fans are here in Boston. They love this game as much as any players and Boston's lucky to have the faithful Red Sox fans. They're the best."
LOU GORMAN: Ceremonies over, we escorted Ted to a luxury box. Through my Navy contacts I had arranged for a Navy fighter squad flyover over the top of the ballpark.
He wanted to meet the pilots. “Look," I told them, just shake his hand. He’s getting very tired." But Ted invited them to sit down, and they talked for about ten minutes.
A Marine Corps contingent had been down on the field. The very young captain who was in charge asked if some of his guys could meet Ted.
“Just meet him and shake his hand and be brief,” I told the Captain. He made them sit down and talked for another ten minutes. Ted said being a Major League player was a great honor and being a Hall of Famer was an even greater honor. But the greatest honor of his life was to have the privilege of wearing a Marine uniform.
The American League won the All Star Game, 4-1. Pedro Martinez thrilled the home town fans and everyone else – striking out the first three batters he faced and a total of five in two innings. He was the game MVP.
JOE CASTIGLIONE: Pedro is my favorite all-time pitcher, the best pitcher I’ve ever seen. When Pedro pitched, it was an event with Dominican flags flying and all the excitement in the ballpark.
TOM CARRON: The entire All-Star Game experience from the homerun derby to Landsdowne Street -- throbbing with people trying to get home runs balls as they came over the Monster, to Ted Williams being at the heart of it all, to Pedro’s performance, to the Sox taking over a parking lot for the media hospitality, using every nook and cranny, having something going on everywhere you would turn. . . it was special.
About the author
2011 marks Harvey Frommer's 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008. Frommer's newest work REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams) is available direct from the author or at online sites or at bookstores.
http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
He is available for speaking engagements.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Friday, June 24, 2011
SUMMER OF 1927 (Excerpt from Five O'Clock Lightning )
By Dr. Harvey Frommer
"It isn't a race in the American League, it's a landside."
-- John Kieran, New York Times
July would be the best of all months for the Yankees. They would win 24 of 31 games and stitch together their longest winning streak of the season, nine games, from June 13th through July 23rd.
In first place where they had been all season, flying, unstoppable, cocksure, determined and proud of what they were accomplishing, they played on.
And Gehrig and Ruth especially played on. Ruth played off Gehrig, and Gehrig played off Ruth. They both gave opposing pitchers fits and the fans delight. The pennant race was over. It had actually been over before it began.
But the "Home Run Derby" was in full throttle, mesmerizing more and more baseball fans day after day. Gehrig and Ruth, Ruth and Gehrig. Neither man could gain significant separation from the other as they took those mighty swings that baseball summer. And what separation there was, was never more than two home runs.
On the first day of July, the Yankees faced the hapless Red Sox. The Buster and the Babe were tied with 25 home runs each. Gehrig slammed a home run to pace the 7-4 Yankee win, the 13th straight defeat for Boston. That game was a marker moment for the "Bammer" the first time since 1922 that he trailed a rival on that date in the home run race.
"There's only one man who will ever have a chance of breaking my record, and that's Gehrig. He is a great kid," the King of Clubbers said.
Whenever Ruth hammered a homer, Gehrig waited at home plate to shake his hand as he rounded third and touched home plate. If Gehrig homered with Ruth on base, the two would trot around the bases. The Babe waited for Lou to touch home. Then the happy pair like two school kids, smiling all the way, would enter the Yankee dugout to the cheers of their adoring fans, to the congratulations of their teammates.
The younger Gehrig said: "There will never be another guy like the Babe. I get more of a kick out of seeing him hit one than I do from hitting one myself."
The older Ruth said: "Gehrig is one of the greatest fellows in the game and a real home run hitter."
And the self effacing Iron Horse said: "I'm just fortunate enough to be close to him."
But Tony Lazzeri, who knew the score all too well, noted: "They didn't get along. Gehrig thought Ruth was a big-mouth and Ruth thought Gehrig was cheap. They were both right."
Despite Lazzeri's comments, there was no public animosity, no obvious jealousy, no enmity evident between the pair. Ruth even had a kind of big brother, semi-paternalistic interest in Gehrig. "This college kid," the Babe said, "is one of the queerest ballplayers I ever knew. It seems he never feels the cold weather. The coldest day in winter he'll come swinging down Broadway without an overcoat, his coat open and no vest. Never wears gloves and half the time goes bare-headed. Some of the boys claim he never had an over coat on his shoulders until he joined the Yankees."
They were known in the media and by the fans as the "home run twins." But when it came to who was the favorite, it was no contest.
Ruth struck out in a game, and Gehrig followed with a homer. Afterwards at the exit gate kids swarmed all over the Big Bam with adoring looks and cheers, scorecards, pieces of paper, autograph books. Ruth obliged every one of them. No one paid Gehrig any attention. Seemingly content, he walked away and down the street.
"Babe and Gehrig were entirely different disposition-wise," Bill Werber said. "But they both had an intense desire to win. And you'd better have the same disposition 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."
Their lockers were just a few feet from each other and like all the rest at Yankee Stadium, their names were printed in white chalk near the top:
"RUTH,"
"GEHRIG"
The Yankee first baseman's locker was orderly. The Yankee outfielder's locker was the opposite. Overflowing with telegrams, letters in the hundreds, salves and balms and toiletries, phonograph records of "Babe and You," the top of locker had a green gourd about five feet long on it. After games ended, Gehrig sat on a stool in front of his locker, dressed quickly and left. Ruth hung around. Sometimes he sat on a stool but most times he stood, enjoying the give and take with reporters.
2011 marks Harvey Frommer's 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008. Frommer's newest work is REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK - (http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/)
FOLLOW Harvey
on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd.
on Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?locale=en_US
on the Web: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~frommer
Get autographed, discounted copies of books directly from the author @ harveyfrommersports.com. He is available for speaking engagements. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Spring Roundup (Part VI) SPORTS BOOK REVIEW
"Knuckler" by Tim Wakefield (HMH, $25.00, 274 pages) is a winner. The Red Sox vet (now age 44) flutterballer lets it all go in this up close and personal story of his life and times and of course his up and down moments with his favorite pitch. A wonderful idea for a book that mixes and matches Wakefield's life with the legend and lore of the knuckler. BUY IT
Another pitcher, another story - -"Nobody's Perfect" (Atlantic Monthly Press, $24.00, 246 pages). Most baseball fans recall the imperfect perfect game pitched on June 2, 2010 by Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers, the gem that was almost the 21st perfect game flubbed by home plate umpire Jim Joyce. Now like Torrez and Dent, or like Thomson and Branca - the pitcher and umpire linked together tell all about their roads to that momentous moment in baseball history. The book stretches to fill pages...but it has its moments.
"Evel" by Leigh Montville (Doubleday, $27.50, 378 pages) is a full blown bio with an attitude by one of the best sports authors around these days. The magnificent Montville touches all the bases in this evocative and provocative tome focused on the life and times of the high-flying Evel Knievel: American Showman, Daredevil and legend. HOME RUN
Another bio of Ernie Banks. And why not? Under the deft hand of Phil Rogers "Ernie Banks Mr. Cub and the Summer of '69 (Triumph, $24.95, 288 pages) goes over a lot of the same old territory but in such a winning way that engagement with this book makes for pleasant warm weather reading. The inspirational hard times to good times story and Banks' musing about people along the way is engaging.
Now in paperback "The Last Hero" by Howard Bryant (Anchor Books, $16.95, 600 pages, paper) is a winner based as it is on massive research and many interviews to bring forth "A Life of Hank Aaron."
"The Dickson Baseball Dictionary Third Edition (Norton, $25.00,paper) Is a mother lode of info on the language of the national pastime that includes more than 10,000 terms and 18,000 individual entries and 250 or so photos. Mother lode and load. Even two of my books are included in the bibliography - -"Sports Roots" and "Sports Lingo." If you into baseball and especially into words this terrific tome is for you.
2011 marks Harvey Frommer's 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work is REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams).
He is available for speaking engagements. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd.
FOLLOW Harvey on Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?locale=en_US.
REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
"Harvey Frommer's Fenway Park first captivates the reader with its visual beauty. They are all there, some in color some in black and white, Ted the Thumper, the matchless Yaz, Mysterioso Manny, even The Babe. And the people, yes the people, from all corners of New England. Add to these images Mr. Frommer's trenchant prose and you have one memorable book."
- Roger Kahn
"Daringly organized as a mosaic of Red Sox Nation, Remembering Fenway Park glitters with fond memories and delightful surprises. Anyone who has ever sat in Fenway, or longs to, will love this book. In his sure hands with oral history, Harvey Frommer is a treasure of our national pastime."
-John Thorn, Official Historian for Major League Baseball
*Autographed for FATHER'S Day REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
Appearances BOSTON area
Thursday, June 16th 12:30p-2:00p SIGNING Borders 10-24 School Street, Thurs June 16th 6:00p-8:00 Boston Public Library EVENT Reading / 700 Boylston Street, Friday, June 17th (1:00p-3:00p SIGNING B & N 96 Derby Street, Hingham Friday, June 17th 7:00p-9:00p SIGNING B & N 98 Middlesex Turnpike, Burlington Saturday, June 18th 2:00-4:00pm SIGNING Booksmith. 82 Central Street, Wellesley Saturday June 18th six PM Barnes & Noble 210 Andover St, Peabody
Another pitcher, another story - -"Nobody's Perfect" (Atlantic Monthly Press, $24.00, 246 pages). Most baseball fans recall the imperfect perfect game pitched on June 2, 2010 by Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers, the gem that was almost the 21st perfect game flubbed by home plate umpire Jim Joyce. Now like Torrez and Dent, or like Thomson and Branca - the pitcher and umpire linked together tell all about their roads to that momentous moment in baseball history. The book stretches to fill pages...but it has its moments.
"Evel" by Leigh Montville (Doubleday, $27.50, 378 pages) is a full blown bio with an attitude by one of the best sports authors around these days. The magnificent Montville touches all the bases in this evocative and provocative tome focused on the life and times of the high-flying Evel Knievel: American Showman, Daredevil and legend. HOME RUN
Another bio of Ernie Banks. And why not? Under the deft hand of Phil Rogers "Ernie Banks Mr. Cub and the Summer of '69 (Triumph, $24.95, 288 pages) goes over a lot of the same old territory but in such a winning way that engagement with this book makes for pleasant warm weather reading. The inspirational hard times to good times story and Banks' musing about people along the way is engaging.
Now in paperback "The Last Hero" by Howard Bryant (Anchor Books, $16.95, 600 pages, paper) is a winner based as it is on massive research and many interviews to bring forth "A Life of Hank Aaron."
"The Dickson Baseball Dictionary Third Edition (Norton, $25.00,paper) Is a mother lode of info on the language of the national pastime that includes more than 10,000 terms and 18,000 individual entries and 250 or so photos. Mother lode and load. Even two of my books are included in the bibliography - -"Sports Roots" and "Sports Lingo." If you into baseball and especially into words this terrific tome is for you.
2011 marks Harvey Frommer's 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work is REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams).
He is available for speaking engagements. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd.
FOLLOW Harvey on Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?locale=en_US.
REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
"Harvey Frommer's Fenway Park first captivates the reader with its visual beauty. They are all there, some in color some in black and white, Ted the Thumper, the matchless Yaz, Mysterioso Manny, even The Babe. And the people, yes the people, from all corners of New England. Add to these images Mr. Frommer's trenchant prose and you have one memorable book."
- Roger Kahn
"Daringly organized as a mosaic of Red Sox Nation, Remembering Fenway Park glitters with fond memories and delightful surprises. Anyone who has ever sat in Fenway, or longs to, will love this book. In his sure hands with oral history, Harvey Frommer is a treasure of our national pastime."
-John Thorn, Official Historian for Major League Baseball
*Autographed for FATHER'S Day REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
Appearances BOSTON area
Thursday, June 16th 12:30p-2:00p SIGNING Borders 10-24 School Street, Thurs June 16th 6:00p-8:00 Boston Public Library EVENT Reading / 700 Boylston Street, Friday, June 17th (1:00p-3:00p SIGNING B & N 96 Derby Street, Hingham Friday, June 17th 7:00p-9:00p SIGNING B & N 98 Middlesex Turnpike, Burlington Saturday, June 18th 2:00-4:00pm SIGNING Booksmith. 82 Central Street, Wellesley Saturday June 18th six PM Barnes & Noble 210 Andover St, Peabody
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Spring Roundup (Part IV) SPORTS BOOK REVIEW
The hits and runs and errors keep coming on the baseball field and the sports books (especially baseball) keep ushering forth on all types of topics. Most of these books are well worth reading.
Jonah Keri’s “The Extra 2%” (Ballantine Books, $26.00, 251 pages) is an up close and personal look at what once was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now just the Rays) and how former Goldman Sachs figures Stuart Steinberg and Matthew Silverman as owners of the team melded their Wall Street ways into a master plan for the team. Insightful, interesting, subtitled “How Wall Street Strategies Took a Major League Baseball Team from Worst to First,” --“The Extra 2%” is a book you must read this season.
“Donnie Baseball”(Triumph, $24.95, 207 pages) is billed as “the definitive biography of Don Mattingly. While not quite up to its billing even with a loving and highly readable foreword by Joe Torre and lots of replays of the life and times of its subject, “Donnie Baseball” is highly recommended reading for Yankee fans, Dodger fans.
BACKLIST: Len Berman’s “The Greatest Moments in Sports” and “The 25 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time” (Sourcebooks, $16.99, 136 pages, coffee table size) are two for your sports bookshelf. Penned one of the most affable and informed sportscasters of all time, the two tomes terrifically tell tales of players and moments that hold special places in sports history. For browsing, for research, for reading - these titles have what it takes.
Harvey Frommer is in his 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work is REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams)
REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
"Harvey Frommer's Fenway Park first captivates the reader with its visual beauty. They are all there, some in color some in black and white, Ted the Thumper, the matchless Yaz, Mysterioso Manny, even The Babe. And the people, yes the people, from all corners of New England. Add to these images Mr. Frommer's trenchant prose and you have one memorable book."
- Roger Kahn
"Daringly organized as a mosaic of Red Sox Nation, Remembering Fenway Park glitters with fond memories and delightful surprises. Anyone who has ever sat in Fenway, or longs to, will love this book. In his sure hands with oral history, Harvey Frommer is a treasure of our national pastime."
-John Thorn, Official Historian for Major League Baseball
http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd. He is available for speaking engagements.
Jonah Keri’s “The Extra 2%” (Ballantine Books, $26.00, 251 pages) is an up close and personal look at what once was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now just the Rays) and how former Goldman Sachs figures Stuart Steinberg and Matthew Silverman as owners of the team melded their Wall Street ways into a master plan for the team. Insightful, interesting, subtitled “How Wall Street Strategies Took a Major League Baseball Team from Worst to First,” --“The Extra 2%” is a book you must read this season.
“Donnie Baseball”(Triumph, $24.95, 207 pages) is billed as “the definitive biography of Don Mattingly. While not quite up to its billing even with a loving and highly readable foreword by Joe Torre and lots of replays of the life and times of its subject, “Donnie Baseball” is highly recommended reading for Yankee fans, Dodger fans.
BACKLIST: Len Berman’s “The Greatest Moments in Sports” and “The 25 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time” (Sourcebooks, $16.99, 136 pages, coffee table size) are two for your sports bookshelf. Penned one of the most affable and informed sportscasters of all time, the two tomes terrifically tell tales of players and moments that hold special places in sports history. For browsing, for research, for reading - these titles have what it takes.
Harvey Frommer is in his 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work is REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams)
REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
"Harvey Frommer's Fenway Park first captivates the reader with its visual beauty. They are all there, some in color some in black and white, Ted the Thumper, the matchless Yaz, Mysterioso Manny, even The Babe. And the people, yes the people, from all corners of New England. Add to these images Mr. Frommer's trenchant prose and you have one memorable book."
- Roger Kahn
"Daringly organized as a mosaic of Red Sox Nation, Remembering Fenway Park glitters with fond memories and delightful surprises. Anyone who has ever sat in Fenway, or longs to, will love this book. In his sure hands with oral history, Harvey Frommer is a treasure of our national pastime."
-John Thorn, Official Historian for Major League Baseball
http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd. He is available for speaking engagements.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
EIGHTIES AT FENWAY PARK: MORGAN MAGIC
(Excerpt from Remembering Fenway Park: An Oral and Narrative History of the Home of the Boston Red Sox now available in stores and on-line and direct from the author) **Special Father's Day Autographed copies Available**
Don Zimmer had survived the Bucky Dent home run and recorded a five year tenure as skipper. He had survived Bill Lee's calling him a gerbil and less complimentary names. With five games left in the season, it was time for Zim to go. He was replaced y interim manager by Johnny Pesky, who had last managed in 1963. Boston drew 1,956,092 and finished in fourth place, 19 games out.
RALPH HOUK: Mr. Yawkey had been trying to bring me to the Sox for a long time. Whenever I was at Fenway with the Yankees, he would tell me, "If you ever need a job come to our club."
I had been retired for two years in the autumn of 1980 when Don Zimmer was fired and Haywood Sullivan hired me. It was great -- they offered me such a good contract, our daughter lived in the Boston area, and I was treated real good by ownership and the writers. Of course, having Yaz on my side was a big help, too.
Fenway is always an exciting place to go because of the fence, and we managed differently because of it. We decided to pitch inside, which a lot of people didn't do.
Houk had Yaz but not on opening day. Suffering from back spasms, Yastrzemski could not answer he bell. It was the only opener he ever missed.
Carlton Fisk, long time Boston stalwart and now brand new member of the White Sox, homered triggering a 5-3 Chicago win. The cheers that had greeted him at the start of the game turned to jeers.
Another long-time stalwart, Fred Lynn, came back to Fenway in 1980 wearing an Angel uniform.
FRED LYNN: If I made a good play, fans gave me a nice hand. So there was that. But one game I took a home run away from (Bill) Buckner diving into stands in the right field corner. I came back out onto the field after hitting my head on the seats, bleeding from my forehead. The fans loved that. So there was that, too.
JON MILLER: In '81, there was a day game mid-April against Baltimore and a power outage.
BOB SULLIVAN: You could get a box of Cracker Jacks, you could get a candy bar. But you couldn't get any hot food. None of the coffee machines or hot dog machines worked. And it was really cold. There were all these hollow sounds coming from players taking batting practice.
Sherm Feller, the longtime PA Man, leaned out of his window up on the rooftop with a megaphone and announced that there'd been a power outage but the game would be played anyway. You couldn't hear the lineup announcements; you couldn't hear anything. It was like people getting ready to play ball on a back yard field.
On his bullhorn, Feller began to sing the "Star-Spangled Banner," and everyone stood. Acapella, Fenway Park sang the national anthem along with him.
There was a complicated play in the 6th or 7th inning. A score was put up incorrectly, and it stayed up for an inning. Then a bat boy ran out across left field, opened the scoreboard door. A minute later a run came down and a zero went up.
Nowadays, they have generators that work. Quite possibly, that was the last professional baseball game that was played that way. But it was magical. Sox, incidentally, won 7-2.
GARY TITUS: Sherm Feller was proud of being the Red Sox announcer and he was a real statesman for the Red Sox, too. He'd walk into the children's hospital with a box full of Red Sox paraphernalia that he probably just took from Fenway. Feller and Kiley - the 1-2 punch, the sound of Fenway Park.
2011 marks Harvey Frommer's 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work is REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION .
He is available for speaking engagements. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
FOLLOW Harvey
on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd.
on Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?locale=en_US
On the Web: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~frommer.
Monday, May 23, 2011
SPORTS BOOK REVIEW Spring Roundup (Part IV)
Lots of feedback about my reviews One and Two and Three – hope you all like Four. There are some special books commented on here that definitely belong on your bookshelf - -and if have not yet picked up a copy of my REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK – you don’t have to be a Red Sox fan to enjoy . . . so what are you waiting for.
The Yankee Clipper continues to provide a source of fascination for writers and readers. Now there is “Joe DiMaggio The Long Vigil” by Jerome Charyn (Yale University Press, $24.00, 192 pages) and “Beyond DiMaggio - Italian Americans in Baseball by Lawrence Baldassaro, professor emeritus of Italian at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee (University of Nebraska Press, $34.95 472 pages).
The Charyn book goes way beyond hits, runs and errors. He begins his slim but significant volume with “How can I ever explain the old Yankee Stadium to anyone who has not grown up in the Bronx? It was the one ornament we had in a borough that was nothing but a series of hinterlands.” And then the novelist and cultural critic goes off in an eye opening examination of DiMag – icon, Hall of Famer, money making commercial machine. There is lots of space devoted to Joe and Marilyn Monroe, not that much space as usually happens to his ball field exploits. That is okay. And it is also okay that Charyn carefully and with nuanced writing restores some of the glow of the old “Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?” image. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
“Beyond DiMaggio” by Lawrence Baldassaro (University of Nebraska Press, #34.95, 471 pages) has a foreword by Dom DiMaggio (Joe’s brother) and as Yogi probably would have answered if asked – “He must have written that before he died.” It also has all kinds of stories about the magic and mystique of a host of “name” Italian American baseball players including Yogi, the “Little Professor,” Ron Santo, the Conigliaros, the talented and astute Rico Petrocelli and on and on. The Italians have made it big in all sports but “biggest in baseball.” Lawrence Baldassaro has a scholar’s slant, fan’s enthusiasm and an Italian’s heart as he invokes and evokes the memories and stories of those who line up “beyond DiMaggio.” HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Still in an icon frame of mind – there is from Yale University Press “Hank Greenberg” by Mark Kurlansky ($25.00, 224 pages). Sub-titled “The Hero Who Did not Want to be One,” this terrific tome traces the life and times of an incredibly talented and also honorable man. Greenberg took a stand on all kinds of moral issues. MUST READ
“Take Time For Paradise” by A. Bartlett Giamatti (Bloomsbury, $15.00, 105 pages) is a slender work that speaks volumes. Philosophical, profound, the late commissioner has left us a remarkable read on the manifold aspects of the national pastime.
Harvey Frommer is in his 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work is REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams) Read all about it:
Upcoming event: SUNDAY JUNE 5, 5:00p- BOOK SIGNING / READING at Northshire Bookstore. 4869 Main Street, Manchester Center, VT.
REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
"Harvey Frommer's Fenway Park first captivates the reader with its visual beauty. They are all there, some in color some in black and white, Ted the Thumper, the matchless Yaz, Mysterioso Manny, even The Babe. And the people, yes the people, from all corners of New England. Add to these images Mr. Frommer's trenchant prose and you have one memorable book."
- Roger Kahn
"Daringly organized as a mosaic of Red Sox Nation, Remembering Fenway Park glitters with fond memories and delightful surprises. Anyone who has ever sat in Fenway, or longs to, will love this book. In his sure hands with oral history, Harvey Frommer is a treasure of our national pastime."
-John Thorn, Official Historian for Major League Baseball
http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd. He is available for speaking engagements.
The Yankee Clipper continues to provide a source of fascination for writers and readers. Now there is “Joe DiMaggio The Long Vigil” by Jerome Charyn (Yale University Press, $24.00, 192 pages) and “Beyond DiMaggio - Italian Americans in Baseball by Lawrence Baldassaro, professor emeritus of Italian at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee (University of Nebraska Press, $34.95 472 pages).
The Charyn book goes way beyond hits, runs and errors. He begins his slim but significant volume with “How can I ever explain the old Yankee Stadium to anyone who has not grown up in the Bronx? It was the one ornament we had in a borough that was nothing but a series of hinterlands.” And then the novelist and cultural critic goes off in an eye opening examination of DiMag – icon, Hall of Famer, money making commercial machine. There is lots of space devoted to Joe and Marilyn Monroe, not that much space as usually happens to his ball field exploits. That is okay. And it is also okay that Charyn carefully and with nuanced writing restores some of the glow of the old “Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?” image. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
“Beyond DiMaggio” by Lawrence Baldassaro (University of Nebraska Press, #34.95, 471 pages) has a foreword by Dom DiMaggio (Joe’s brother) and as Yogi probably would have answered if asked – “He must have written that before he died.” It also has all kinds of stories about the magic and mystique of a host of “name” Italian American baseball players including Yogi, the “Little Professor,” Ron Santo, the Conigliaros, the talented and astute Rico Petrocelli and on and on. The Italians have made it big in all sports but “biggest in baseball.” Lawrence Baldassaro has a scholar’s slant, fan’s enthusiasm and an Italian’s heart as he invokes and evokes the memories and stories of those who line up “beyond DiMaggio.” HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Still in an icon frame of mind – there is from Yale University Press “Hank Greenberg” by Mark Kurlansky ($25.00, 224 pages). Sub-titled “The Hero Who Did not Want to be One,” this terrific tome traces the life and times of an incredibly talented and also honorable man. Greenberg took a stand on all kinds of moral issues. MUST READ
“Take Time For Paradise” by A. Bartlett Giamatti (Bloomsbury, $15.00, 105 pages) is a slender work that speaks volumes. Philosophical, profound, the late commissioner has left us a remarkable read on the manifold aspects of the national pastime.
Harvey Frommer is in his 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work is REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams) Read all about it:
Upcoming event: SUNDAY JUNE 5, 5:00p- BOOK SIGNING / READING at Northshire Bookstore. 4869 Main Street, Manchester Center, VT.
REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
"Harvey Frommer's Fenway Park first captivates the reader with its visual beauty. They are all there, some in color some in black and white, Ted the Thumper, the matchless Yaz, Mysterioso Manny, even The Babe. And the people, yes the people, from all corners of New England. Add to these images Mr. Frommer's trenchant prose and you have one memorable book."
- Roger Kahn
"Daringly organized as a mosaic of Red Sox Nation, Remembering Fenway Park glitters with fond memories and delightful surprises. Anyone who has ever sat in Fenway, or longs to, will love this book. In his sure hands with oral history, Harvey Frommer is a treasure of our national pastime."
-John Thorn, Official Historian for Major League Baseball
http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd. He is available for speaking engagements.
Friday, May 13, 2011
The Bucky Dent Home Run
Excerpt from Remembering Fenway Park: An Oral and Narrative History of the Home of the Boston Red Sox/Abrams 2011 - -By Harvey Frommer now available in stores and on-line and direct from the author)
STEVE RYDER: Then all of a sudden:
BILL WHITE (GAME CALL) "Deep to left! Yastrzemski will not get it -- it's a home run! A three-run home run for Bucky Dent and the Yankees now lead . . . Bucky Dent has just hit his fourth home run of the year and look at that Yankees bench out to greet him..."
CARL YAZSTREMSKI: I've always loved Fenway Park. But that was the one moment I hated the place, the one moment the wall got back at us. I still can't believe it went in the net.
BILL LEE: Torrez threw that horseshit slider that is still sitting there in middle of the plate, and Bucky Dent hit right near the end of the bat. I couldn’t believe he hit it out, but he did.
ROGER KAHN: My memory is Dent slamming a foul ball into his foot and hobbling around and there was a delay of several minutes. During that whole delay Mike Torrez did not throw a single pitch. Normally, you just throw to keep loose. Dent got a new bat from Mickey Rivers. And the first pitch Torrez threw after the break that may have been five minutes, was that shot to leftfield. You could see Yastrzemski thinking he could play the ball and kind of crumpling when the ball went out.
LEIGH MONTVILLE: It was a ball that everyone thought was going to be caught, a nothing kind of hit.
DON ZIMMER: When Bucky hit the ball, I said, “That's an out.” And usually you know when the ball hits the bat whether it's short, against the wall, in the net or over the net. I see Yaz backing up, and when he's looking up, I still think he's going to catch it. When I see him turn around, then I know he's going to catch it off the wall. Then the ball wound up in the net.
MIKE TORREZ: I was so damn shocked.I thought maybe it was going to be off the wall. Damn, I did not think it was going to go out.
BUCKY DENT: When I hit the ball, I knew that I had hit it high enough to hit the wall. But there were shadows on the net behind the wall and I didn't see the ball land there. I was running from the plate because I thought I had a chance at a double. I didn't know it was a home run until the second-base umpire signaled it was a home run. It was an eerie feeling because the ballpark was dead silent.
STEVE RYDER: It was just a pop fly off Mike Torrez. It just made the netting. The crowd was just absolutely stunned, absolutely stunned.
REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
=================================================
"Remembering'' has everything a fan could want: iconic images, funny stories, and a sense of reverence. - BOSTON GLOBE
"A handsome coffee table book marks the centenary of the grand old park." -SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
"Gem of a book about a jewel of a ballpark -- --GEORGE F. WILL
"Worthy of its sacred subject.. Unforgettable." -DAN SHAUGHNESSY, BOSTON GLOBE
NEXT EVENT:
Greenwich CT Saturday May 14th 2-3pm Greenwich CT Library Talk/Book Signing 101 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT. Marianne Weill, Events Coordinator (203.622.7933, mweill@greenwichlibrary.org). (250)
Friday, May 06, 2011
SAY HEY IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY Willie Mays Is 80 (From the Vault)
The month of May was always Willie Mays' time. Willie Howard Mays was born on May 6, 1931 in Westfield, Alabama - 69 years ago today. The New York Giants called him up on the 15th of May in 1951 from Minneapolis in the American Association. He was bating .477 after 35 games.
Garry Schumacher, publicist for the Giants at that time, recalled the first time he ever saw Mays.
"The Giants were on their way from Chicago to Philadelphia to conclude the last three games of a road trip," Schumacher said. "I was by the front door of the Giants' office on Times Square. Suddenly, this kid comes in. There were always a lot of kids coming around; some of them wanted tickets and some wanted tryouts. He was carrying a few bats in one hand and a bag in the other that contained his glove and spikes. He was wearing the most unusual cap I ever saw, plaid colored. When I found out who he was, we bought him some clothes and then sent him to Philadelphia to join the club. He was wearing the new clothes when he left, but funny thing - he refused to take off that funny cap.
He made his major league debut with the Giants on May 25, 1951. But his start in the majors after just 116 minor leagues games was a shaky one. He was hitless in his first 12 at-bats, cried in the dugout and said, "I am not ready for this". He begged manager Leo Durocher to send him back down to the minors.
But "Leo the Lip" refused to listen to the pleas of the rookie center fielder just as another Giant manager John J. McGraw had refused to send a youthful Mel Ott to the minors.
"You're my center fielder as long as I am the manager of this team," Durocher said. "You're the best center fielder I have ever seen."
Mays' first home run was off the great Warren Spahn. He hit it over the roof of the Polo Grounds.
"We had a meeting of the pitchers," Spahn recalls. "We knew Mays was having trouble. I'll never forgive myself. We might have gotten rid of Willie forever if I'd only struck him out."
In Pittsburgh's old Forbes Field, Rocky Nelson blasted a drive 457 feet to deep dead center. Galloping back, Mays realized as his feet hit the warning track that the ball was hooking to his right side. The ball was sinking and Mays could not reach across his body to glove the drive. So just as the ball got to his level, Mays stuck out his bare hand and made the catch. It was an incredible feat.
Durocher told all the Giants to give Mays the silent treatment when he returned to the dugout. But Pittsburgh's General Manager Branch Ricky sent the Giant rookie a hastily written note: "That was the finest catch I have ever seen ... and the finest I ever expect to see".
There is that catch and so many others. There are also the images of Mays playing stickball in the streets of Harlem with neighborhood kids, running out from under his cap pursuing a fly ball, pounding one of his 660 career home runs, playing the game with a verve, a gusto, and an attitude that awed those who were around him.
"Willie could do everything from the day he joined the Giants," Durocher recalled.
"Everybody loved him," notes his former teammate Monte Irvin. "He was a rare talent. Having him on your team playing center field gave us confidence. We figured that if a ball stayed in the park, he could catch it."
Mays was The Natural. He led the NL in slugging percentage five times. He won the home run crown four times. Twice, he won the NL MVP Award.
"He lit up a room when he came in," Durocher said.
The superstar of superstars, the man they called the "Say Hey Kid" was on the scene for 22 major-league seasons. He is all over the record book and in the memory of so many baseball fans.
Happy Birthday, Willie Mays!
# # #
2011 marks Harvey Frommer's 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball."
Frommer's newest work REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams) is his 41st sports book.
He is available for speaking engagements.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd. Web: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~frommer.
FOLLOW Harvey on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=hb_tab_pro_top
REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
=================================================
"Remembering'' has everything a fan could want: iconic images, funny stories, and a sense of reverence. - BOSTON GLOBE"A handsome coffee table book marks the centenary of the grand old park." -SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
"Gem of a book about a jewel of a ballpark -- --GEORGE F. WILL
"Worthy of its sacred subject.. Unforgettable." -DAN SHAUGHNESSY, BOSTON GLOBE
NEXT EVENT:
Greenwich CT Saturday May 14th 2-3pm Greenwich CT Library Talk/Book Signing 101 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT. Marianne Weill, Events Coordinator (203.622.7933, mweill@greenwichlibrary.org). (250)
Friday, April 29, 2011
Spring Roundup (Part III) SPORTS BOOK REVIEW
DR. HARVEY FROMMER ON SPORTS
The baseball season moves along and so does the publication of all manner of books on the national pastime from all levels of publishers. All of this happening reveals the tremendous depth of the sport, the myriad manners in which to view it.
Batting in first position is “Cuban Star” by Adrian Burgos, Jr. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $28.00, 302 pages) about “Alex” Pompez - -the man who was the preamble to the great run of Latin baseball players that are on the scene today. Funny, poignant, dramatic, filled with all kinds of insights, “Cuban Star” is a full fledged bio of the Pompez who was finally admitted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. He cut his bones, as they say, with gambling revenue to finance and keep afloat the team he owned the -- New York Cubans. In short, he was number one in Harlem’s numbers scene. He also was a pioneer later on in his career working for the San Francisco Giants as a scout and bringing to the team standout Latin American stars. The book is a keeper.
"Baseball Codes" by Jason Turbow (Anchor Sports $15.00, 304 pages) is now in paperback. I liked it in hard cover and I still like it. A revealing look through the eyes of the players - - "inside baseball."
"The Runmakers" by Frederick E. Taylor (Johns Hopkins University Press, $24.95, 272 pages) is a breakthrough look at the way evaluations in baseball have always beenpart of the scene. Taylor's first book is a home run. He has created a formula "bases per plate appearance" to measure the efficiency and greatness of hitters. If you are into the game - - -you will be into the book's potential runs per game (PRG) measurement tool.
“56” by Kostya (Sports Illustrated Group, $26.95, 367 pages) is once more to 1941 and Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak. It is a many times told story but there is a good re-playing of the legend and the times he lived in.
NOTABLE: Though not a baseball book, "Wimbeldon" by David Green sub-titled "101 Reasons to Love the Greatest Tournament in Tennis" (Abrams, $18.95, more than 100 pages) is a concise and cleverly crafted look at a sports phenomenon and a showcasing of British culture so much in the air nowadays. Much to like from the careful research to the excellent imagery and the trivia and factoids sprinkled throughout.
Harvey Frommer is in his 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work is REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams) Read all about it: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd. He is available for speaking engagements.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
DR. HARVEY FROMMER ON SPORTS BOOK REVIEW (Part II)
Spring Roundup
“Baseball in the Garden of Eden” by John Thorn (Simon and Schuster,$26.00, 365 pages) has as its sub-title “The Secret History of the Early Game.” In what can be viewed as a book that is part detective story, part investigative reporting, part labor of love - - and all eye-opener, the acclaimed baseball historian tells it like it was and is.
If you are still under the impression that Abner Doubleday invented baseball, forget about it. If you are still under the impression that Alexander Joy Cartwright invented the national pastime, forget about it. Check out with John Thorn showing the way -- Daniel Lucius Adams, William Rufus Wheaton and Louis Fenn Wadsworth.
Thorn begins his ground breaking tome: “In Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, heroine Catherine Morland comments, ‘I often think it odd that it should be so dull, for a great deal of it must be invention.’”
That opening paragraph sets the tone for Thorn’s trip and ours through a tangled web of baseball’s beginnings. Pathos, humor, wit punctuate the pages of “Baseball in the Garden of Eden.” A MUST READ
From Neil Lanctot comes “Campy” (Simon and Schuster, $28.00, 516 pages). A bit padded, a bit meandering, the book does bring back as its sub-title states “the two lives of Roy Campanella.”
“Derek Jeter From the Pages of the New York Times” (Abrams, $29.95, 224 pages) is a keeper. It is also a truly original kind of sports book – I should know having reviewed thousands of them since the 1980s. This terrific tome draws upon nearly 5,000 news articles and features from the New York Times and nearly 100 color photographs. It also showcases a fabulous intro by Tyler Kepner that begins: Derek Jeter grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan next to a baseball field. Every day, just behind his backyard, it was there, calling him to play. And so he did, and he has never stopped.” HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
A bit off the beaten path is “”Pitching in the Promised Land” by Aaron Pribble (University of Nebraska Press, $24.95, 238 pages). The book is filled with anecdotes, amazing happenings -- as then 27-year-old Pribble interacts with a zany cast of characters who wanted to be part of the first (and last) season in the Israel Baseball League. The author had many unique times – falling in love with a beautiful Yemenite Jew, being exposed to an alleged terrorist opening day attack, finding himself a part of what can be viewed as the ultimate baseball fantasy camp. WORTH READING.
Harvey Frommer is in his 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work is REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams) Read all about it: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd. He is available for speaking engagements.
“Baseball in the Garden of Eden” by John Thorn (Simon and Schuster,$26.00, 365 pages) has as its sub-title “The Secret History of the Early Game.” In what can be viewed as a book that is part detective story, part investigative reporting, part labor of love - - and all eye-opener, the acclaimed baseball historian tells it like it was and is.
If you are still under the impression that Abner Doubleday invented baseball, forget about it. If you are still under the impression that Alexander Joy Cartwright invented the national pastime, forget about it. Check out with John Thorn showing the way -- Daniel Lucius Adams, William Rufus Wheaton and Louis Fenn Wadsworth.
Thorn begins his ground breaking tome: “In Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, heroine Catherine Morland comments, ‘I often think it odd that it should be so dull, for a great deal of it must be invention.’”
That opening paragraph sets the tone for Thorn’s trip and ours through a tangled web of baseball’s beginnings. Pathos, humor, wit punctuate the pages of “Baseball in the Garden of Eden.” A MUST READ
From Neil Lanctot comes “Campy” (Simon and Schuster, $28.00, 516 pages). A bit padded, a bit meandering, the book does bring back as its sub-title states “the two lives of Roy Campanella.”
“Derek Jeter From the Pages of the New York Times” (Abrams, $29.95, 224 pages) is a keeper. It is also a truly original kind of sports book – I should know having reviewed thousands of them since the 1980s. This terrific tome draws upon nearly 5,000 news articles and features from the New York Times and nearly 100 color photographs. It also showcases a fabulous intro by Tyler Kepner that begins: Derek Jeter grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan next to a baseball field. Every day, just behind his backyard, it was there, calling him to play. And so he did, and he has never stopped.” HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
A bit off the beaten path is “”Pitching in the Promised Land” by Aaron Pribble (University of Nebraska Press, $24.95, 238 pages). The book is filled with anecdotes, amazing happenings -- as then 27-year-old Pribble interacts with a zany cast of characters who wanted to be part of the first (and last) season in the Israel Baseball League. The author had many unique times – falling in love with a beautiful Yemenite Jew, being exposed to an alleged terrorist opening day attack, finding himself a part of what can be viewed as the ultimate baseball fantasy camp. WORTH READING.
Harvey Frommer is in his 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work is REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams) Read all about it: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd. He is available for speaking engagements.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
SEVENTIES AT FENWAY PARK : ALL THAT YAZ, AND MORE
(Excerpt from Remembering Fenway Park: An Oral and Narrative History of the Home of the Boston Red Sox/Abrams 2011 - - now available in stores and on-line and direct from the author)
2011 marks Harvey Frommer's 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams) is his 41st sports book. He is available for speaking engagements. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time. FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd. Web: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~frommer.
The Red Sox decade of the seventies began on April 14 at Fenway - -Yankees against Red Sox. There were 34,002 in the house. New York manager Ralph Houk was pitted against new Red Sox skipper Eddie Kasko.
Another opening day. Missing was a long time fixture, the center-field flag pole. No one seemed to notice. Olde Towne team rooters exited happily after watching their team behind Ray Culp win 8-3 win aided by homers off the bats of George Scott, Tony Conigliaro and Reggie Smith.
(Opening Day Lineup at Fenway April 14, 1970
Mike Andrews 2b
Reggie Smith cf
Carl Yastrzemski lf
George Scott 1b
Rico Petrocelli ss
Tony Conigliaro rf
Luis Alvarado 3b
Jerry Moses c
Ray Culp p
Old Towne team fans reveled in the potential of their team which blended depth, youth and experience, a powerful offense and some strong pitching. And more help in the form of the Luis Tiants, Fred Lynns, Jim Rices was in the offing. With Carl Yastrzemski, the Red Sox were always exciting, never out of a game.
Fans at Fenway came to see "Yaz" as they had come to see "Teddy." On May 16th he slammed a pitch out of the park duplicating what up to then only Jimmie Foxx and Bill Skowron had been able to do.
JOHN KENNEDY: It seemed everybody thought Tom Yawkey kow-towed to Ted Williams and Carl Yaz because a lot of times people would come into the locker room and see him sitting with them. But he didn't ignore anyone. My locker was right by the clubhouse door, and he would always stop and ask how were the kids, was there anything I needed?
EDDIE KASKO: In those years, there was a long-time nucleus in place at Fenway - a special fan, the organist, the P.A. guy, the switchboard operator, the head groundskeeper, the top PR guy. Sherm Feller was the P.A. guy. He'd always hold court in the press room. He had hearing aids that you tuned in with a dial. You'd be hearing the "eeeeeeeeeeerr, eeeeeeeeeerrrrr." He'd reach in and say, "Hold it, hold it, I'm getting Shanghai." guy.
EDDIE KASKO: John Kiley on the organ basically was the only music at Fenway. A big man, he was going to be there until he couldn't do it any longer. Bill Crowley was a big Irishman, a tough type just like Joe Mooney and a few others. He knew every member of the media, all the secrets. Joe Mooney ran the grounds crew with an iron fist. He was a short Irishman, tough, like a James Cagney type. If you were where you weren't supposed to be on that field, boy, he just gave you hell and he didn't care if you were the biggest star. When it rained, he had a bunch of summer kids, and they would jump to it. And he'd have the tarp on his beloved field in no time.
RICK MILLER: I made my debut with the Red Sox on September 4, 1971, coming in late in the game as a pinch hitter. I was really nervous. I swung at the first pitch. It was a high fast ball. It went for a double off the Green Monster. I loved Fenway, loved to play there. But as an outfielder you were challenged. I had to learn the tricky configurations and angles, how to get great jumps, how to play players. I would cheat, I knew the counts and moved on each pitch according to the count.
BILL LEE: I started out as a reliever and became a starter in '73.
DON LENHARDT: As first base coach under Eddie Kasko from 1970-1973, we'd go to Mr. Yawkey's office after games. It had a nice bar and a barman. We would talk about the game, the roster. Once I told Mr. Yawkey "We need to get rid of Yaz and Reggie Smith." Of course, it was just a joke. But to tell the truth, they wore me out game after game at Fenway. Everybody wanted to go home when the games were over. But those two always wanted more batting practice, and I was usually the guy who obliged and pitched it to them.
2011 marks Harvey Frommer's 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams) is his 41st sports book. He is available for speaking engagements. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time. FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd. Web: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~frommer.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Spring Roundup (Part I) SPORTS BOOK REVIEW
As the weather gets warmer,more and more sport books (especially baseball) make their appearance. All sizes, all matter of subject matters, all kinds of quality. Herewith, a sampling: "Baseball Scorekeeper (Chronicle Books, $16.95, 40 pages). This is a wonderful tool for fans of the national pastime providing a sturdy book of easy-to-use scorecards that will serve as a permanent record of what goes on at the game.
Jimmy Breslin’s “Branch Rickey” (Viking,$19.95, 147 pages) is a slim look at the man who along with Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color line back in 1947. There is not that much that is new here but the charm of it all is the voice of “Breslin, very New York, very unique.
If you can’t get enough insights into baseball and the doings of stars – there is a new effort “Diamond Dishes” by Julie Loria (Lyons Press,$24.95, 181 pages). The recipe - -get a hold of some of the biggest stars and have them talk about their favorite edibles, family traditions, and special ways to make their favorite dishes.
Now in paperback – “High Heat” by Tim Wendel (DaCapo Press, $15.00, 274 pages) is billed as the secret history of the fastball and the improbable search for the fastest pitcher of all time.
Two kind of off-beat efforts are among the more interesting baseball books of the season: “The Most Famous Woman in Baseball” by Bob Luke (Potomac Books, $27.50, 256 pages) and “Havana Heat” by Darryl Brock (University of Nebraska Press,$18.95, 322 pages). WORTH READING.
The Luke effort focuses on Effa Manley and the Negro Leagues and especially her time as owner of the Newark Eagles. The Brock effort focuses on Luther “Dummy” Taylor, one of the first deaf players in baseball history and his accompanying of the New York Giants of John McGraw on a barnstorming trip to Cuba. REWARDING
From Triumph Books comes Phil Pepe’s very interestingly told tale “1961,”( $20.00, 288 pages). As the beat writer for the old New York World Telegram & Sun, Pepe covered the battle for the home run title. TOP DRAWER. Also from Triumph is Jim Kaplan’s “The Greatest Game Ever Pitched” ($24.95, 238 pages). Kaplan packs a lot of drama into his re-telling of the pitching duel between Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal on July 2, 1963. To re-live the game, buy the book.
Harvey Frommer is in his 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work is REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams) Read all about it: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd. He is available for speaking engagements.
Monday, April 04, 2011
SIXTIES AT FENWAY PARK
(Excerpt from Remembering Fenway Park: An Oral and Narrative History of the Home of the Boston Red Sox/Abrams 2011 - - now available in stores and on-line and direct from the author)
September 28th, 1960, Red Sox vs. Orioles. Overcast, dank, chilly the final day of the final home stand of the 1960 season. Only 10,454 showed up. The game was not televised locally or nationally. “You Made Me Love You,” playing over the loudspeaker, created a melancholy mood.
FRANK MALZONE: I wish there was more people there. They didn’t realize, you know. Curt Gowdy, Red Sox radio and television voice, began the spare ceremony: ''Twenty-one years ago, a skinny kid from San Diego, California…”' Boston Mayor Collins, seated in a wheelchair, presented a $1,000 check to the Jimmy Fund, the favorite charity of Ted Williams, 42, who was given a plaque by the local sports committee. The inscription was not fully read. Williams hated a fuss. He even was annoyed by the news announced to the crowd that his uniform number, 9, would be permanently retired. It was the first time the team ever honored a player that way. Williams said over the loudspeaker: ''In spite of all the terrible things that have been said about me by the knights of the keyboard up there ... and they were terrible things, 'I'd like to forget them, but I can't…. I want to say that my years in Boston have been the greatest thing in my life.''
FRANK MALZONE: Ted hit two balls good, the first one got into the wind in the right field corner and was pulled back and caught by the right fielder, the next one the center fielder caught.
CURT GOWDY (Game Call) "Everybody quiet now here at Fenway Park after they gave him a standing ovation of two minutes knowing that this is probably his last time at bat. One out, nobody on.
BOB KEANEY: Ted dug in, wiggled his fanny, and glared at pitcher Jack Fisher. Everyone stopped breathing. Ted swung as hard as he could, but he missed the fat pitch and nearly sprained his arms. Some dreamers said later that Ted missed on purpose, so that Fisher would be fooled into throwing that fast ball again.
CURT GOWDY (Game Call) Jack Fisher into his windup, here's the pitch. Williams swings -- and there's a long drive to deep right! The ball is going and it is gone! A home run for Ted Williams in his last time at bat in the major leagues!"
JERRY CASALE: I was in the bullpen with Bill Monbouquette and Mike Fornieles and others. We were all up front looking over the railing. The ball went over our heads. Williams circled the bases as he always did, in a hurry, with his head down trotting out Number 521, his final homer. The crowd stood and cheered the man and the moment.
BROOKS ROBINSON: I was playing third base. He went running around the bases, and I looked at him as he passed second base. I had my arms folded as he passed me. That was absolutely a magical moment to be a part of that history.
STEVE RYDER: He had that regal trot around the bases. Didn’t tip his cap, didn’t look at the stands, just right into the dugout. The inning ended and Williams went out to play left field in the the top of the ninth. Just before the inning began Carroll Hardy replaced him. “The Kid” ran in. The crowd had one more standing ovation in it. “We want Ted. We want Ted!" The fans chanted. But he refused to come out for a curtain call. Later it was reported that players and umpires tried to get him to come out. No dice.
FRANK SULLIVAN: We all wanted him to stop and at least take his cap off but that sonofabitch, he just ran into the dugout. He didn’t stay around or let us say anything. You know that was the way that Ted was. He went down the dugout steps straight into the tunnel. That was it, aloha. We didn’t know that that was his last game but we all suspected it. We were out of contention, so he wasn’t robbing the team. It was just Ted was Ted. In My Turn at Bat, Williams wrote: "You can't imagine the warm feeling I had, for the very fact that I had done what every ballplayer would want to do on his last time up, having wanted to do it so badly, and knowing how the fans really felt, how happy they were for me. Maybe I should have let them know I knew, but I couldn't. It just wouldn't have been me."
2011 marks Harvey Frommer's 36th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams) is his 41st sports book. He is available for speaking engagements. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time. FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd. Web: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~frommer.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
First Match Up At Fenway: April 20, 1912 (From the Vault)
It will soon be Yankees Vs. Red Sox at Fenway Park to open the 2011 season there. The historic rivals are at it again and the "Great Rivalry" -- and it is a great rivalry despite some commentary from an NPR sage -- is at fever pitch. Former Baseball Commissioner
About the Author: 2011 marks Harvey Frommer's 36th consutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 40 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams) is available direct from the author or at on line sites or at bookstores. http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/ He is available for speaking engagements. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time. FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd. Web: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~frommer.
- A. Bartlett Giammati made the statement: "When I was seven years old, my father took me to Fenway Park for the first time, and as I grew up I knew that as a building it was on the level of Mount Olympus, the Pyramid at Giza, the nation's Capitol, the Czar's Winter Palace, and the Louvre - except, of course, that it was better than all those inconsequential places."
Contrary to some rumors probably spread by Yankee fans, the scholarly Giammati was not around for the start of play at Fenway which was a very long time ago. Prior to 1912, the Red Sox played at Huntington Avenue Grounds, now part of Northeastern University. Fittingly, the first American League team to visit Fenway Park was New York -- at that time known as the Highlanders, soon to become the Yankees. It was a damp and chilly New England spring that year.The Red Sox actually played their first game at Fenway 11 days before, defeating Harvard University in an exhibition game played in a snowstorm. Then the Red Sox and Highlanders had to sit out two rainouts before facing off on Saturday April 20, just a few days after the sinking of the Titanic.
The future grandfather of President John F. Kennedy, Boston Mayor John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald was one of the 27,000 in attendance. He threw out the first ball in the park that was built at a cost of $350,000 that would come to be known as "Boston's Sistine Chapel." They played on into extra innings. Boston prevailed finally winning,7-6, on a Tris Speaker RBI in the bottom of the 11th inning. Red Sox spitballer Bucky O'Brien and Sea Lion Hall defeated New York's Jumbo Jim Vaughn.
Opening day turned out to be a good predictor of the season's fortunes for both Boston and New York.The Red Sox took the American League pennant in 1912 with a 105-47 record, good for a winning percentage of .691, and went on to beat the New York Giants in the World Series. The Highlanders, suffering their 6th straight loss, went 50-102 (.329), finishing in last place, a whopping 55 games behind the Red Sox. Even after the BoSox had Fenway as a home park, they didn't always play all their games there. From time to time, they scheduled "big games" at Braves Field to accommodate larger crowds than their little park could accommodate. But that worry is way in the past - - now a seat at Fenway is one of the toughest tickets in all of baseball.
About the Author: 2011 marks Harvey Frommer's 36th consutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 40 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION (Abrams) is available direct from the author or at on line sites or at bookstores. http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/ He is available for speaking engagements. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time. FOLLOW Harvey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd. Web: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~frommer.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
FIFTIES -- (Excerpt from REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF THE RED SOX)
(Excerpt from Dr. Harvey Frommer's REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF THE RED SOX)
IKE DELOCK: He didn’t like the press and there a lot were a lot them – he wanted to ban them from the clubhouse. The players said, “You can’t do that.” So he eased up. But whatever he wanted he damn well got.
At the urging of Williams, Red Sox players agreed to a one hour interview lag after games before reporters could enter the locker room. The Sox icon would stand outside the door wearing just a towel, counting off the seconds. “Okay,” he'd snap. “Now all you bastards can come in. “
MEL PARNELL: Ted was called out on strikes and came back to the dugout and complained that home plate was out of line. General manager Joe Cronin argued about it but agreed to have home plate checked. At nine the next morning the ground crew was out there. They checked. It was out of line. Ted had the greatest eyes. He was a man with strong opinions about everything, and his own way of doing things.
The “Splendid Splinter” ordered postal scales for the Boston clubhouse to accurately measure the weight of his bats. He trusted no one. While in the on-deck circle, he would massage his bat handle with olive oil and resin. The noise, a kind of squeal, did not endear him to disconcerted pitchers.
The eighth day of June, 1950 was a perfect day at Fenway for those who loved offense, hot weather and the home team. Scoring 29 runs in 90 degree heat before just 5,105 fans, the BoSox romped. Bobby Doerr smashed three homers while collecting 8 RBIs. Walt Dropo homered twice, driving in 7 runs. Ted Williams launched two homers and had 5 RBIs. A half dozen Major League offensive records were set that day by the slugging BoSox.
On the first day of July, Whitey Ford made his major league debut at Fenway.
WHITEY FORD: I was 21 years old. I wasn’t what I would be. I lasted 4 2/3 innings giving up seven hits, six walks, and five earned runs.
Another rookie, Boston’s Walt Dropo, had a better day than the Yankee southpaw. He slugged a grand slam home run. Boston won, 13-4.
On August 17th Fenway Park became the site of the American League’s first Ladies Night Game. More than 7‚000 women saw the home team down the A's‚ 10-6. It was the 19th straight loss for Philadelphia at the Fens dating back to September 12‚ 1948.
JIMMY PIERSALL: My first day in the big leagues was September 7, 1950. I was 20 years old. And we were playing Washington and I was sitting on the bench. We’re down by four runs and Steve O’Neil who had replaced Joe McCarthy as manager said it’s time for me to pinch-hit. He called me “pierseraroll”— he didn’t know what the hell my name was.
JOHNNY PESKY: A big left handed pitcher was going against us. Piersall was going up for his first at bat. “Goddamn this guy’s awful wild, God damn it, I’m afraid,” Jimmy said.
“If you’re afraid,” I told him, “you better get a lunch pail and go home.”
JIMMY PIERSALL: I walked up. My hands were sweating. I swung at the first pitch and the bat lands beyond the third base dugout. And I’m standing there without a bat. The on deck circle guy gives me another bat. The count goes to 3-2, and I hit a ball between second and third for a hit.
With Pesky, with Williams, with DiMaggio, with Parnell and now with Piersall, the 1950 Red Sox were a formidable foe at home where they posted a won and lost record of 55-22; on the road they barely played .500 ball.
On April 15, 1951, exactly four years to the day that Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color line, almost exactly six years to the day that he and Marvin Williams and Sam Jethroe were passed over by the Red Sox in the “tryout” at Fenway in 1945, “the Jet Jethroe” returned as a member of the Boston Braves in the pre-season City Series game – Boston Braves versus Boston Red Sox. The speedy Jethroe showed the Sox what they had missed in not signing him. Going 4 for 5, homering, driving in two runs, Jethroe dominated. But the Braves lost the game 6-3.
A month later the Red Sox celebrated the 50th anniversary of their first game in Boston. On hand were 29 old-timers who had played‚ managed‚ or umpired in the American League in that first season including Connie Mack‚ Dummy Hoyt‚ Cy Young‚ Hugh Duffy and Clark Griffith. In the game that followed Ted Williams slammed his 300th career homer.
On July 8th, Red Sox fans rejoiced as a Yankee pitcher failed to complete a game for the 20th straight time at Fenway Park. Five days later Sox fans rejoiced even more when Mickey Mantle struck out four times in a doubleheader.
Just before the 1952 baseball season got going, the last City Series game between the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Braves was played at Fenway Park on April 13th before a tiny and chilled crowd of 3,813 who braved 40-degree weather. Pitcher Gene Conley, a Celtic and future member of the Sox, started for the Braves. Faye Throneberry (the brother of “Marvelous Marv”) homered with two outs in the seventh. The Sox won the game, 2-1. The Braves moved to Milwaukee the following season and that ended the City Series with the Boston Braves.
GENE CONLEY: That April 13th was the first time I saw Fenway Park. “My goodness, what a small ballpark,” I thought. Some of the minor league parks I had played in were bigger.
REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
"A handsome coffee table book that marks the centenary of the grand old park." -Sports Illustrated
"For Red Sox fans, this gem of a book about a jewel of a ballpark is
enough--well, almost enough- to banish from all thoughts of Bucky Dent and other disappointments. --George F. Will
"For a baseball fan, hours of pure enjoyment. Great book, beautiful, fantastic."--New Hampshire Public Radio, Morning Edition
"Harvey Frommer has produced a book worthy of its sacred subject. Remembering Fenway Park is unforgettable." -Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe
"A tribute to a ball park, a celebration of a game, and a love song to the players, coaches, and fans who've turned a tract of grass and dirt into sacred ground." - -James S. Hirsch, Author of "Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend"
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
FORTIES
(Excerpt from Remembering Fenway Park available in stores, on-line and autographed direct from the author)
DOM DIMAGGIO: The first time I walked into Fenway Park was a day in April 1940. It was before the season; there was ice on the field. Coming from California, it was a bit of a shock to me. I was wondering how we were going to start on time.
At the start of the new decade, Fenway Park featured new bullpens in place in right field in front of the bleachers. The distance to the right-center wall was cut from 405 feet to just over 380 feet. Bullpens had been moved from the foul lines to the front of the stands in center, creating the center-field triangle.
BOBBY DOERR: Ted Williams was one of the first hitters to go to light bats. In 1941, he had a batch of 32-ouncers brought to Fenway.
Some told him “Ted, you can’t get good wood with 32 ounce bats.”
Ted’s comeback was, “What good is wood if you can’t handle it?”
He wanted control of the bat to where he could hit the ball on the fat part. With a heavier bat he felt he couldn’t even though he was as quick and strong as anybody. But he still went from a 34 or 35 ounce bat to a 32 once bat.
We became close friends. We were around the same age; we both liked to go to movies and fish and talk fishing.. But the thing Ted especially liked was to talk baseball.
SAM MELE: I was going to New York University. My coach Bill McCarthy used to drive me up to Fenway Park to work out for the Red Sox scout Mahoney. One day, I get in the batting cage. Pitching to me was Herb Pennock who had been one of the great pitchers in history.
After a few warm-up pitches, he says "Are you ready now?"
I say, "Yeah." Now he throws a screwball, a change up and boy I had a tough time.
They tell me to take five swings. I took four and I did not swing at the fifth pitch.
"Why did you take that pitch?" a voice behind the cage says.
"Well, it was kind of low," I said.
"It was, but it was over the plate," the voice says.
The voice belonged to Ted Williams. He called me over and started talking to me about hitting. "You move your feet too far away from the plate,” he said. “You got to be able to cover the whole plate when you're batting." I never forgot that.
Throughout that 1941 season, the talk all over Boston was about Ted Williams who would be the last batter to hit .400.
"Number 9 did that"
"That's where Number 9 hit one"
“He got another hit today, Number 9.”
MONSIGNOR THOMAS J. DALY: In 1941, I was age 14 and started as Stile boy. I got paid $1.50 a day. About the second inning or third, inning you were free for the rest of the time and you could watch the ballgame. And if there was a doubleheader then you had a good day for yourself. Not too many people tried to sneak through into Fenway. There was, however, a note on the bulletin board that I still remember. “Sir, last week I sneaked into the ballgame and I’m sending money to pay for the ticket that I didn’t buy.” The writer was anonymous, of course.
There was no local TV, and radio was WAAB with Jim Britt and Tom Hussey. All games were in the daylight and lots of children were on hand. Prices of admission for the grandstands were $1.10, bleachers 55 cents, a reserved seat in the grandstand $1.40 and tickets for the box seats were $3.60. It was a pretty quiet environment. The only music was at the beginning of the ballgame when everybody stood for the national anthem. There was just the manual scoreboard.
BOO FERRIS: After my sophomore year at Mississippi State University, the Red Sox got me placed in the Northern League in Vermont. That was in ’41. My manager there was Bill Barrett, a former major-leaguer and a Red Sox scout. We had an open day. He took me and two players from the University of Oklahoma to our first big league ballgame.
Bill Barrett says, ”They’re playing the Cleveland Indians. I’ll take you in and you can meet the great Red Sox players.”
We drove down in Mr. Barrett’s car. When we first saw Fenway Park, we were all pretty bug-eyed, I’ll tell you that. We were just on cloud nine you might say—three southern boys. Bill Barrett told us that Lefty Grove was going for his 300th career win that day, July the 25th.
We walked in the clubhouse and Johnny Orlando the clubhouse guy told us to be quiet. We learned that Lefty Grove who was on the downside of his great career was in the trainer’s room. He always took a little nap before the ballgame.
And Orlando said, “He better not be disturbed or he’ll tear up the clubhouse.”
So we had to tiptoe by the training room and my gosh we got to meet Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Charlie Wagner and Joe Cronin, the manager of course.
We shook hands with Red Sox players. Bill Barrett, he knew them all. I didn’t think to ask for autographs. getting an autograph wasn’t a big thing back in those days. But I still have the program. It cost five cents.
I had a dream that maybe someday I might be back. We sat in box seats behind the dugout and had royal treatment. The ballpark was so compact with seats right down close to the field. The Wall was out there but it wasn’t painted green then. Some called it the Iron Monster.
Manager Joe Cronin had told Grove before the game: “Pop, this is a nine inning game. I’m not coming out to get you. Grove was behind 6-4 in the seventh inning, tied in the eighth at 6-6. Then Jimmie Foxx hit a three-run homer. Grove had given up 12 hits but he had his 300th and final win.
‘BOO’ FERRIS: He struggled but he made it. An unforgettable day, for sure, for three southern boys. That was my introduction to Fenway. We drove back home and the next day we were playing baseball.
DOM DIMAGGIO: The atmosphere heightened a great deal when the Red Sox and Yankees played. I felt that and enjoyed it.
In 1941, when my brother Joe had the hitting streak going, Ted would be talking to the guy in the scoreboard and the guy would keep him posted when Joe got a hit. You couldn’t do that at any other park.
There were times at Fenway when Joe would be coming in from centerfield and I would be coming out. I said very little to him on those occasions. What the hell was I going to do, stop in centerfield and have a conversation?
JOHNNY PESKY: Manager Joe Cronin let me play. That was how it all started in 1942. . We played the old Boston Braves, an exhibition City Series, one game at Fenway and one at Braves Field.
The first time I saw Fenway Park it was dark and dreary. I was mainly concerned about playing as well as I could and keeping warm. I made four errors in the exhibition game and felt just terrible about it. I thought Cronin was going to send me down to either Scranton or Louisville. But he didn't say anything to me.
Opening Day, Tuesday April 14th, at Fenway. I was 22 years old. I came up the runway, up the three steps and looked out from the dugout. It was an old park even then. But it was very well kept, clean and nice. And right in the middle of the city. I thought it was beautiful.
We lived on Bay State road just across from Kenmore Square and could walk across to the ballpark. I batted leadoff ahead of Dom and Ted.
(The Red Sox lineup that April 14, 1942 at Fenway)
6 Johnny Pesky SS
7 Dom DiMaggio CF
9 Ted Williams LF
3 Jimmie Foxx 1B
5 Jim Tabor 3B
12 Pete Fox RF
26 Skeeter Newsome 2B
11 Johnny Peacock C
28 Dick Newsome P
REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
===================================================
"For Red Sox fans, this gem of a book about a jewel of a ballpark is
enough--well, almost enough- to banish from all thoughts of Bucky Dent and other disappointments. --George F. Will
===============================================
"Harvey Frommer has produced a book worthy of its sacred subject. Remembering Fenway Park is unforgettable." -Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe
DOM DIMAGGIO: The first time I walked into Fenway Park was a day in April 1940. It was before the season; there was ice on the field. Coming from California, it was a bit of a shock to me. I was wondering how we were going to start on time.
At the start of the new decade, Fenway Park featured new bullpens in place in right field in front of the bleachers. The distance to the right-center wall was cut from 405 feet to just over 380 feet. Bullpens had been moved from the foul lines to the front of the stands in center, creating the center-field triangle.
BOBBY DOERR: Ted Williams was one of the first hitters to go to light bats. In 1941, he had a batch of 32-ouncers brought to Fenway.
Some told him “Ted, you can’t get good wood with 32 ounce bats.”
Ted’s comeback was, “What good is wood if you can’t handle it?”
He wanted control of the bat to where he could hit the ball on the fat part. With a heavier bat he felt he couldn’t even though he was as quick and strong as anybody. But he still went from a 34 or 35 ounce bat to a 32 once bat.
We became close friends. We were around the same age; we both liked to go to movies and fish and talk fishing.. But the thing Ted especially liked was to talk baseball.
SAM MELE: I was going to New York University. My coach Bill McCarthy used to drive me up to Fenway Park to work out for the Red Sox scout Mahoney. One day, I get in the batting cage. Pitching to me was Herb Pennock who had been one of the great pitchers in history.
After a few warm-up pitches, he says "Are you ready now?"
I say, "Yeah." Now he throws a screwball, a change up and boy I had a tough time.
They tell me to take five swings. I took four and I did not swing at the fifth pitch.
"Why did you take that pitch?" a voice behind the cage says.
"Well, it was kind of low," I said.
"It was, but it was over the plate," the voice says.
The voice belonged to Ted Williams. He called me over and started talking to me about hitting. "You move your feet too far away from the plate,” he said. “You got to be able to cover the whole plate when you're batting." I never forgot that.
Throughout that 1941 season, the talk all over Boston was about Ted Williams who would be the last batter to hit .400.
"Number 9 did that"
"That's where Number 9 hit one"
“He got another hit today, Number 9.”
MONSIGNOR THOMAS J. DALY: In 1941, I was age 14 and started as Stile boy. I got paid $1.50 a day. About the second inning or third, inning you were free for the rest of the time and you could watch the ballgame. And if there was a doubleheader then you had a good day for yourself. Not too many people tried to sneak through into Fenway. There was, however, a note on the bulletin board that I still remember. “Sir, last week I sneaked into the ballgame and I’m sending money to pay for the ticket that I didn’t buy.” The writer was anonymous, of course.
There was no local TV, and radio was WAAB with Jim Britt and Tom Hussey. All games were in the daylight and lots of children were on hand. Prices of admission for the grandstands were $1.10, bleachers 55 cents, a reserved seat in the grandstand $1.40 and tickets for the box seats were $3.60. It was a pretty quiet environment. The only music was at the beginning of the ballgame when everybody stood for the national anthem. There was just the manual scoreboard.
BOO FERRIS: After my sophomore year at Mississippi State University, the Red Sox got me placed in the Northern League in Vermont. That was in ’41. My manager there was Bill Barrett, a former major-leaguer and a Red Sox scout. We had an open day. He took me and two players from the University of Oklahoma to our first big league ballgame.
Bill Barrett says, ”They’re playing the Cleveland Indians. I’ll take you in and you can meet the great Red Sox players.”
We drove down in Mr. Barrett’s car. When we first saw Fenway Park, we were all pretty bug-eyed, I’ll tell you that. We were just on cloud nine you might say—three southern boys. Bill Barrett told us that Lefty Grove was going for his 300th career win that day, July the 25th.
We walked in the clubhouse and Johnny Orlando the clubhouse guy told us to be quiet. We learned that Lefty Grove who was on the downside of his great career was in the trainer’s room. He always took a little nap before the ballgame.
And Orlando said, “He better not be disturbed or he’ll tear up the clubhouse.”
So we had to tiptoe by the training room and my gosh we got to meet Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Charlie Wagner and Joe Cronin, the manager of course.
We shook hands with Red Sox players. Bill Barrett, he knew them all. I didn’t think to ask for autographs. getting an autograph wasn’t a big thing back in those days. But I still have the program. It cost five cents.
I had a dream that maybe someday I might be back. We sat in box seats behind the dugout and had royal treatment. The ballpark was so compact with seats right down close to the field. The Wall was out there but it wasn’t painted green then. Some called it the Iron Monster.
Manager Joe Cronin had told Grove before the game: “Pop, this is a nine inning game. I’m not coming out to get you. Grove was behind 6-4 in the seventh inning, tied in the eighth at 6-6. Then Jimmie Foxx hit a three-run homer. Grove had given up 12 hits but he had his 300th and final win.
‘BOO’ FERRIS: He struggled but he made it. An unforgettable day, for sure, for three southern boys. That was my introduction to Fenway. We drove back home and the next day we were playing baseball.
DOM DIMAGGIO: The atmosphere heightened a great deal when the Red Sox and Yankees played. I felt that and enjoyed it.
In 1941, when my brother Joe had the hitting streak going, Ted would be talking to the guy in the scoreboard and the guy would keep him posted when Joe got a hit. You couldn’t do that at any other park.
There were times at Fenway when Joe would be coming in from centerfield and I would be coming out. I said very little to him on those occasions. What the hell was I going to do, stop in centerfield and have a conversation?
JOHNNY PESKY: Manager Joe Cronin let me play. That was how it all started in 1942. . We played the old Boston Braves, an exhibition City Series, one game at Fenway and one at Braves Field.
The first time I saw Fenway Park it was dark and dreary. I was mainly concerned about playing as well as I could and keeping warm. I made four errors in the exhibition game and felt just terrible about it. I thought Cronin was going to send me down to either Scranton or Louisville. But he didn't say anything to me.
Opening Day, Tuesday April 14th, at Fenway. I was 22 years old. I came up the runway, up the three steps and looked out from the dugout. It was an old park even then. But it was very well kept, clean and nice. And right in the middle of the city. I thought it was beautiful.
We lived on Bay State road just across from Kenmore Square and could walk across to the ballpark. I batted leadoff ahead of Dom and Ted.
(The Red Sox lineup that April 14, 1942 at Fenway)
6 Johnny Pesky SS
7 Dom DiMaggio CF
9 Ted Williams LF
3 Jimmie Foxx 1B
5 Jim Tabor 3B
12 Pete Fox RF
26 Skeeter Newsome 2B
11 Johnny Peacock C
28 Dick Newsome P
REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: http://harveyfrommersports.com/remembering_fenway/
===================================================
"For Red Sox fans, this gem of a book about a jewel of a ballpark is
enough--well, almost enough- to banish from all thoughts of Bucky Dent and other disappointments. --George F. Will
===============================================
"Harvey Frommer has produced a book worthy of its sacred subject. Remembering Fenway Park is unforgettable." -Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe
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