When I was a kid, the legends of the game included the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and other players from the game in the post-Black Sox era (i.e., during and after the Roaring Twenties).
But needles to say there were superstars before then, many of whom today’s fans have never heard. (As an aside, I’m working on a project about Daguerreotypes, a series of books published by The Sporting News akin to their Baseball Registers but reserved for the stars of the national pastime, many of whom I had never heard.)
Well, Mike Donlin was Ruth before Ruth.
An incredibly talented player with movie-star looks — which no doubt helped in his second career as an actor — Donlin was a fierce competitor, combining the accomplishments of an All-Star with the temperament of a Ty Cobb, easily taking offense and constantly fighting with umpires, opponents, fans, and even teammates.
Steve Steinberg and Lyle Spatz collaborated on Mike Donlin: A Rough and Rowdy Life from New York Baseball Idol to Stage and Screen which won the 2025 Larry Ritter Award, presented by SABR for the year’s best book on the game between 1901 and 1919, known as the “Dead Ball” Era.
According to the press releasse announcing the award, “Steinberg and Spatz have each written several award-winning baseball books, and teamed together on four books, including The Colonel and Hug: The Partnership that Transformed the New York Yankees, winner of the 2016 SABR Baseball Research Award, and 1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York, winner of the 2011 Seymour Medal.” Spatz and Steinberg have also published individually.
I was interested in speaking with both gentlemen because I’ve always be fascinated by the process of working with multiple authors: how are decisions made as to who is responsible for what, how do you handle disagreements (from what I’ve heard, Gilbert and Sullivan did not like each other but they still managed to produce classics in light opera). Unfortunately, Spatz was not able to participate but Steinberg admirably took up the task solo.
is available on Amazon.com,
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