From the category archives:

Biography

According to this piece on The Hollywood Reporter site, there’s a new feature film in the works (or at least on the drawing board) focusing on Hank Aaron’s career as he marched towards the all-time home run record between 1972 and 1975. The film, which will be directed by Barry (The Natural) Levinson, was adapted […]

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Another book about Yogi Berra? Yup, and one that shouldn’t be missed. Harvey Araton published Driving Mr. Yogi: Yogi Berra, Ron Guidry, and Baseball’s Greatest Gift as an extension of a column he had written for The New York Times last year, about the annual ritual in which the former Yankee ace would pick up […]

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Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman remains the only Major Leaguer to die from injuries sustained during a game, the result of being hit in head by a pitcher from Carl Mays, then with the New York Yankees, on August 17, 1920. (It should be noted that some consider the death of “Doc” Powers — a […]

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Over the past few days, a number of interesting items have come my way. Summer of ’68: The Season That Changed Baseball–and America–Forever, by Tim Wendel, makes me feel old. “History” should only apply to events that took place before I was born. This was the first year I really started paying attention to baseball […]

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The always-entertaining, education, and interesting Baseball Reliquary will host  “Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick,” an exhibition at the Arcadia Public Library, Arcadia, California, from April 9 and through May 24. The exhibition is based on Paul Dickson’s book, Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick, the first major biography on this American original, which is due out […]

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Bits and pieces, March 19

March 19, 2012

Alex Belth, author of Stepping Up: The Story of All-Star Curt Flood and His Fight for Baseball Players’ Rights and Lasting Yankee Stadium Memories: Unforgettable Tales from the House That Ruth Built, conducted this in-depth interview with Rob Fleder, editor of the new collection of essays, Damn Yankees: Twenty-Four Major League Writers on the World’s […]

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Mr. Postman: New arrivals

March 17, 2012

Several new titles arrived over the past week including: Before the Curse: The Chicago Cubs’ Glory Years, 1870-1945, by Randy Roberts and Carson Cunningham A People’s History of Baseball, by Mitchell Nathanson Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick, by Paul Dickson (Of The Dickson Baseball Dictionary fame) The Big Show: Charles M. Conlon’s Golden Age Baseball […]

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When my wife gave me a kindle for the Hanukka, it was with the understanding that I would bring fewer books into the house. Yeah, that’s not working out too well right about now, as new baseball titles just keep coming. I have been asking for them in Kindle format whenever possible, but it’s not […]

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Actually, apologies to the office manager, who had to schlep these books to my desk. Four titles from the University of Nebraska Press arrived today (full disclosure: UNP will be publishing my 501 book next year). In order of interest to me (with all due respect to the authors and which probably means the order […]

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Happy anniversary?

March 5, 2012

As Dan Epstein over at Big Hair & Plastic Grass reminds us, “On this date in 1973, Yankee pitchers Fritz Peterson (front) and Mike Kekich (second from left) shock their team, baseball, and the country with the announcement that they’ve swapped families — their wives, children and pets are all included in the deal.” Seems […]

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Review: Banzai Babe Ruth

March 1, 2012

ForeWord Reviews carries a review of Robert Fitts’ latest book, Banzai Babe Ruth, in its current issue. Looking forward to reading this one on the near future.

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As a former presidential speechwriter and current senior lecturer of English at the University of Rochester, it’s safe to say that Curt Smith loves the spoken (and written) word. His output as an author combines that enthrallment with baseball; he’s written several books that highlight not the players on the field, but the people who […]

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To the Perth Heat, for winning their second straight Australian Baseball League title. Good show, mates. Nicholas Henning has written a couple of novels about baseball down under in Boomerang Baseball and The American Dream: From Perth to Sacramento. Congrats also goes to Rusty Staub for his election — along with Doug Melvin and Rheal […]

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George Vecsey has worn many hats during his long career with The New York Times. Most recent fans might not be aware he was a general reporter who also wrote about politics and religion before turning to the sports pages full time in 1980. Two years later, he was called on to fill the void […]

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born this date in 1895. Robert K. Fitts, author of Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball and Remembering Japanese Baseball: An Oral History of the Game (Writing Baseball), releases a new book that features Ruth as a central character in Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage, and Assassination during the 1934 Tour of Japandue […]

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Creamer, author of what many believe to be the first “adult” biography when he published Babe: The Legend Comes to Life, was the subject of this interview with the Baseball: Past and Present blog, an interesting site of which I had heretofore been ignorant. Creamer, a fixture at Sports Illustrated and other publications, is also […]

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The Negro League star known as the Black Babe Ruth was born this date 100 years ago. Books on Gibson include: Josh Gibson: Ther Power and the Darkness, by Mark Ribowsky (author of a new bio on Howard Cosell) Josh Gibson: A Life in the Negro Leagues, by William Brashler, who also wrote the novel […]

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A day late, but with all due respect to Scully, who turned 84 yesterday. Curt Smith, the go-to writer on the history of baseball broadcasting, published Pull Up a Chair: The Vin Scully Story in 2009.

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Musial turned 91 yesterday. I kind of feel badly for him. Although he’s surely one of the all-time greats, the contemporary fans rarely hears his name mentioned in the same breath as a Willie Mays or a Mickey Mantle, even though Musial’s stats are comparable, if not better. Books on Musial include: Stan Musial: Baseball’s […]

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A bit late, but O’Neil would have celebrated his 100th birthday last Sunday. In his honor, The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America.  

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