Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
The poster boy for cautionary tales, Steve Dalkowski died April 19 at the age of 80. Here’s The New York Times obituary by Richard Goldstein. The hard-throwing but erratic pitcher never made it to the Majors. His story appears in numerous books about “what might have been,” including Left on Base in the Bush Leagues: […]
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One of my favorite character actors (Silverado, being my go-to villain role of his), Brian Dennehy has died at the age of 81. Baseball connections: Dennehy played the put-upon manager, John Schiffner, in the so-so Summer Catch (2001). He was also the voice of Babe Ruth in the animated kids’ movie, Everyone’s Hero (2006). And “Pop” […]
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The key keystone man for the Chicago Cubs of the 1960s and 70s passed away Sunday at the age of 79. Beckert was a four-time All-Star and won a Gold Glove in 1968. Of course, as a young Mets fan in their miracle season of ’69, as well as an avid card collector, I was […]
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Mr. Tiger passed away Monday at the age of 85. Kaline, who made his debut with the team in 1953 at the age of 18 without ever having spent a day in the minors, was an 18-time All-Star, a 10-time Gold Glove recipient, a batting champion at the age of 20, and was elected to […]
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Antonelli, one of the first “bonus babies,” died Feb. 28 at the age of 89. Here’s the obit of the former NY and San Francisco ace via Richard Goldstein in The New York Times. The pitcher published Johnny Antonelli: A Baseball Memoir with Scott Pitoniak in 2012.
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The author of The Boys of Summer and almost 20 other books died yesterday at the age of 92. Here’s his obituary from The New York Times by Bruce Weber. You know he will be the topic of numerous tributes from sport and literary outlets in the days to come. Here are just a couple: […]
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There are some people for whom you know how the first line of their obituary will read. Don Larsen is one those. The only man to throw a perfect game in a World Series died yesterday at the age of 90. (Four cents!) Richard Goldstein in The New York Times: Don Larsen, an otherwise ordinary […]
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From The New York Times obituary by Richard Goldstein: Seymour Siwoff, who brought statistical analysis to the sports world, chronicling feats from the epic to the arcane through seven decades as the head of the Elias Sports Bureau, died on Friday at his home in Manhattan. He was 99. Back in the day, I eagerly […]
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Ron Fairly — who died yesterday at the age of 81 — was first baseman/outfielder who enjoyed a 20-year career with six teams in the big leagues, including six campaigns with my beloved Montreal Expos. When he hung ’em up as a player, he went on to a long second act as a broadcaster, spending […]
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Whenever I come across an obituary about a baseball player in The New York Times, I check the byline. More often than not these days, it’s been written by Richard Goldstein (Bruce Weber, a former Times staffer and author of As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires, about his experiences […]
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Is there a version of belated birthday greetings for someone whose death has gone unmarked? And the last shall be first. Elijah “Pumpsie” Green, who died on July 17, was last African-American on a major league roster when he became the first such player to break the color line on the Boston Red Sox on […]
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Be honest. When you think of being a major league ballplayer, it’s always as a star, like Ted Williams, Sandy Koufax, or Yogi Berra. Who ever aspires to be a Charley Silvera, Berra’s back-up backstop for the Yankees from 1948-56? The San Francisco native was traded to the Chicago Cubs after that season and played […]
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One of the best pitchers on an otherwise woeful NY Mets staff when they entered the league, Al Jackson passed away yesterday at the age of 83. Here’s the obit by Richard Goldstein in The New York Times. Probably overlooked is that the “little lefty” did two tours of duty for the Mets. The second time as a […]
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It’s with sadness that I report the passing of Harvey Frommer, the very definition of “a gentleman and a scholar,” who passed away August 1 at the age of 83. In a way, Harvey was responsible for the Bookshelf. It was almost 30 years ago when my first by-lined piece appeared in print: a book […]
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I said it for years: When Bill Buckner died, the first line in his obituary would be about the error he made in Game Six. And sure enough, via The New York Times obituary by Daniel E. Slotnick, “Bill Buckner, All-Star Shadowed by World Series Error, Dies at 69.” Other media outlets used similar headlines […]
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I didn’t want to post these yesterday, given that Memorial Day should have a lock on “lest we forget,” at least on May 31st. I was saddened by the news that Rob Edelman, 70, passed away last week. He combined two of my favorite things — the national pastime and cinema — in one of […]
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Last month, I posted about the passing of Don Newcombe, a mainstay of the Brooklyn Dodgers’ pitching staff. In the entry, I remarked that there were only a few left from the fabled “Boys of Summer.” That number was reduced by one with the passing of Randy Jackson, who died Wednesday at the age of […]
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The NY Times‘ Richard Goldstein wrote the full obituary for Don Newcombe for today’s print edition. Depending on how you define who was a member of the “Boys of Summer,” a term used by Roger Kahn in his excellent 1972 book, there are still a handful left from that 1956 team for which Newcombe won […]
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We lost another one of the Boys of Summer with the passing today of Don Newcombe, 92. Here’s a brief AP obit which was posted on The New York Times‘ website a few minutes ago. And one from ESPN. I’m sure the media will offer their own tributes later today or tomorrow.
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is available on Amazon.com,
In a former life, I was the sports and features editor for a weekly New Jersey newspaper, where I hosted an award-winning bog about Jews and Sports.
I did a profile piece on the legendary cartoonist Arnold Roth and he was very generous in immortalizing me in this caricature.
My article on Sandy Koufax in the 1965 World Series appears in
My article on the later biographies of Babe Ruth appears in
My article on the Mets’ 1969 postseason appears in
Profiles of several Jewish baseball figures appear in
