What are some of your favorite baseball related books?

[Buythatcard]

I just finished an excellent book called "Mint Condition". Now that I am in the mood to read another baseball related book. I'd love to hear recommendations from other Net54 members. Anything that is related to baseball whether it's a biography, fiction or something about the card industry.

[Rich Klein]

There are actually tons of good baseball books out there. Do you prefer a more modern book or perhaps a book focusing on the pre-war era

In addition, do you want a biography or a history or something else

Sometimes the subject matter means a ton to the reader, so think of what you'd like to so

In addition, there is a difference between a book you'd find at B&N and an older book you can find on an amazon.com

So, let's say you wanted to read an important book; I'd actually first say

Ball Four: Which is a diary of Jim Bouton's 1969 season, which was the ONLY season for the Seattle Pilots and that book was insrturmental in changing how reporters covered baseball teams.

Regards
Rich

[J.McMurry]

Here's a few that stand out in memory as Good reads.

The Duke of Flatbush - Duke Snider

Operation Bullpen-Kevin Nelson

Cobb- Al Stump

Glory of their times = Lawrence Ritter

Sleeper cars & Flannel uniforms - Elden Auker

The Last Commissioner - Fay Vincent

[FrankWakefield]

They've mentioned some good ones...

The Glory of Their Times (and the 4 cd set, too)
Sleeper Cars and Flannel Uniforms
Ball Four
Cobb


I'd add...
Bill James' Historical Baseball Abstract (the first one)
The Celebrant (one GREAT baseball novel)
Baseball When the Grass was Real
If I Never Get Back

[Robextend]

I am currently reading "The Old Ball Game" by Frank DeFord, and so far I am loving it.

[SmokyBurgess]

"Only the Ball was White" turned me on to the Negro Leagues when I found a copy in the library back in the late 1980's.

Lots of good reference material and interesting player profiles.

[justmike]

The book "I Was Right On Time" by Buck O'Neal was very enjoyable read.I couldn't put it down.

[HRBAKER]

Mentioned previously but if you haven't read or listened to "The Glory of Their Times" by L. Ritter please pick it up. In addition to the Stump Cobb biography I have also enjoyed the late David Halberstam's "October 1964."

[CobbvLajoie1910]

....any/all of Charles Alexander's works.

As far as true (historical) baseball scholarship goes, he has no equal (IMHO):


Ty Cobb
Rogers Hornsby
Spoke
John McGraw
Breaking The Slump
Our Game

Stump's Cobb doesn't hold a candle to Dr. Alexander's.

Henry Thomas' Walter Johnson Bio....is one of the finest of its kind.
(I believe Hank contributes to the Board from time-to-time).
It's in my all-time top-5.


Best,
Aaron

[Oldtix]

For pure tongue-in-cheek fun, you can't beat "The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book" by Brendan Boyd and Fred Harris.

[btcarfagno]

Ed Delahanty in the Emerald age of Baseball.

An excellent read about a player who should rank among the greatest ever. Also a great read about baseball from 1890-1902.

[barrysloate]

Tom- I read the Delahanty book and loved it. It's a great baseball bio.

[Tony Gordon]

Some of my favorites include:

The Boys of Summer - Roger Kahn

No Cheering in the Press Box - Jerome Holtzman

It's Good to Be Alive - Roy Campanella

Sleeping Cars and Flannel Uniforms - Elden Auker

[wolterse]

I HIGHLY recommend Chief Bender's Burden by Tom Swift. This is one of the most engaging and well-written baseball biographies I've read. Bender was a man with many talents beyond baseball that struggled with race issues at the turn of the 20th century. Swift does a really really good job telling his story.

[onlychild]

Well, Mint Condition is my favorite by far...with a strong emphasis on chapter 11.

[FrankWakefield]

Jeff is right about October 1964. It is an eyeopening book. I love the comment that I think Curt Flood made to team-mates as they watched the Yankees take the field for game 1 of the WS in St. Louis. Halberstam wrote well.

Tony mentions Boys of Summer, it is a good read.

And may I add July 2, 1903: The Mysterious Death of Big Ed Delahanty, by Mike Sowell. THIS is the book to read about Delahanty. Sowell writes well, and the book explains the formation of the American League and the contract jumping of the day, something about which many baseball fans know nothing. A great book. His other book, The Pitch that Killed, about Chapman and Mays, is good, too.

And the Alexander books are good, especially the one about Mr. McGraw. And below me Bosox mentions the Thomas book about Walter Johnson, a respectful book by his grand son. A well written book. It was a joy to read, well researched, with quotes for baseball news writers (back when those guys were worthy of casting HOF ballots, today's writers are part of what's wrong with the HOF) of the day.

[Bosox Blair]

In addition to the other ones mentioned in this thread (many of which I have read and enjoyed) I can recommend the following books...


Just finished:

Mint Condition (Jamieson) - good for a book about cards...bit of a light treatment
Tris Speaker (Tim Gay)
Autumn Glory (Masur) - 1903 World Series

Now reading:

The First Fall Classic (Vaccaro) - 1912 World Series
Just a Big Kid (Proia) - Rube Waddell Bio
Walter Johnson (Thomas)
The Teammates (Halberstam) - short read following lives of Doerr, Pesky, Dom Dimaggio and Williams

Cheers,
Blair

[deadballera]

I am enjoying this one right now. Great pictures from Conlon and some information too !! Gets you right in the card buying mode !

I picked mine up pretty cheap on half.com, but ebay also has some available too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Baseballs-Golden...item483a9b6611

[AndyG09]

I am really surprised nobody has yet to mention "Baseball As I've Known It" which is an outstanding book. Fred Lieb's book is a fabulous read and I give it 5 stars!

[J.McMurry]

Deadballera,

I've got that book too, I agree it's excellent. There is also another book that's similar called The game that was, which contains the photos of George Brace,also excellent.


Frank W.,

You mentioned Bill James' book earlier, have you read Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame?, also a good read if you're into stats and theories.

[Buythatcard]

I don't know where to start. They all sound like great books. I think I am going to start with Ball Four followed by either Cobb or Operation Bullpen.

Does anyone remember "The curious case of Sidd Finch" by George Plimpton? I remember enjoying that one.

I will use this post as a reference for books to read.

Thanks to all for your great suggestions.

Where would I be without NEt54?

[ethicsprof]

I just this week received the new books: Mint Condition
and The T206 Collection, so right now they're my favs!!!

best,
barry

[David Atkatz]

"Murderers' Row The 1927 New York Yankees," by G.H. Fleming.
--actual NY newspaper stories (by some of the greatest sportswriters), recreating day by day the Yankees' 1927 season.

"The Year They Called Off the World Series," by Benton Stark.
--Well-written account of the 1904 season in NY. Covers quite well the birth of the AL, and the Yankees.

[FrankWakefield]

Yes, Baseball's Golden Age is good, a reverent work. Baseball as I have Known It is good.

J. McMurry, I have the first version of that HOF book, I think it was called Politics of Glory. It was renamed to something more in line with what it's about. A thought-provoking book. A good read.

I saw a bumper sticker yesterday... it was something about how a person should not form strong opinions about things when they don't have much information. It was worded better than that. Mr. James' fine book on the HOF reminds me of that... folks have opinions about who should be in, who shouldn't, and in my estimation some folks would have different opinions if they just were a little bit better informed. But they keep their eyes closed, their fingers in their ears, and they hold onto their ideas.

[Rob D.]

The Long Season by Jim Brosnan.

[fkm_bky]

I have to concur on the Year They Called off the World Series...it was a great read, along with Glory of their Times.

I'm reading Cobb right now, and have probably read Pride of the Yankees at least three times.

Does anyone really buy into Cobb in that he was wronged so many times in his life? Whose side do you fall on...Cobb, or most everyone else?

bill

[DixieBaseball]

I am about to wrap up a new book called "The Greatest Game Ever Played in Dixie" and as a T210/T211 collector of Southern Assoc/League players, I found the book very interesting as I recognized many names from the T210 Series 8 Teams and it took me right through the 1908 season with teams such as Little Rock (Speaker), Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta, B'Ham, Montgomery, Mobile, and New Orleans. This was a day by day account of the Nashville Vols and the historic season they had by way of winning the Championship on the last day of the season from New Orleans by beating Ted Breitenstein 1-0. (Nashville was picked to be a middle tier team, but Bill Bernhard, Harry Bay, Jake Daubert, and many more Future or Past Big Leaguer's changed all that...) A book like this helps put you back at that point in time and that is just what I like as a collector of the T210's. All of these Minor Leaguer Players have stories that are not known or rarely told, and this book enables my mind to wrap around that moment.... Good book !

[Jason Carota]

Before the Curse: The Glory Days of New England Baseball, 1858-1918, by Troy Soos, is my favorite baseball book. I can read it over an over again.

[pgellis]

I love biographies......

Ted Williams by Leigh Montville
Joe Dimaggio by Ben Cramer
and (I know it's not baseball), but Vince Lombardi's most recent biography was one of the best sports biographies that I have read ever!

[Touch'EmAll]

Satchell Paige bio - super interesting read (at my office, forgot author). You honestly walk away with some great arguements why he was THE BEST pitcher ever in baseball history.

Also, Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract - must, must, must be in your library!

Very disappointed with the Babe Ruth Bio by Robert W. Creamer.

Next read - Roger Bannister autobio - can't wait.

[ChiefBenderForever]

Originally Posted by wolterse

I HIGHLY recommend Chief Bender's Burden by Tom Swift. This is one of the most engaging and well-written baseball biographies I've read. Bender was a man with many talents beyond baseball that struggled with race issues at the turn of the 20th century. Swift does a really really good job telling his story.

I'm am reading it for the 2nd time can't say enough good things about this book !!

[e107collector]

Can anyone recommend a good book on Mordecai Brown, Eddie Plank or Nap Lajoie?

Thanks,
Tony Nicoletto

[FrankWakefield]

Hey Tony.

In part, you can read about Brown in Fleming's great book, The Unforgettable Season. It's about the 1908 pennant race. I found it an enjoyable read, chocked full of stuff about many of the players in T206. It explains the Merkle incident well.

The Sowell book I mentioned up there has some stuff on Lajoie. Especially about him jumping a contract, moving from one league to another for more money. His former team sued and got an injunction. For a while Lajoie would stay out of Pennsylvania, not making road trips there to avoid their legal system. He'd ride the train to the next city on the schedule, being careful to not get caught in Pennsylvania.

[IronHorse2130]

Not pre-war but I recommend "Miracle Ball": the Story of Bobby Thomson's 1951 Home Run Ball" by Brian Biegel. It was quick read and most enjoyable. It's nice because it covers baseball history and has something for the collector too.

[toppcat]

Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer is my favorite baseball book, hands down.

Just thought I would mention Don DeLillo's novel Underworld, has huge swath's related to Bobby Thomson's home run ball-it's practically the star of the book!

[tbob]

Besides the usual suspects mentioned above:

The Ginger Kid (Buck Weaver) by Irving Stein
8 Men Out by Elliot Asinof
The Iowa Baseball Conspiracy by W.P. Kinsella
The Unforgettable Season (1908) by G.H. Fleming
Autumn Glory (1903) by Louis Masur
The Year the Red Sox Won the World Series by Waterman and Springer
Baseball Between the Wars by Hageman
The Great Baseball Mystery (1919 WS) by Victor Luhrs (scarce book)
The Old Ball Game by Frank Deford
Red Legs and Black Sox Susan Dellinger
When Chicago Ruled Baseball by Bernard Weisberger
Where They Ain't by Burt Solomon
The Bronc Burnett books by Wilfred McCormick (juvenile fiction from the 60's)

I could read The Unforgettable Season over and over, it is fantastic.

[Fred]

Ball Four - GREAT!!!

Just about anything that Nemec authors.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by Buythatcard

I just finished an excellent book called "Mint Condition". Now that I am in the mood to read another baseball related book. I'd love to hear recommendations from other Net54 members. Anything that is related to baseball whether it's a biography, fiction or something about the card industry.

The Natural by Bernard Malamud is my favorite fictional baseball book. The Glory of their Times which I'm sure has been mentioned by just about everyone here is my favorite non-fiction baseball book. Some other good ones were Eight Men Out by Eliot Asinof, and Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball (can't remember author offhand).

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by tbob

The Iowa Baseball Conspiracy by W.P. Kinsella

You mean Confederacy - one of my faves! Here's a scan of my 1st editions of Kinsella's greatest novels:

[T2069bk]

Originally Posted by e107collector

Can anyone recommend a good book on Mordecai Brown, Eddie Plank or Nap Lajoie?

Thanks,
Tony Nicoletto

Three Finger the Mordecai Brown story was a rather good biography.

[tedzan]

I highly recommend the following 3 books, as they transport us from the very beginning of 20th Century baseball scene.....
thru the Cobb and Ruth era....and into the 1950's and perhaps one of the greatest BB performances ever (which I was very
fortunate to witness).

1st....THE YEAR THEY CALLED OFF THE WORLD SERIES, by Benton Stark

.........A day by day story of the 1904 season which culminated in no W.S. Great read for you T206 fans as many of the T206
.........subjects are covered in it.


2nd....TY AND THE BABE, by Tom Stanton

.........Tremendous book about these two BB greats and their rivalry. Including head to head account of every game (200+)
.........that they faced each other in. A much fairer rendering on Ty Cobb than other books.







3rd....PERFECT, by Lew Paper (brand new release)

........Each chapter is devoted to each 1/2 inning of Don Larsen's perfect World Series game in 1956. The author very cleverly
........provides the life history of each player involved in the events of these 1/2 innings. Exceptionally well-researched back-
........ground on Berra, Campanella, Hodges, Larsen, Maglie, Mantle, Reese, Rizzuto, Jackie Robinson, Snider (and every one
........in this game).


ENJOY !



TED Z

[Comiskey]

I am surprised that nobody has mentioned the book, The Celebrant by Eric Rolfe Greenberg. This book is a fictional book about a family of jewelers during the turn of the century and how two of the brothers watch and follow the New York Giants. Greenburg goes into great detail about Christy Mathewson and how great of a player and person he was during this time in history. This novel truly makes you feel like you are there during the beginning of the 20th century.

51iagAWbDUL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg

[FrankWakefield]

I mentioned The Celebrant, back up there.

And I'm glad you've posted about it, because I was about to again. Thank you, Comiskey. All I can figure is that these other folks posting have never read it. Because if they had, they'd be mentioning it, nay praising it, too.

Guys, seriously, if you collect T206s and if you ever read books, read this one.

[tbob]

Blair, that was a brain lock on "Confederacy." I collect first editions also. Here's a few more I have really enjoyed:

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by tbob

Blair, that was a brain lock on "Confederacy." I collect first editions also. Here's a few more I have really enjoyed:

Hi Bob,

Thanks very much for your picks - just bought Havana Heat off abebooks.com. Odd that it is out of print...I think it was published 10 years ago, but it seems it was out of print only a few years after publication. No biggie - got it off abe for $1.00 + shipping...love that site!

Cheers,
Blair

[nebboy]

Originally Posted by Oldtix

For pure tongue-in-cheek fun, you can't beat "The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book" by Brendan Boyd and Fred Harris.

I don't really know why (Its kind of a bathroom read) but Ive read this book 3 times. Off brand humor. JUST FUN reflection of some guys/cards you may have forgot abought from your youth.

[Robextend]

When this thread first started I stated I was reading "The Old Ball Game" by Frank Deford. Well I have finished reading the book and I absolutely loved it.

Can anyone recommend any books on McGraw's days in Baltimore with Keeler, Jennings, etc..? I would really love to learn more about the "early" McGraw years as well as that entire 1890's Baltimore team.

Thanks so much - Rob

[Aquifer]

In no particular order:
Ball Four--Jim Bouton
The Long Season--Jim Brosnan
A Whole Different Ballgame--Marvin Miller
Eight Men Out--Eliot Asinof
Once More Around the Park--Roger Angell
Summer of 49--David Halberstam
Satchel--Larry Tye
Man on Spikes--Eliot Asinof
The Imperfect Diamond--Lee Lowenfish
October, 1964--David Halberstam

[Kalineman]

Here's another outstanding baseball book: Why Time Begins On Opening Day by Thomas Boswell. A must-read for die-hard baseball fans.

[Bill Stone]

I really enjoyed The Best Game Ever -Pirates vs Yankees October 13, 1960 by Jim Reisler.