Do biographies or historical books enhance your card collecting enjoyment?

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

I buy the cards first and then read the books after. I've read so many interesting books over the past few years, such as:

- Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich (Mark Kriegel)
- The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood (Jane Leavy)
- The Big O: My Life, My Times, My Game (Oscar Robertson)
- Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty (Charles Leerhsen)
- The Devil and Bobby Hull (Gare Joyce)
- Orr: My Story (Bobby Orr)
- Pele: The Autobiography (Pele)

Currently reading: Art Ross: The Hockey Legend Who Built the Bruins (Eric Zweig)

If you like reading about Cobb, I suggest "War on the Basepaths", one of the best baseball biographies I've ever read.

[sphere and ash]

The Glory of Their Times is undoubtedly the best baseball book ever, but if you’re reading it, the printed version should be supplemented with the audio version, which contains Ritter’s actual taped interviews with his subjects. It’s incredible to hear Crawford describe a young Cobb and to hear Chief Meyers sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game.

[familytoad]

https://www.amazon.com/Classic-baseb.../dp/044651392X

If you read the book linked above (Slocum’s Classic Baseball Cards) you’ll be inspired to collect more sets/singles than you can imagine

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by sphere and ash

The Glory of Their Times is undoubtedly the best baseball book ever, but if you’re reading it, the printed version should be supplemented with the audio version, which contains Ritter’s actual taped interviews with his subjects. It’s incredible to hear Crawford describe a young Cobb and to hear Chief Meyers sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game.

Agree that every fan of "Glory" and vintage baseball should hear the audio set. A correction, though: the Chief does an amazing recitation of "Casey At the Bat," which is far more enjoyable than hearing him sing, I suspect.

[sphere and ash]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Agree that every fan of "Glory" and vintage baseball should hear the audio set. A correction, though: the Chief does an amazing recitation of "Casey At the Bat," which is far more enjoyable than hearing him sing, I suspect.

Happy to be corrected, especially by the co-editor of the tapes. What a treasure they are.

[thatkidfromjerrymaguire]

Well, as a direct result of this thread, I did pick up "The Glory of Their Times" by Lawrence Ritter, and as noted it is phenomenal. Not quite finished yet, but it certainly is an enlightening, entertaining, and thoughtful book.

As far as leading to card enjoyment, it checked that off the list too. I don't have many pre-war cards, and in fact I only own ONE t206...of Germany Schaefer....

germany.JPG


....so it was with great pleasure when Davy Jones was recounting the story behind Germany stealing FIRST base in a game. Kind of makes me want to pick up some more Schaefer cards, as well as cards of the other players featured in that book.

Thanks for the recommendation!

[Leon]

Looks like I am going to have to get Glory of their Times though I really don't read books that much. I do like to read some of the obscure messages on the back of the cards though.

[Georj]

Just got done reading "Fifty-nine in '84: Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball, and the Greatest Season a Pitcher Ever Had"
by Edward Achorn. It's the story of the HOF pitcher who pitched every game for his National League team from mid July till the end of the 1884 season and then pitched and won all three games of the championship series. It gives alot of insight into 1800's baseball and society at that time. Boy, were those players tough back then. It's a very entertaining read.