What are some of your favorite baseball related books?

[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.

[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.

[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.

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[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.