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This may be a bit off-topic but wanted to get some opinions as to what people think are the best baseball books dealing with the vintage era we all discuss here with respect to our cards--which titles best bring to life the characters whose cards we spend all our money collecting?! Thanks in advance.
"Eight Men Out" by Eliot Asinof, "Slide, Kelly, Slide" by Marty Appel, and "Babe, the Legend Comes To Life" by Robert Creamer are all very good books.
I've picked up a few that are on my waiting list recently that I can't recall the names of, but one is about Rube Marquard and the other deals strictly with the 1903 Worlds Series.
"The Pitch That Killed" by Mike Sowell is a fantastic book about the fatal beaning of Ray Chapman by Carl Mays; it continues after the beaning, however, and tells the rest of the story of the 1920 Indians team managed by Tris Speaker. One of Sowell's other books, "July 2, 1903" is about the death of Ed Delahanty and I would recommend that one as well.
The new book about Hal Chase called "The Black Prince of Baseball" is also worth picking up.
More of a history book, but "The Beer and Whiskey League" by David Nemec is full of great pictures and great information. It is definately a must have for anyone interested in the American Association players and teams.
-Rhett
"The Numbers Game" by Alan Schwarz.
A great history of statistics in baseball. Half way through and can't put it down. Might help with some of the other threads.
Aa far as I know, Deadball Stars of the National League is sold out and there is currently no plans for another run. Deadball Stars of the American League is part of the 2006 SABR publish, so if you want to get this boook, you will need to join SABR by Oct 2005 in order to the 2006 books. Otherwise you run the risk of not getting this book.
My favorite book is a boxed set of two from the '50s that gives team bios of the original 16 teams, each bio by a different sports writer. No stats, just fun history that's easy to read and puts each team's past in perspective to the current '50s era: "The Book of Major League Baseball Clubs" by Fitzgerald.
Other great reads:
"The Glory of Their Times" (GET THE 5-CD SET!!!)
"The Red Sox Reader" by Riley
"Baseball in 41" by Creamer
For great history:
"Nineteenth Century Baseball" by Wright
"Baseball 1845-81" by Preston Orem
"The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues" by Riley
"The Negro Leagues Book" - SABR pub
and if you grew up in the '50s or '60s and collected cards, it's a sin not to own "The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book"
The Deadball Stars from The National League can be ordered at Amazon. Interestingly enough Amazon already has Deadball Stars from The American League ready to order. It has a release date of December 15, 2005.
I ordered one of the NL Deadball Stars books last night off the SABR link before I realized that it was for members only (I am not a member) - the order was processed and my card charged so I dont know what to make of it. I may be getting one, I may not.
The book is also available from amazon, but it is a softbound book rather than the limited ed. hardbound volume sold through sabr.
Stump's "Cobb: A Biography" is a MUST read. I've read it twice. I had to reread it after picking up all those Matty McIntyre photos. I also second his recommendation on Richard Ben Cramer's "Joe DiMaggio" book, which I've also read twice. Going over my bookshelf I found another good one, "Memories of a Ballplayer: Bill Werber and Baseball in the 1930's" is excellent. And I found the Marquard book - it's by Larry D. Mansch and it's titled "Rube Marquard: the life and times of a Baseball Hall of Famer".
It appears that we need to create some sort of a library, in which known members can "check out" books. I imagine that some of these books are hard to find. Of course, condition is probably sensitive too, and shipping might cause problems. A shame these aren't available as files. THAT would be cool.
"Hoopla!" (Black Sox, told in the first person by Buck Weaver) and "Bang the Drum Slowly" a very funny book...about a dying catcher.
Say it ain't so, Joe," and "Eight Men Out" are good, but Asinof's sequel, "Bleeding Between the Lines" about how Susskind tried ever which way but loose to get the rights to make a movie out of Asinof's book is great, for the additional conversations he had with players and gamblers--especially Abe Attell (DIRECT QUOTE:
" It was Cicotte begun the bl*w j*b (confessed) to the Grand Jury. I was in New York at the time, and believe me, A.R.* was doing the shakes (frightened) too. So we have this meeting at his place on Riverside Drive and the Big Mouthpiece is there. (William J.) Fallon, doncha know, and Sport Sullivan from Boston. And Fallon says to
us: "There's so much jabber in the rags (newspapers) about the dirty cereal(World Series), maybe this McCoyle (Maclay Hoyne, Cook County D.A.) is gonna extradite and I don't wanna see A.R. or you guys go to Chicago, I wanna see you guys skip town alla you, as far as you can
go"And A.R. says: "Here's a coupla bills to keep you loose. Champ, you go to Canada, and cover yourself up, and Sully, go to Mexico. Me,
I'm going all the way to Europe." So I grab the first train to Montreal like he says and like I know I'm a sucker to go 'cause A.R. is a worm of the top floor, even his best pals say he's so slimy he gives worms a bad rep, doncha know. So when I read in the rags up in Montreal that he didn't go to Europe at all, he crawled to Chicago
with the Mouthpiece and squealed to the Grand Jury
that he had nothing to do with the fix, he even told 'em that he didn't even bet on it, that it was ME who put the cereal in the bag..."
Asinof continues..."His pride and his pleasure were satisfied with his oft-repeated dictum: "Without me, pally, you wouldn't have a
book."
"I did not dissuade him of this slant, though a more accurate impression might be: "Without you, Champ, we wouldn't have had the scandal..."
*Arnold Rothstein
This message has been edited by julievognar on Jul 6, 2005 8:46 PM
