Eddie Mathews And The National Pastime

Download or read book Eddie Mathews and the National Pastime written by Eddie Mathews and published by Douglas Amer Sports Publications. This book was released on 1994 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hall of Famer Mathews chronicles his life & baseball career, including anecdotes about Hank Aaron & Bob Uecker.

Download or read book Milwaukee Braves written by William Povletich and published by Wisconsin Historical Society. This book was released on 2012-08-22 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During their thirteen years in Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Braves never endured a losing season, won two National League pennants, and in 1957 brought Milwaukee its only World Series championship. With a lineup featuring future Hall of Famers Henry Aaron, Warren Spahn, Eddie Matthews, Red Schoendienst, and Phil Niekro, the team immediately brought Milwaukee "Big League" credentials, won the hearts of fans, and shattered attendance records. The Braves' success in Milwaukee prompted baseball to redefine itself as a big business—resulting in franchises relocating west, multi-league expansion, and teams leveraging cities for civically funded stadiums. But the Braves' instant success and accolades made their rapid fall from grace after winning the 1957 world championship all the more stunning, as declining attendance led the team to Atlanta in one of the ugliest divorces between a city and baseball franchise in sports history. Featuring more than 100 captivating photos, many published here for the first time, Milwaukee Braves preserves the Braves' legacy for the team's many fans and introduces new generations to a fascinating chapter in sports history.

Download or read book The Team That Forever Changed Baseball and America written by Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2012-04-01 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of all the teams in the annals of baseball, only a select few can lay claim to historic significance. One of those teams is the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers, the first racially integrated Major League team of the twentieth century. The addition of Jackie Robinson to its roster changed not only baseball but also the nation. Yet Robinson was just one member of that memorable club, which included Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese, Pete Reiser, Duke Snider, Eddie Stanky, Arky Vaughan, and Dixie Walker. Also present was a quartet of baseball’s most unforgettable characters: co-owners Branch Rickey and Walter O’Malley, suspended manager Leo Durocher, and radio announcer Red Barber. This book is the first to offer biographies of everyone on that incomparable team as well as accounts of the moments and events that marked the Dodgers’ 1947 season: Commissioner Happy Chandler suspending Durocher, Rickey luring his old friend Burt Shotton out of retirement to replace Durocher, and brilliant outfielder Reiser being sidelined after running into a fence. In spite of all this, the Dodgers went on to win the National League pennant over the heavily favored St. Louis Cardinals. And of course, there is the biggest story of the season, where history and biography coalesce: Jackie Robinson, who overcame widespread hostility to become Rookie of the Year—and to help the Dodgers set single-game attendance records in cities around the National League.

Download or read book The Last Hero written by Howard Bryant and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2011-05-03 with total page 642 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This definitive biography of Henry (Hank) Aaron—one of baseball's immortal figures—is a revelatory portrait of a complicated, private man who through sports became an enduring American icon. “Beautifully written and culturally important.” —The Washington Post “The epic baseball tale of the second half of the 20th century.” —Atlanta Journal Constitution After his retirement in 1976, Aaron’s reputation only grew in magnitude. But his influence extended beyond statistics. Based on meticulous research and extensive interviews The Last Hero reveals how Aaron navigated the upheavals of his time—fighting against racism while at the same time benefiting from racial progress—and how he achieved his goal of continuing Jackie Robinson’s mission to obtain full equality for African Americans, both in baseball and society, while he lived uncomfortably in the public eye.

Download or read book Warren Spahn written by Lew Freedman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-05-01 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With 363 victories, Warren Spahn is the winningest left-handed pitcher in baseball history. During his 21-year career, Spahn won 20+ games thirteen times, was a 17-time All Star, a Cy Young–award winner, and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973. In addition, Spahn was also a war hero, serving in World War II and awarded the Purple Heart. To say Spahn lived a storied life is an understatement. In Warren Spahn, author Lew Freedman tells the story of this incredible lefty. Known for his supremely high leg kick, Spahn became one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history. However, the road wasn’t as easy as it would seem. Struggling in his major-league debut at age twenty, manager Casey Stengel demoted the young left. It would be four years before Spahn would return to the diamond, as he received a calling of a different kind—one from his country. Enlisting in the Army, Spahn would serve with distinction, seeing action in the Battle of the Bulge and the Ludendorff Bridge, and was awarded a battlefield commission, along with a Purple Heart. Upon his return to the game, he would take the league by storm. Spahn dominated for over two decades, spending twenty years with the Braves (both Boston and Milwaukee), as well as a season with the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. Pitching into his mid-forties, he would throw two no-hitters at the advanced ages of thirty-nine and forty. From his early days in Buffalo and young career, through his time and the military and all the way to the 1948 Braves and “Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain,” author Lew Freedman leaves no stone unturned in sharing the incredible life of this pitching icon, who is still considered the greatest left-handed pitcher to ever play the game.

Download or read book Gil Hodges written by Mort Zachter and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2015-03-01 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In descriptions of athletes, the word “hero” is bandied about and liberally attached to players with outstanding statistics and championship rings. Gil Hodges: A Hall of Fame Life is the story of a man who epitomized heroism in its truest meaning, holding values and personal interactions to be of utmost importance throughout his life—on the diamond, as a marine in World War II, and in his personal and civic life. A New York City icon and, with the Brooklyn Dodgers, one of the finest first basemen of all time, Gil Hodges (1924–72) managed the Washington Senators and later the New York Mets, leading the 1969 “Miracle Mets” to a World Series championship. A beloved baseball star, Hodges was also an ethical figure whose sturdy values both on and off the field once prompted a Brooklyn priest to tell his congregation to “go home, and say a prayer for Gil Hodges” in order to snap him out of the worst batting slump of his career. Mort Zachter examines Hodges’s playing and managing days, but perhaps more important, he unearths his true heroism by emphasizing the impact that Hodges’s humanity had on those around him on a daily basis. Hodges was a witty man with a dry sense of humor, and his dignity and humble sacrifice sometimes masked a temper that made Joe Torre refer to him as the “Quiet Inferno.” The honesty and integrity that made him so popular to so many remained his defining elements. Firsthand interviews of the many soldiers, friends, family, former teammates, players, and managers who knew and respected Hodges bring the totality of his life into full view, providing a rounded appreciation for this great man and ballplayer. Purchase the audio edition.

Download or read book The Baseball Same Game written by Stephen M. Lombardi and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2005-04 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ever since there has been a professional game, baseball fans have enjoyed debating comparisons of one player to another--both contemporaries and players across various eras in the sport's history. The Baseball Same Game adds to those debates. However, rather than focus on the traditional "Who's better?" arguments (such as "Mantle or Mays?" or "Ruth or Aaron?") The Baseball Same Game takes on the particular cases of "Which players were the same?" Unique baseball metrics--apart from those common and conventional baseball statistics that one would typically see on the back of a player's bubble gum card--are used to analyze career performance. And, The Baseball Same Game gives consideration to relativity when comparing statistics of baseball players from different eras in the game. Which baseball all-time greats were the same in terms of their relative performance? Who are the recently retired players that match-up to the stars of baseball's past? What players not in the Baseball Hall of Fame measure up to those already in the Hall? The Baseball Same Game provides these answers and more.