Synopses & Reviews
Maybe your dad took you to ball games at Fenway, Wrigley, or Ebbets. Maybe the two of you watched broadcasts from Yankee Stadium or Candlestick Park, or listened as Red Barber or Vin Scully called the plays on radio. Or maybe he coached your team or just played catch with you in the yard. Chances are good that if you're a baseball fan, your dad had something to do with it--and your thoughts of the sport evoke thoughts of him. If so, you will treasure
The Final Season, a poignant true story about baseball and heroes, family and forgiveness, doubts and dreams, and a place that brings them all together.
Growing up in the 60s and 70s, Tom Stanton lived for his Detroit Tigers. When Tiger Stadium began its 88th and final season, he vowed to attend all 81 home games in order to explore his attachment to the place where four generations of his family have shared baseball. Join him as he encounters idols, conjures decades past, and discovers the mysteries of a park where Cobb and Ruth played. Come along and sit beside Al Kaline on the dugout bench, eat popcorn with Elmore Leonard, hear Alice Cooper's confessions, soak up the warmth of Ernie Harwell, see McGwire and Ripken up close, and meet Chicken Legs Rau, Bleacher Pete, Al the Usher, and a parade of fans who are anything but ordinary. By the autumn of his odyssey, Stanton comes to realize that his anguish isn't just about the loss of a beloved ballpark but about his dad's mortality, for at the heart of this story is the love between fathers and sons--a theme that resonates with baseball fans of all ages.
Review
"A beautiful gem of a book: tender, perceptive, compassionate, funny, and wise. I devoured it in one sitting and am still banging my tin cup on the dining room table wanting more." (Lawrence S. Ritter, author of The Glory of Their Times)
Review
"Those who don't understand say baseball is only a game. Those who run and play it sometimes act as if it's only a business. By now, maybe they're right. But for a long time, something else was true. That something else is what Tom Stanton is getting at here." (Bob Costas, author of Fair Ball)
Review
"What's better than talking baseball?...Stanton's got it all here, the real stuff." (Elmore Leonard)
Review
"A wonderful story...This is what real baseball is all about." (Sparky Anderson)
Review
"For many baseball fans, Tiger Stadium was a kind of parish church, where families gathered to mark milestones, renew relationships, and pass on The Game to the next generation. Tom Stanton captures my childhood - and my feelings - brilliantly." (Dale Petroskey, President, National Baseball Hall of Fame)
Synopsis
A powerful memoir of fathers, sons, and the end of baseball at Tiger Stadium. Both rollicking and introspective, "The Final Season" recounts an era that ends with the author's realization that his anguish wasn't just about the loss of a beloved ballpark but also about his dad's mortality. Photos throughout.
Synopsis
Maybe your dad took you to ball games at Fenway, Wrigley, or Ebbets. Maybe the two of you watched broadcasts from Yankee Stadium or Candlestick Park, or listened as Red Barber or Vin Scully called the plays on radio. Or maybe he coached your team or just played catch with you in the yard. Chances are good that if you're a baseball fan, your dad had something to do with it--and your thoughts of the sport evoke thoughts of him. If so, you will treasure
The Final Season, a poignant true story about baseball and heroes, family and forgiveness, doubts and dreams, and a place that brings them all together.
Growing up in the 60s and 70s, Tom Stanton lived for his Detroit Tigers. When Tiger Stadium began its 88th and final season, he vowed to attend all 81 home games in order to explore his attachment to the place where four generations of his family have shared baseball. Join him as he encounters idols, conjures decades past, and discovers the mysteries of a park where Cobb and Ruth played. Come along and sit beside Al Kaline on the dugout bench, eat popcorn with Elmore Leonard, hear Alice Cooper's confessions, soak up the warmth of Ernie Harwell, see McGwire and Ripken up close, and meet Chicken Legs Rau, Bleacher Pete, Al the Usher, and a parade of fans who are anything but ordinary. By the autumn of his odyssey, Stanton comes to realize that his anguish isn't just about the loss of a beloved ballpark but about his dad's mortality, for at the heart of this story is the love between fathers and sons--a theme that resonates with baseball fans of all ages.
About the Author
Tom Stanton has been a small-town journalist for two decades. A former professor at the University of Detroit Mercy, he was the recipient of a Michigan Journalism Fellowship. He lives in New Baltimore, Michigan, with his wife, Beth, and their three sons.