Synopses & Reviews
“I have done a report of some kind on the Fred Merkle story, whether in print, on radio, or on TV, on or about its anniversary, September 23, virtually every year since I was in college. The saga has always seemed to me to be a microcosm not just of baseball, nor of celebrity, but of life. The rules sometimes change while youre playing the game. Those you trust to tell you the changes often dont bother to. That for which history still mocks you, would have gone unnoticed if you had done it a year or a month or a day before. Thats who Fred Merkle is. I have often proposed September 23 as a national day of amnesty, in Fred Merkle's memory.”—Keith Olbermann, from his foreword.
Review
"As his title suggests, there was more to this memorable season than an infamous blunder."—Sports Illustrated Library Journal
Review
"David Andersons book is a winner in its own right. Not only does it enlighten us about a season that might really have been ‘the best and most exciting of all time, it gives us the feeling that were standing hatless among the overflow crowds of nearly a century ago, rooting for Matty, Rube, the Big Train, the Flying Dutchman, the Georgia Peach, and all the other flannel-clad immortals of days gone by. . . . Anderson has fashioned as close to a masterpiece of baseball research and analysis as any first-class author has produced in a long time."—David Shiner, HaroldSeymour.com David Shiner
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"A fascinating archival account of what baseball and America were like nearly a century ago."—New York Times Book Review HaroldSemour.com
Review
"Going beyond the infamous Merkle Boner, Anderson describes baseball (ballparks, fans, rules, and players) in the Dead Ball Era and sets the stage for the unique 1908 season, commenting on the players of each of the eight American League and National League teams and even the umpires who worked that year. . . . This book will enthrall baseball history buffs. It illuminates the sport as an important element in US popular culture at the beginning of the 20th century. Appropriate for undergraduate and general readers."-Choice(Choice)
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"Baseball enthusiasts will enjoy this."—Library Journal USA Today Baseball Weekly
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"Baseball enthusiasts will enjoy this."-Library Journal(Library Journal)
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"An excellent new entry in the baseball literary canon. . . . The Merkle story is a classic, and Andersons telling of it is masterful. But the book is called More Than Merkle for good reason: Its a wonderful portrait of a game that no longer exists. Yes, we have baseball. But More Than Merkle is about players as opposed to millionaires, ballparks instead of stadiums, a game and not a business. . . . 1908 has given us a new baseball book that falls just short of a classic. . . . Anderson has scored three runs with More Than Merkle. He has vindicated Fred Merkle, a player whose respectable career has been overshadowed by one play. He has told a tale worth telling: how the Chicago Cubs edged the Giants in a thriller season. And best, he as brought the Dead Ball Era back to life."-Kansas City Star(Kansas City Star)
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"Very well researched and carefully crafted."-TodaysSports.com(TodaysSports.com)
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"Those not acquainted with the dramatics of the 1908 campaign might find Anderson's hyperbolic title a bit extreme until they read of the many astonishing events that took place that year. To wit: three NL teams finishing within a half game of each other (forcing the first-ever playoff game) and an AL race decided by .004 percentage points. Toss in the exploits of legendary figures Christy Mathewson, Honus Wagner and other future Hall-of-Famers and the book's description more resembles an exercise in prosaic restraint."—USA Today Baseball Weekly New York Times Book Review
Review
"The arrival of a new baseball season serves to rekindle an old question: Which was the most exciting season ever played? In a book called More Than Merkle, David W. Anderson comes up with an answer that will startle many fans: the season of 1908. Just to make things perfectly clear, he subtitles his opus 'A History of the Best and Most Exciting Baseball Season in Human History.' Of course, the centerpiece is Fred 'Bonehead' Merkle, whose 'boner' of not running from first to second base while the winning run was scoring cost the New York Giants a pennant. Both leagues had close races that year, and the author covers them in exuberant detail. He also focuses on such star players as Christy Mathewson, Three-Finger Brown and Johnny Evers, not to mention more obscure figures, such as a pitcher with the fascinating name of Orval Overall, who won two games for the Chicago Cubs in the World Series (their last World Championship). Baseball antiquarians will relish the book."—Parade Sports Illustrated
Synopsis
1908 was a great year for baseball. The two events that have reverberated down through the years are the infamous Merkle Boner and the Cubs' last World Series victory, but the season was full of highlights. In the National League, three teams finished within a half game of each other, and the issue was decided in the sport's first playoff game. The pennant race in the American League was almost as tight. The Cubs' Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance triumvirate flourished, and their pitchers were led by Three Finger Brown. The Giants boasted pitching sensation Christy Mathewson, and the Pirates were carried by Honus Wagner. More than Merkle brings this defining season back to life.
About the Author
David W. Anderson is a telecommunications consultant in northern Indiana. He is also an umpire for Indiana high school and Babe Ruth league baseball. Keith Olbermann is anchor for Fox Sports.