Synopses & Reviews
Before the feuding owners turned to Ed Barrow to be general manager in 1920, the Yankees had never won a pennant. They won their first in 1921 and during Barrowand#8217;s tenure went on to win thirteen more as well as ten World Series. This biography of the incomparable Barrow is also the story of how he built the most successful sports franchise in American history.and#160;Barrow spent fifty years in baseball. He was in the middle of virtually every major conflict and held practically every job except player. Daniel R. Levitt describes Barrow's pre-Yankees years, when he managed Babe Ruth and the Boston Red Sox to their last World Series Championship before the and#8220;curse.and#8221; He then details how Barrow assembled a winning Yankees team both by purchasing players outright and by developing talent through a farm system.and#160;The story of the making of the great Yankees dynasty reveals Barrowand#8217;s genius for organizing, for recognizing baseball talent, and for exploiting the existing economic environment. Because Barrow was a player in so many of baseballand#8217;s key events, his biography gives a clear and eye-opening picture of how Americaand#8217;s sport was played in the twentieth century, on the field and off. A complex portrait of a larger-than-life character in the annals of baseball, this book is also an inside history of how the sportand#8217;s competitive environment evolved and how the Yankees came to dominate it.
Review
and#8220;Masterful. . . . A must read for all historians of the national pastime, particularly those with an interest in Philadelphia sports.and#8221;and#8212;Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
Review
and#8220;No other baseball manager is going to winand#8212;or loseand#8212;as many games as Connie Mack did in his fifty years managing the Philadelphia Athletics. A biography of Mack cannot help but be a history of baseball in the first half of the twentieth century, and this biography is a feast of interesting facts and judgments.and#8221;and#8212;George F. Will, syndicated columnist and author of Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball
Review
"From the early beginnings of baseball into the modern era, no figure dominated the game like Connie Mack. In Norman Macht's book the legendary patriarch finally gets his deserved recognition from a serious historian. Macht has turned out a book which provides a true insight into baseball and its beginning as the National Pastime."-Ernie Harwell, Hall of Fame broadcaster for fifty-four years, the last forty-two for the Detroit Tigers(Ernie Harwell, Nov 28 2006 )
Review
and#8220;A mother lode of data, stories, perceptions about one of the legendary figures in the history of the national pastime. . . . If you are into baseball, get into this tome.and#8221;and#8212;Harvey Frommer on Sports
Review
and#8220;The tale Macht offers is often riveting.and#8221;and#8212;Library Journal
Review
and#8220;[Includes] many fascinating details of baseball from the 1880s to 1914.and#8221;and#8212;Boston Globe
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and#8220;Richly enjoyable.and#8221;and#8212;Roanoke Times
Review
and#8220;As a catcher and manager, Connie Mack deserves much of the credit for writing and#8216;The Bookand#8217; on baseball strategy and the managing of men. How he did it all is told here for the first time.and#8221;and#8212;Roland Hemond, three-time winner of Major League Baseballand#8217;s Executive of the Year award
Review
and#8220;[A] comprehensive and interesting portrait of one of baseballand#8217;s most successful managers. . . . A compelling look at a legend and an era.and#8221;and#8212;Kirkus Reviews
Review
“Richly enjoyable.”—
The Roanoke Times --Katherine A. Powers - Boston Globe
Review
“The tale Macht offers is often riveting.”—Library Journal Robert Cottrell
Review
“Richly enjoyable.”—Roanoke Times Katherine A. Powers - Boston Globe
Review
"This is a rich account of one of the 20th century's great player-managers, his rise from modest beginnings all the way to Cooperstown, and presidency of the American League."and#8212;Margaret Heilbrun and Gilles Renaud, Library Journal
Review
"Mark Armour has produced a grand and deep biography of one of the sport's central figures. I approached it with very high expectations, and came away fully satisfied."and#8212;Steve Treder, Hardball Times
Review
"Well written and well worth owning."and#8212;frommersports.blogspot.com
Review
"In writing this biography, Mark Armour has done a great service not only to those interested in Joe Cronin, but also to future researchers interested in any of the multitude of facets of baseball that Joe Cronin impacted."and#8212;Richard Puerzer, NINE
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"Cronin emerges as a larger-than-life figure, and Armour's biography is a fitting tribute."and#8212;D. R. Danbom, Time Out for Entertainment
Review
"This readable, well-documented biography of Cronin, who became an elder statesman of the national pastime, is candid, honest, and reverential."and#8212;S. Gittleman, Choice
Review
"Macht has done such meticulous research that readers will discover the precise layout of Mack's office at Shibe Park as well as his home. . . . In 650 pages he has no ill word for Mack and continually reminds us of his greatness. He was a respected husband, father, leader, role model and humanitarianand#8212;maybe even a hero."and#8212;Kirkus Starred Review
Review
"Between 1914 and 1931, Mack's teams went from the penthouse to the cellar of the American League, and back to the penthouse, as he sold off one group of accomplished players and brought together another, which included such greats as Lefty Grove, Jimmy Foxx, Mickey Cochrane, and Al Simmons. It is a fascinating story. . . . This book will please anyone who likes the hits, runs, and errors of baseball."and#8212;R. W. Roberts, Choice
Review
"Like the man he continues to so capably chronicle, Norman Macht is astute, authoritative, and meticulous. If you want to learn about twentieth-century baseball, you'll have to read this book."and#8212;Bob Edmonds, McCormick Messenger
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"For any fan of baseball or historyand#8212;or ideally bothand#8212;it's worth devoting a few hours to Connie Mack, The Turbulent and Triumphant Years, 1915and#8211;1931."and#8212;Glenn Miller, Florida Weekly
Review
andquot;If you are a fan of the early days of baseball or just want to learn more about them, I'd highly recommend picking up this book. It was extremely enjoyable to sit and read and will increase your knowledge of that time period immensely.andquot;andmdash;Daniel Shoptaw, Cardinal70.com
Review
"[Connie Mack is] a major addition to the study of the game and its longest-serving icon."and#8212;Rick Huhn, NINE
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"1921 is a well crafted and enjoyable read that is highly recommended."and#8212;Bill Lamb, SABR Black Sox Scandal Research Committee Newsletter
Review
and#8220;The author has an astounding facility with detail: The sheer number of names, dates and salaries he tosses around is mind-blowing, and the 18 informational tables in the appendix are worthy of inclusion in an economics textbook. . . . A labor of love of great value to Yankees fans and hard-core baseball junkies.and#8221;and#8212;
Kirkus ReviewsReview
and#8220;Substantive baseball history filtered through the career of one of the gameand#8217;s overlooked titans.and#8221;and#8212;Wes Lukowsky, Booklist
Review
"Levitt revisits the vexed matter of Sox owner Harry Frazeeand#8217;s motives in selling baseballand#8217;s greatest player to New York and, in so doing, debunks the previous debunking of Glenn Stout and Richard A. Johnson in 2000, in Red Sox Century. . . . Eight years ago Stout and Johnson convinced me of their views; today I am just as convinced by Levitt."and#8212;Katherine A. Powers, Boston Globe
Review
and#8220;A captivating overview of baseball from the and#8216;20s through the and#8216;40s.and#8221;and#8212;Bill Madden, New York Daily News
Review
"[Ed Barrow] will undoubtedly go down as the definitive work on one of the most important baseball figures in the first half of the 20th century."and#8212;Rich Lederer, baseballanalytics.com
Review
"In Ed Barrow: The Bulldog Who Built the Yankees' First Dynasty, author Daniel Levitt offers a well-detailed account of the great baseball man including his meteoric rise through the professional baseball world, the beginning of the Boston Red Sox's descent from championship status and what would become the legendary Yankee dynasty of the 1920s."and#8212;Anthony Basich, The Inside Game
Synopsis
Connie Mack (1862and#8211;1956) was the Grand Old Man of baseball and one of the gameand#8217;s first true celebrities. This book, spanning the first fifty-two years of Mackand#8217;s life, covers his experiences as player, manager, and club owner through 1914.
Norman L. Macht chronicles Mackand#8217;s little-known beginnings, recounting how Mack, a school dropout at fourteen, created strategies for winning baseball and principles for managing men long before there were notions of defining such subjects. And he details how, as a key figure in the launching of the American League in 1901, Mack won six of the leagueand#8217;s first fourteen pennants while serving as manager, treasurer, general manager, traveling secretary, and public relations and scouting director (all at the same time) for the Philadelphia Athletics.
This book brings to life the unruly origins of baseball as a sport and a business and provides the first complete and accurate picture of a character who was larger than life and yet little known: the tricky, rule-bending catcher; the peppery field leader and fan favorite; the hot-tempered young manager. Illustrated with previously unpublished family photographs, it affords unique insight into a colorful personality who helped shape baseball as we know it today.
Synopsis
From the sandlots of San Francisco to the power centers of baseball, this book tells the story of Joe Cronin, one of twentieth-century baseballand#8217;s major players, both on the field and off.
and#160;For most of his playing career, Cronin (1906and#8211;84) was the best shortstop in baseball. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1956, he was a manager by the age of twenty-six and a general manager at forty-one. He was the youngest player-manager ever to play in the World Series, and he managed the Red Sox longer than any other man in history. As president of the American League, he oversaw two expansions, four franchise shifts, and the revolutionary and controversial introduction of the designated-hitter rule, which he wrote himself.
and#160;This book follows Cronin from his humble beginnings to his position as one of the most powerful figures in baseball. Mark Armour explores Croninand#8217;s time as a player as well as his role in some of the gameand#8217;s fiercest controversies, from the creation of the All-Star Game to the issue of integration. Bringing to life one of baseballand#8217;s definitive characters, this book supplies a crucial and fascinating chapter in the history of Americaand#8217;s pastime.
and#160;and#160;
Synopsis
The Philadelphia Athletics dominated the first fourteen years of the American League, winning six pennants through 1914 under the leadership of their founder and manager, Connie Mack. But beginning in 1915, where volume 2 in Norman L. Machtand#8217;s biography picks up the story, Mackand#8217;s teams fell from pennant winners to last place and, in an unprecedented reversal of fortunes, stayed there for seven years. World War I robbed baseball of young players, and Mackand#8217;s rebuilding efforts using green youngsters of limited ability made his teams the objects of public ridicule.
At the age of fifty-nine and in the face of widespread skepticism and seemingly insurmountable odds, Connie Mack reasserted his genius, remade the Aand#8217;s, and rose again to the top, even surpassing his earlier success. Baseball biographer and historian Macht recreates what may be the most remarkable chapter in this larger-than-life story. He shows us the man and his time and the game of baseball in all its nitty-gritty glory of the 1920s, and how Connie Mack built the 1929and#8211;1931 champions of Foxx, Simmons, Cochrane, Grove, Earnshaw, Miller, Haas, Bishop, Dykesand#8212;a team many consider baseballand#8217;s greatest ever.
Synopsis
At the dawn of the roaring twenties, baseball was struggling to overcome two of its darkest moments: the death of a player during a Major League game and the revelations of the 1919 Black Sox scandal. At this critical juncture for baseball, two teams emerged to fight for the future of the game. They were also battling for the hearts and minds of New Yorkers as the city rose in dramatic fashion to the pinnacle of the baseball world.and#160;1921 captures this crucial moment in the history of baseball, telling the story of a season thatand#160;pitted the New York Yankees against their Polo Grounds landlords and hated rivals, John McGrawand#8217;s Giants, in the first alland#8211;New York Series and resulted in the first American League pennant for the now-storied Yankeesand#8217; franchise. Lyle Spatz and Steve Steinberg recreate the drama that featured the charismatic Babe Ruth in his assault on baseball records in the face of McGrawand#8217;s disdain for the American League and the Ruth-led slugging style. Their work evokes the early 1920s with the words of renowned sportswriters such as Damon Runyon, Grantland Rice, and Heywood Broun. With more than fifty photographs, the book offers a remarkably vivid picture of the colorful characters, the crosstown rivalry, and the incomparable performances that made this season a classic.
About the Author
Lyle Spatz is the author of many books, including Bad Bill Dahlen: The Rollicking Life and Times of an Early Baseball Star and Yankees Coming, Yankees Going: New York Yankee Player Transactions, 1903 through 1999. Steve Steinberg is the author of Baseball in St. Louis, 1900and#8211;1925 and numerous articles on early twentieth-century baseball, including feature articles for the annual New York Yankees official yearbooks. Charles C. Alexander is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at Ohio University. He is the author of several baseball books, including Spoke: A Biography of Tris Speaker and John McGraw (available in a Bison Books edition).