April 25th, 1934 - University of Nebraska / Bison Press

One of my favorite publishers is the University of Nebraska Press, and its subsidiary, Bison Books. UN Press specializes in western history, and also publishes classic fictional accounts of the old west as well. Another of its strengths, however, is sports. A recent publication is an exceptionally good biography of Branch Rickey, which I'll be reviewing later in this blog.

Of most interest, however, is UN's trade paperback imprint, Bison Books. Bison Books specializes in keeping classic books of many genres, particularly those related to western history, in print. Among its many baseball publications include the books of Sports Illustrated writer Robert Creamer and Roger Kahn. UN is also the publisher for the Society of Baseball Research (SABR) and its annual publication on baseball history can be purchased through the UN Press.

UN's sports books can be found here:

http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/books/subjects/sports.jsp

They are frequently offered for sale at deep discounts. I'd recommend signing up for their mailing list to keep apprised. I would urge readers to browse UN's website and take a look at their extremely interesting publication lists.

April 25th, 1934 - NL Game Summaries

Braves Win on Late Heroics in 5-4 Thriller with Dodgers
'Buck' Jordon goes two for four, hits homer over right field wall


Brooklyn 4 12 0
Boston (NL) 5 8 0


Baxter "Buck" Jordan already had a hit when he stepped up to the plate with Marty McManus on second and two outs. The Braves had already scored once to close the gap to 4-2, and Boston fans could sense that if they were to prevail, it would have to happen here and now as Brooklyn pitcher Van Lingle Mungo had had the Braves number all afternoon, yielding just 4 hits and walks in the first 7 innings.

Braves pinch hitter Elbie Fletcher got things going in the 8th, with a single after catcher Shanty Hogan had already grounded out. He was forced out on a groundout by Shortstop Bill Urbanski for the second out. But, then, McManus came through with a big double, allowing Urbanski to score all the way from first. Jordan stepped to the plate, and hit a 1-2 fastball over the right field wall to tie the game at 4-4 as the crowd went wild. Mungo, who been brilliant all afternoon, lost what was left of his composure, yielding a walk and a go ahead double to Boston third sacker "Pinky" Whitney before Casey Stengel ordered a walk to Hall Lee and then removed Mungo for Phil Page, who was able to get the final out.

Boston went to their own bullpen for Bob Smith in the top of the 9th as the Dodgers sent up pinch hitter Len Koenecke, who had been given the day off. After getting the first two Dodgers to ground out though, Smith yielded a single to pinch hitter Buzz Boyle and then a walk to Lonny Frey. After a brief discussion on the mound between Smith, Hogan and Boston manager Bill McKechnie, Smith got Johnny Frederick to ground out, earning his second save of the year.



Derringer Sparkles for Reds Again, Deals Cubs Only Second Loss of Season
Cubs manage only 7 base runners in 5-1 loss to Reds

Cincinnati 5 8 0
Chicago (NL) 1 7 1

Cincinnati has only had two wins this year and the Cubs only two losses. Both Reds wins have something in common - the opposing team, the Cubs, and their starting pitcher, Paul Derringer. "Paul was brilliant again," said Reds manager Bob O'Farrell, who also caught the game for Cinci. "All his stuff was working - nearly every pitch," he added. O'Farrell made his contribution at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a double. Chicago was unable to recover after Cincinnati went ahead in the 5th inning, when they tallied 2 runs on 2 hits. Cincinnati finished with 8 hits in the victory.