October 1st, 1934 - Book Review - Sleeper Cars and Flannel Uniforms

Sleeper Cars and Flannel Uniforms

Eldon Auker

pp. 212 + index

Former (and recently late) Tiger pitcher Elden Auker promises his reader a chance to "turn off you cellular phone, remove the battery from your beeper, inform your personal trainer you won't be making it in this week, put on your slippers, settle back into a recliner, don your reading glasses and take a trip back in time..."

Auker's book provides many great tales about the best and worst in baseball. Auker himself is no romantic: "you can go on believing that we didn't care about money and played only for the romance of it..." he says. Instead, Auker shares stories about the famous shortstop who was blackballed in the AL after being caught stealing from the Babe, and other sordid stories, as well as inspiring ones, such as as his recollections of Lou Gehrig. Auker is also free with his opinions - Pete Rose should never be allowed anywhere near the game, he says, but "Shoeless Joe" get a raw deal in Auker's book. Auker also paints a vivid portrait of his favorite, Mickey Cochrane (the "perfect player and perfect manager in the perfect situation").

The book contains stories about players that I have yet to see in other books. More importantly, he explains how the Tigers transfored from a middle of the pack team in 1933 to pennant winners in 1934 and world champions in 1935. Obviously, getting new talent in Cochrane and Goslin helped, but as a Tigers' pitcher, Auker shares how Cochrane's catching raised their pitching staff to the next level as well. Also interesting is a portrait of Dizzy Dean very different than his traditional depiction (Dean's "Rube" persona was a calculated act).

One nice touch are the occassional historic side notes, presumably thrown in by Auker's co-author Tom Keegan. They cover topics such as nicknames and sportswriting during the era Auker covers. More of these would have been great. In short, the only thing that this book lacks is more of what it already has.

Rating: **** (buy it new) for Tigers' fans and *** (buy it used) for all others.

A promotional video for the book can be found here. It has some great footage of Auker's submarine pitching style.

August 13th, 1934 - Book Review - Breaking the Slump

Breaking the Slump: Baseball in the Depression Era

Charles Alexander
Columbia Press, 282 pages + notes and index

Breaking the Slump is a straight forward narrative account of baseball in the 1930s. It does a good job with "who, what, where and when" in recounting the baseball seasons from 1930 through 1941. What Breaking the Slump fails to do is convey a good sense of the game during that period. Further, written by an academic historian, Breaking the Slump simply does not hold the reader's attention as a good baseball history should.


The "color" is pretty much tucked into a single chapter near the end in which Alexander talks about life in baseball during the decade. This is a shame. The game saw some of its most colorful, zany characters during this time period. Hilarious anecdotes involving players such as Dizzy Dean and Lefty Gomez abound, and can be found in the oral histories of the game during this time, as can the more tragic side of the hard scrabble life of the 1930s.


If Breaking the Slump does not serve well as a popular history due to its dryness, it is too short to be a definitive academic treatment of the era either. Nowhere is there a comprehensive treatment of any aspect of the game. Instead, it falls somewhere in between.

In sum, for a solid basic history of the game during this time, Breaking the Slump will do. But it will need to be supplemented with various oral histories and memoirs if the reader is to fully appreciate what made the game so special during this era. It took me longer to read Breaking the Slump than Lee Lowenfish's superb new biography of Branch Rickey, which is more than twice as long. Given the colorful nature of the game and its players during the Great Depression, I'm afraid Alexander must shoulder some of the blame for this otherwise good book being as dry as it is.

Rating: *** (buy it used)

June 30th, 1934 - Book Review - Cobb Would Have Caught It

Cobb Would Have Caught It

Richard Bak
Wayne State University Press
1991
338 pp

Subtitled "The Golden Age of Baseball in Detroit," Cobb Would Have Caught It is a superb history of a ball team, its players and the city that loved it before, during and after the Great Depression. Cobb is really two books - a narrative history of the Tigers and the City of Detroit from the late 20s through the early 50s and a collection of player remineces from interviews Bak conducted with many of the players from that era. Combined into a single volume, the book is a fascinating and comprehensive account of the Tigers in that period.

Bak is a wonderful writer - clear and succinct, he keeps the reader's interest throughout the narrative chapters. The interviews are edited into some of the best oral histories I've read from players' of that period. They are full of descriptions of what life was like for players, their attitudes toward their teammates and opponents, etc. Bak has edited them so that they read well and are easy to follow.

There is little need to need to go on. If you have any interest in Tigers' history, it's a must read. Even if you just have an interest in this period of baseball, and presumably you do if you read this blog, it's one of the best books I've read that communicate a vivid picture of what life was like for ball players during this period. It's only limitation is that it only directly covers the Tigers. However, many of the players interviewed moved around (some only played a couple seasons in Detroit), so many of the stories cover other teams as well.

In short, every team and every period of baseball deserves a book like Bak's on the 1930s-1940s Detroit Tigers. I learned about the book from reading Bill James' Historical Abstract, which quotes from Bak's interviews in many of the player profiles from that period.

Rating: For Tigers' fans: **** (buy new); for all others: *** (worth purchasing used)

For more information and to order from the publisher, see here:

http://wsupress.wayne.edu/glb/detroit/bakcwhci.htm

Book Review: Branch Rickey: Baseball's Ferocious Gentleman

Branch Rickey: Baseball's Ferocious Gentleman

Lee Lowenfish

University of Nebraska Press

683 pp. incl. notes, bibliography and index

It is possible to write a 683 page biograhy of a baseball executive and leave the reader wanting more? Lee Lowenfish convinces me that it can be done.

Lowenfish's biography of baseball executive Branch Rickey is a very well written, exhaustive examination of Rickey's life and times. Covering Rickey from his time as a stern school teacher through his death in 1965, Lowenstein's history follows Rickey on a year by year basis. Accordingly, the book also serves as a history of the National League, which Rickey was a vital part of from when he joined the St. Louis Cardinals in 1919 to his tenure as a Cardinals' consultant in the early 1960s.

Lowenfish does not only discuss Rickey's baseball activities, but his political (Republican) activities and community work as well. In doing so, he shows how Rickey led a vigorous, deeply principled life that was spent in service to family, church, community and baseball. Rickey's philosophy is also discussed at length, and Lowenfish shows how it helped guide him in some of his most important decisions. By taking the time to read and contemplate Rickey's own words, and take them seriously rather than as mere rationalization, Lowenfish is able to paint a vivid picture of a man who was both generous and tight-fisted, fiercely competitive, but who refused to work on Sundays.

As amazing as it is, there are still questions that Lowenfish doesn't fully answer. Was Rickey really tight fisted or does he come off looking worse than other parsimonious executives due to his own financial success? There's a great history PhD thesis to be written in settling the question of whether Rickey was really the "tightwad" he was portrayed or whether he appeared that way because his lack of financial charity at contract time seemed to contrast with the Christian principles he espoused on Sunday.

My own sense is that Rickey was probably even tighter with the dollar than other executives generally, but I think part of this was due to Rickey's sense of morality. It wasn't, after all, his own money he was paying players (as it was, for example, Connie Mack's). If he paid a player more than he needed to retain his services, Rickey was failing in his duty to the team's owners. Such would have been seen as a failure of duty by the devout Calvinist. We may disagree, but Rickey was being true to his convictions - not contradicting them.

Another unresolved question is how to measure Rickey's contributions to the Dodgers and Pirates championships. Rickey was with both teams for several years, but left before they won the World Series. I would have liked to have seen Lowenfish assess to what degree they were the residue of Rickey's earlier activities before he left. I would have also liked to have had a better idea of what Rickey contributed (if anything) to the Cardinals' 1964 World Championship. In his book on the 1964 season, David Halberstam portarys Rickey as an over the hill medler. It would be interesting to hearing Lowenfish's take.

(Note: Lowenfish DOES answer the question on Rickey and Pittsburgh in an interview, which can be accessed at the link below):

in the long view of history (which is the hat as a historian I am proud to wear), his work in Pittsburgh established the nucleus of the 1960 World Series champion. He and his scouts plucked relief ace Roy Face from the Dodger farm system in 1952, the same year he signed shortstop Dick Groat out of Duke. His scouts signed Bill Mazeroski and Bob Skinner, and of course, most famously, they plucked Roberto Clemente out of the Dodger system after 1954.

These are fairly minor quibbles, though. This is an extraordinarily fine book about an extraordinary man, and a must read for all serious lovers of baseball history.

Rating: **** (worth buying new)

Purchasing information: Available from the publisher directly or from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

For an interview with Lowenfish, see this AmericanHeritage.com interview.

June 6th, 1934 - Book Review: The Good Old Days: Baseball in the 1930s

The Good Old Days: Baseball in the 1930s

Thomas Gilbert
Watts, pp. 157, index

Thomas Gilbert's The Good Old Days: Baseball in the 1930s is part of a series of slim volumes that covers baseball from its birth in the mid 19th century until the end of the 1940s. Although the books are generally aimed at a school age audience, they are well written and will prove of interest to any generalist who wants to learn the basics about any particular period of the game's development.

Readers of this slim volume will be introduced to Hack Wilson, Connie Mack, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, and, of course Babe Ruth who was still a force in the first part of the decade. They will learn about the emergence of the modern farm system under Branch Rickey and the emergence of radio broadcasts. Many other aspects of the game's developments are well covered in a short space.

Despite its title, Good Old Days is not overly sentimental. In fact, the title is ironic as Gilbert indicates that although we tend to remember the 1930s as being a golden age of baseball, there were many things wrong with it, and he is not shy about pointing them out: low attendance and salaries due to the Great Depression, and a precarious existence for player and fan alike.
"There was nothing graceful, elegant or sporting about life or baseball in the 1930s," he concludes, but notes that the great players and stories from the decade are a rich part of the game's lore and many of the innovations meant to keep the game afloat during the decade contributes significantly to its profitability in the years afterwards. Gilbert credits nostalgia for the era as the chief reason that 44 players from the 1930s are in the Hall of Fame, and calls the decade the "most overrepresented" in terms of Hall membership.

Gilbert portrays the major figures of the era, provides essays on important aspects of the game and its development, and provides an outline of each of the decade's seasons. Although comprehensive by no means, it can be read in just a few hours, hits all the "high points" and is an ideal means to introduce the reader to its subject.

Rating: *** (Worth purchasing used)

Purchasing Information

Although out of print, copies can be obtained through the Amazon Z-Shops.

May 23rd, 1934 - Book Review - Glove Affairs

Glove Affairs
by Noah Lieberman

Triumph Books, Chicago, IL
150 pages inc. index

Glove Affairs is a short, but fairly wide ranging look at the baseball glove. It contains the history of the evolution of gloves, stories about players and their relationships to their gloves and a look at the glove repair and collecting industries. For instance, players generally left their mitts on the field when their team was at bat until the mid 50s. It also contains information about purchasing one, breaking it in and maintaining it. Finally, it provides a good overview of how glove companies do business with the players who wear and sometimes endorse them. In short, there's something for nearly everyone.

I say nearly because one area where the book falls down is its discussion of the baseball glove industry. While it has a good overview of how the glove emerged from little more than padding for a bare hand to the coming of the Wilson A2000 in the late 50s (still more or less the "modern" glove), it contains very little about the individual companies and the various models they sold. For instance, it would be of little use to a collector as it mentions only a few models. We're never told, for instance, what would make a player choose one make or model rather than another, or which are of most interest to collectors and why, although the book does have a short chapter on collecting. The book does, however, contain a good deal of what players look for in terms of attributes and which positions warrant various design aspects.

If you're not familiar with development, legends and lore of the baseball glove, it's the ideal place to start. In addition, it has plenty of useful information regarding maintaining and repairing your own glove. At 150 pages (including index), with numerous pictures and a wide spread type face, its a quick read. Its most glaring omission is the lack of a bibliography or footnotes, making it difficult to know whether to find further information on a topic.

Rating: ***/**** (worth purchasing used)

May 19th, 1934 - Book Review - Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract

The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract

Bill James
Ed. 2003, pp. 1012, index (Free Press)

Bill James is a well known historian and baseball analysts who has pioneered the use of quantitative baseball research known as "Sabrmetrics." His yearly abstracts were considered to be indispensable reading in preparing for the new season by many. Unfortunately James no longer issues annual abstracts, but he has published a historical version that is, simply, indispensable any serious student of the game.

The abstract is really several parts. The first looks at the game's evolution decade by decade. The second is a ranking of the game's players by position. For each, there are dozens of players profiled. Nearly anyone who played the game competently for a full career is ranked and profiled. Throughout the book are many of James's quirky, fascinating essay on topics about why baseball became less exciting than it had in the past (mostly due to excessive pauses between plays dispersing the natural constant tension present in the older, quicker game). Among James's suggestions are limitations on pickoff throws and pitching changes.

Some examples just from the chapter on the 1930s:

-Hooks Wiltse's list of why baseball players aren't as good as they used to be (!)
-The best pitcher in minor league history
-Best minor league teams of the 1930s
-An essay called "The Death of Common Sense in Baseball" that discusses how the rules were formalized in determining league statistical leaders, and how they ultimately yielded nonsensical results.

Thankfully, James also provides at least cursory coverage of the Negro Leagues, ensuring that at least the most deserving players such as Oscar Charleston, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson and others get much deserved coverage.

As in any good history book, the reader puts it down with a fresh perspective on today's controversies and a deeper appreciation that we're not facing anything our forefathers did not face, grapple with and eventually conquer. This renew our hopes that current concerns about baseball, whether they be steroids, competitiveness, race, etc., can be be dealt with and overcome, because we've done it before.

Although readers may find at least some of James's opinions outlandish (e.g., the 1961 Yankees were not only one of the greatest teams, they do not even deserve the moniker "great."), they will never be bored.

Highest recommendation.


Rating: ****/**** (Recommend buying it new)

Purchasing Information:


It can be purchased new or used through Internet new and used book sellers. Be sure to get the revised ed. shown above (soft green cover).

April 27th, 1934 - Book Review

Memories of a Baseball Player: Bill Werber and Baseball in the 1930s.

Bill Werber and C. Paul Rogers III

2001, pp. 250, index (privately printed)*

(Replay note: During 1934, Werber was the Red Sox's regular shortstop. Although error prone, he had an excellent season at the plate.)

Bill Werber (HA78) was mostly a journeyman infielder who had managed a few very good years during his playing career that spanned from 1933 to 1942 (with a few games in 1930).

The book is appropriately named as a collection of "memories" rather than a memoir or autobiography. It contains a broad range of Werber's anecdotes from his playing days, and does not pretend to be anything more. Because he played in both leagues, and for five teams, however, his experience was broad enough for that to give the reader a good sense of what baseball during the 1930s was like for the players. Great stories abound, of course, but the book is ultimately greater than the sum of its total.

In fact, because he was not a star, Werber's account is particularly useful. The stories are well written and well organized, which chapters specifically covering managers, various teams, umpires, etc. A fast reader could finish it in half an afternoon and, unless already well versed in the game during that era, will have a much better sense of the game during the period Werber describes when finished.

Memories suffers from the usual drawbacks of a book of its genre. It appears to be nothing more than Werber retelling all of his best baseball stories with Rogers helping to organize and edit them in an interesting, meaningful way. There are apparently no secondary sources, nor did either do any additional "homework" to make the book more than what it is. As a result, one would want to verify Werber's account, told decades after the fact. One example: Werber dates a self-inflicted foot injury to 1934, which, he explains, caused his game to decline. Bill James dates Werber's injury to 1938. Although one would think Werber himself would be the authority, a good researcher would probably want to do more digging on such points.

Still, what it is is quite enough to reward the reader well for the relatively small investment in time and attention it takes to read it.

* Publishing note: My copy only lists a printer; not a publisher. The book is available through the University of Nebraska's Bison Press at the link below. Amazon lists the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) as the publisher.

Rating: ***/**** (Recommend buying it discount or second hand)

Purchasing Information: It can be obtained from the University of Nebraska Bison Press in paperback, usually at a discount, at:

http://unp.unl.edu/bookinfo/4041.html

Or new or used through internet new and used book sellers.