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