Download or read book In the Game written by Amy Bass and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2005-08-20 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Talking about race and sports almost always leads to trouble. Rush Limbaugh's stint as an NFL commentator came to an abrupt end when he made off-handed comments about black quarterback Donovan McNabb. Cincinnati Reds' owner Marge Schott and CBS commentator Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder also landed in hot water for public remarks that most people construed as racist. Ask a simple question along these lines--"Why do African Americans dominate the NBA?"--and watch the sparks fly. It is precisely this flashpoint that Amy Bass seeks to explore. Sports wield a tremendous amount of cultural power in the United States and around the world, and often influence our ideas about race. In the Game is a collection of essays by top thinkers on race that survey this treacherous terrain. They engage topics like boxer Joe Louis's iconic status during the Jim Crow era, how blacks shaped the NFL in the 1970s, American Indian sports team mascots, and soccer in Argentina.

Download or read book It Ain t Over Til It s Over written by Baseball Prospectus and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2007-08-01 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pennant races are arguably the most important aspect of baseball. Players, teams, and franchises are all after one goal: to win the pennant and get into the post-season. But what really determines who wins? Statistical analyses of baseball abound: different ways of breaking down everyone's individual performance, from hitters and pitchers to managers and even owners. But surprisingly, team success-what makes some teams winners over an entire season-has never been looked at with the same statistical rigor. In It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over, The Baseball Prospectus Team of Experts introduce the Davenport Method of deciding which races were the most dramatic-the closest, the most volatile-and determine the ten greatest races of modern baseball history. They use these key races (and a few others) to answer the main question: What determines who wins? How important are such things as mid-season trades, how much a manager overworks his pitchers, and why teams have winning and losing streaks? Can one player carry a team? Can one bad player ruin a team? Can one bad play ruin a team's chances? This fascinating and illuminating book will change your perception of the game.

Download or read book The Year of the Blue Snow written by Mel Marmer and published by SABR, Inc.. This book was released on 2013-07 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Catcher Gus Triandos dubbed the Philadelphia Phillies' 1964 season "the year of the blue snow"a rare thing that happens once in a great while. The Phillies were having a spectacular season in which everything was going right. They held a 6 1/2 game lead at the conclusion of play on September 20. With just 12 games to play, they seemingly had it made. But the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals never gave up, and when the Phillies lost ten consecutive games, it became a thrilling pennant race for Cardinals and Reds fans, but a horrific collapse for Phillies fanatics. But wait a minute. When it was seemingly too late, the Phillies finally won a game—and the first-place Cardinals lost two games to the lowly New York Mets, so on the last day of the season there was the distinct possibility of a three-way tie for first place. It would have been a first in baseball history. On the final day of the season, the Phillies beat the Reds handily, 10-0. All eyes and ears were fixed on the Mets-Cardinals game. Could the Mets knock off the first-place Cardinals for a third straight game? The Mets carried a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning, but finally succumbed, 11-5. But what a season for Phillies fans. Jim Bunning had thrown the first perfect game in the last 84 years of NL history. The hero of the 1964 All-Star Game was the team's right fielder Johnny Callison, who brought the National League victory with the third walk-off home run in the history of the All-Star Game. The team also boasted the electrifying NL Rookie of the Year - the team's slugging third baseman Richie Allen (later called Dick Allen). St. Louis won the pennant, and went on to beat the Yankees in the World Series. But in Philadelphia, the '64 campaign left an ache that lasted for years. The 1964 Phillies not only "lost" the pennant but, following 1964, they got steadily worse. This book sheds light on the facts for the reader to determine answers to lingering questions they may still have about the Phillies team in the 1964 season—but any book about a team is really about the players. A collaborative effort by 37 members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), this work offers life stories of all the players and others (managers, coaches, owners, and broadcasters) associated with this star-crossed team, as well as essays of analysis and historical recaps. Includes: Foreword by Mel Marmer Introduction by Mel Marmer Opening Day 1964 Dick Allen by Rich D’Ambrosio Rubén Amaro by Rory Costello The Amaro Chronicles by Rory Costello Two Gold Glove Shortstops by Rory Costello Jack Baldschun by Chip Greene Dave Bennett by Mark Armour Dennis Bennett by Mark Armour John Boozer by Andy Sturgill Johnny Briggs by John Saccoman Jim Bunning by Ralph Berger Johnny Callison by John Rossi Danny Cater by Brian Englehardt Pat Corrales by James Ray Wes Covington by Andy Sturgill Ray Culp by Mark Armour Clay Dalrymple by Rory Costello Ryne Duren by Gregory H Wolf Tony González by José Ramírez and Rory Costello Dallas Green by Gregory H Wolf John Herrnstein by Brian Englehardt Don Hoak by Jack V Morris Alex Johnson by Mark Armour Johnny Klippstein by Gregory H Wolf Gary Kroll by Neil Poloncarz Bobby Locke by Paul Geisler Art Mahaffey by Ralph Berger and Mel Marmer Cal McLish by Joe Wancho Adolfo Phillips by Rob Neyer Vic Power by Joe Wancho Ed Roebuck by Paul Hirsch Cookie Rojas by Peter Gordon Bobby Shantz by Mel Marmer Costen Shockley by Chip Greene Chris Short by Andy Sturgill Roy Sievers by Gregory H Wolf Morrie Steevens by Len Levin Tony Taylor by Rory Costello and José Ramírez Frank Thomas by Bob Hurte Gus Triandos by Neal Poloncarz Bobby Wine by Bob Bloss Rick Wise by Bill Nowlin Gene Mauch by John Vorperian Peanuts Lowrey by Dick Rosen George Myatt by John Green Bob Oldis by Dan Even Al Widmar by Gregory H Wolf Bob Carpenter by James Ray John Quinn by Rory Costello The Origins of the 1964 Phillies by Jim Sweetman How the 1964 Phillies Were Built by Mel Marmer Shibe Park/Connie Mack Stadium by James Ray Richie Ashburn by Seamus Kearney Bill Campbell by Curt Smith By Saam by Neal Poloncarz Jim Bunning’s Perfect Game by James Ray Johnny Callison’s All-Star Home Run by Mel Marmer In Defense of Chico Ruiz’s “Mad Dash” by Rory Costello Pennant Was Stolen by Clem Comly Beyond Bunning and Short Rest: An Analysis of Managerial Decisions That Led to the Phillies’ Epic Collapse of 1964 by Bryan Soderholm-Difatte Epilogue by Clem Comly

Download or read book The Betrayal written by Charles Fountain and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2016 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new account of one of the most famous scandals in sports history shows how the 1919 fixing of the World Series forever changed the way America's pastime was both managed and perceived.

Download or read book Maybe Next Year written by Greg Pearson and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2016-11-10 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sports fans are a devoted bunch, win or lose. Millions sit in the wind and the cold, watching their team slip ever further from the playoffs--only to come back for more next year. What is it that keeps them going? This book, published just before the Cubs ended the longest active drought in pro sports, features more than 100 loyal followers of 23 teams who explain their reasons for never giving up. They tell stories of devotion and determination: the Toronto Maple Leafs fans who got married, on the ice, before a game; the Sacramento Kings supporters who fought to keep their team from leaving town; and the fans of Mississippi State football with their never-say-die cowbells. For these fans, optimism outweighs disappointment.

Download or read book Baby Style written by Debbie Bliss and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2000-10-20 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bestselling designer Debbie Bliss is known worldwide for her ability to combine practicality and style in her immensely popular designs. In this new collection she provides a complete range of ideas for the new baby or child, including ideas for the home and stylish accessories, as well as irresistible clothes. Each of the 30 designs is beautifully photographed and clear instructions make the patterns straightforward to knit. Some of the original ideas featured include: A denim throw, with pockets for favorite toys and books A variety of mini cushions Knitted coathangers A cozy dressing gown and hot-water bottle cover Practical and stylish sweaters, cardigans and jackets to suit every child

Download or read book Baseball s Starry Night written by Paul Kocak and published by Digitature. This book was released on 2012-03 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Baseball's Starry Night gives you a fan's-eye view of a night that many have called the most exciting night in the history of Major League Baseball. Going beyond a standard retelling of the balls and strikes and homers and webgems, the book hears from 20 fans in their own words. Loyal fans of the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays provide exciting and deeply personal eyewitness accounts -- either from the stadiums or their living rooms. Get the "you-are-there" feeling. "This is a magical book about a magical night. This beautifully told story captures baseball at its very best." Doris Kearns Goodwin "September 28, 2011. It was a night that will forever be frozen in baseball time. A night of miracles. A night of magic. A night of heartbreak. A night for the history books. Somebody needed to write a book about that night. Thankfully, Paul Kocak volunteered for the job. And in this beautifully written book, he takes us not merely inside the astonishing ups and downs of this unforgettable evening, but inside the hearts and minds of 'ordinary' people -- the fans whose pulse rates haven't come down yet." Jayson Stark, ESPN.com Senior Baseball Writer "A retelling unlike any other of the greatest night in baseball regular-season history." Chris Mallonee, BirdsOnTheBat82.com "With Baseball's Starry Night, Paul Kocak captures an unforgettable moment in time in powerful, passionate prose that will bring fans to their feet all over again." Greg Tobin, former editor-in-chief of Book-of-the-Month Club, Inc. and author of Holy Holidays! "Paul Kocak hits an 'inside the park homer.' What a night!" Len Berman, Sportscaster/Author

Download or read book From Jack Johnson to Lebron James written by Chris Lamb and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 459 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The campaign for racial equality in sports has both reflected and affected the campaign for racial equality in the United States. Some of the most significant and publicized stories in this campaign in the twentieth century have happened in sports, including, of course, Jackie Robinson in baseball; Jesse Owens, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos in track; Arthur Ashe in tennis; and Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, and Muhammad Ali in boxing. Long after the full integration of college and professional athletics, race continues to play a major role in sports. Not long ago, sportswriters and sportscasters ignored racial issues. They now contribute to the public's evolving racial attitudes on issues both on and off the field, ranging from integration to self-determination to masculinity. From Jack Johnson to LeBron James examines the intersection of sports, race, and the media in the twentieth century and beyond. The essays are linked by a number of questions, including: How did the black and white media differ in content and context in their reporting of these stories? How did the media acknowledge race in their stories? Did the media recognize these stories as historically significant? Considering how media coverage has evolved over the years, the essays begin with the racially charged reporting of Jack Johnson's reign as heavyweight champion and carry up to the present, covering the media narratives surrounding the Michael Vick dogfighting case in a supposedly post-racial era and the media's handling of LeBron James's announcement to leave Cleveland for Miami.

Download or read book Win Or Go Home written by Gary R. Parker and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2002 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It has happened only eight times in the last 120 years--two teams tied for first place on the final day of the regular season square off in a winner-take-all playoff to determine a division or pennant winner. Before 1969, up to three games were played to determine the champion, but since then, only one game has been played between the top two teams. This history of sudden death playoffs is supplemented by interviews with over 30 major leaguers who had the opportunity to play in some of baseball's most critical and exciting games. Covered are the sudden death games between the 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals, the 1948 Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians, the 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants, the 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Braves, the 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, the 1978 Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, the 1980 Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, and the 1995 Seattle Mariners and California Angels. A box score is provided for every game.

Download or read book Vision of the Field written by Joe Kaminski, Jr. and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2006-11-01 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All Jason Kowalski wanted was tickets to a baseball game to thank friends and family that helped him through his heart transplant. Instead, he gets an apportunity to play an inning of professional baseball and fulfill a dream he always had.

Download or read book The Mouth That Roared written by Dallas Green and published by Triumph Books. This book was released on 2013-05 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From profanity-laced clubhouse tirades and outspoken opinions on the state of the game to tears at an emotional funeral for his murdered granddaughter, Dallas Green tells his story for the first time in this autobiography. In his nearly 60 years in baseball as a pitcher; manager of three franchises, including both New York squads, the Mets and Yankees; general manager; and executive, Dallas Green has never minced words or shied away from making enemies. Though many bristled at his gruff style, nobody could argue with the result of his leadership: as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, he led the team to a World Series championship in 1980 and as general manger of the Chicago Cubs, he pulled off one of the most lopsided trades in the history of the sport by dealing journeyman Ivan DeJesus to the Phillies in exchange for Larry Bowa and future Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. This larger-than-life baseball personality shares insights from the mound, the dugout, and the front office as well as anecdotes of some of the game s biggest stars and encounters with the press, player agents, and the unions. Dallas Green also shares his feelings about his granddaughter, Christina-Taylor Green, who was shot and killed by a deranged stalker in Tucson, Arizona, during an assassination attempt on the life of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Knowing that the loss of his beloved granddaughter has irrevocably changed him, Green discusses how, in the wake of her death, baseball became a coping mechanism for him."

Download or read book Best Mets written by Matthew Silverman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-06-16 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the New York Mets celebrate their fiftieth anniversary of National League baseball, this rollicking chronicle recounts a half century of the team’s ups and downs. Chapters recount the best and worst teams; the greatest players; the most thrilling wins and most excruciating losses; the most memorable and forgettable teams in franchise history; and even a guide to appreciating the Mets, including tips on spring training as well as the best sports bars to see the Mets on TV without having to fight for the remote. Sidebars relating Mets lore (i.e., Jerry Seinfeld’s obsession with Keith Hernandez), colorful Mets characters (both players and fans alike), and stats on the best and worst of all things Mets further add to this celebration of the first fifty years of New York’s most Amazin’ and frustrating sports franchise.

Download or read book Seasons in the Sun written by Roger D. Launius and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The heart of professional baseball, if not its roots, may be found in the American Midwest, especially in Missouri. In Seasons in the Sun, Roger D. Launius offers an excellent overview of the teams, pennant races, trials, and triumphs of the different major-league teams that have resided in the state over the years. Since 1876, when St. Louis became a charter member of the newly formed National League, there have also been other major-league franchises from less well known leagues in St. Louis. The St. Louis major-league baseball experience is not limited to the extraordinary success and fame of the Cardinals, who have won more World Series championships than any other National League team. St. Louis also claims the excellent but short-lived Brown Stockings, the city's first entry into the National League; the American League's Browns, who spent most of their existence in the first half of the twentieth century at the bottom of the standings; the virtually forgotten Terriers of the Federal League in 1914-1915; and the Maroons of the pre-twentieth-century National League.

Download or read book Mustaches and Mayhem Charlie O s Three Time Champions written by Chip Greene and published by SABR, Inc.. This book was released on 2015-09-17 with total page 1094 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In modern baseball history, only one team not named the New York Yankees has ever won three consecutive World Series. That team was the Oakland Athletics, who captured major league baseball’s crown each year from 1972 through 1974. Led by such superstars as future Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers, in the final years before free agency and the movement of playersfrom one team to another forever changed the game, the Athletics were a largely homegrown aggregate of players who joined the organization when the team called Kansas City its home, developed as teammates in the minor leagues, and came of age together in Oakland. But it was the way in which they did it that immortalized those teams. For if the story of the Oakland Athletics’ championships is that of one of baseball’s greatest teams, it’s also the story of enigmatic owner Charles O. Finley and how those players succeeded in spite of Finley’s larger-than-life persona and meddlesome ways. Indeed, before the Yankees’ George Steinbrenner, there was Charles Oscar Finley, of the Athletics. Featuring the contributions of 46 members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), Mustaches and Mayhem: Charlie O’s Three-Time Champions shares the stories of each of the roster players on each of the A’s championship teams, in addition to the managers, coaches, Finley himself, the team’s radio announcer, and even Charlie O, the mule, Finley’s legendary mascot. Summaries of each spring training and World Series, too, will complete the tale of one of baseball’s most colorful and successful teams. Biographies included: Charlie Finley, Charlie O (the Mule), Sal Bando, Vida Blue, Bert Campaneris, Rollie Fingers, Dick Green, Dave Hamilton, Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Ted Kubiak, Blue Moon Odom, Joe Rudi, Gene Tenace, Jerry Adair (coach), Matty Alou, Brant Alyea, Dwain Anderson, Curt Blefary, Bob Brooks, Larry Brown, Ollie Brown, Orlando Cepeda, Ron Clark, Tim Cullen, Dave Duncan, Mike Epstein, Adrian Garrett, Larry Haney, Mike Hegan, George Hendrick, Ken Holtzman, Joe Horlen, Vern Hoscheit (coach), Mike Kilkenny, Darold Knowles, Allan Lewis, Bob Locker, Angel Mangual, Gonzalo Marques, Marty Martinez, Dal Maxvill, Denny McLain, Bill McNulty, Don Mincher, Irv Noren (coach), Bill Posedel (coach), Jim Roland, Diego Segui, Art Shamsky, Don Shaw, Bill Voss, Gary Waslewski, Dick Williams, Glenn Abbott, Jesus Alou, Mike Andrews, Pat Bourque, Rico Carty, Billy Conigliaro, Vic Davalillo, Chuck Dobson, Ray Fosse, Rob Gardner, Phil Garner, Tim Hosley, Deron Johnson, Jay Johnstone, Paul Lindblad, Rich McKinney, Jose Morales, Bill North, Horacio Pina, Wes Stock (coach), Manny Trillo, Alvin Dark, John Donaldson, Bob Hofman, Jim Holt, Leon Hooten, Bill Parsons, Gaylen Pitts, Champ Summers, Claudell Washington, Herb Washington, Bob Winkles, and Monte Moore (broadcaster).

Download or read book Bunts written by George F. Will and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1999-03-04 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Baseball is explored with skill, humor, and devotion by a literary great in this compendium which includes a moving eulogy for Curt Flood and no-holds-barred portraits of Ted Williams, Pete Rose, and Billy Martin. 90 photos.

Download or read book Forgotten 1970 Chicago Cubs The Go and Glow written by William S. Bike and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2021-05-17 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author presents a month-by-month look at the Chicago Cubs' 1970 baseball season.

Download or read book Baseball in a Grain of Sand written by Bill Gruber and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2018-08-02 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Part sports journalism, part history, part memoir, this many-sided narrative follows one season with the Blue Devils of Moscow, Idaho--a rural American Legion baseball team. Showcasing baseball's enduring place in American life, the author draws on the lore of the game, and conversations with diverse fans and players--an outdoorsman juggling his son's schedule of games with bear hunting; a bewildered German college student, holding a baseball for the first time; former St. Louis Cardinal pitcher & Yale baseball coach John Stuper; the proud owner of a Derek Jeter jersey in Hokendauqua, Pennsylvania, to name a few.