Download or read book Baseball at the Abyss written by Dan Taylor and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-04-12 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The untold story behind one of baseball’s biggest scandals and the men who saved a tarnished game. In the winter of 1926, Major League Baseball became enveloped in scandal. Two of baseball’s biggest stars, Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker, were accused of fixing and betting on games. Sportswriters called the scandal worse than that of the infamous “Black Sox.” The reputation of baseball was in tatters. In Baseball at the Abyss, Dan Taylor reveals the behind-the-scenes story of how baseball was saved after the banishment of Cobb and Speaker. It was all set in motion by one unlikely individual—Christy Walsh, the business manager for Babe Ruth and baseball’s first player agent. Taylor follows Walsh and Ruth as the agent arranges for the Babe to star in a motion picture and presses for Ruth to hire a fitness guru, change his habits, and train while in Hollywood. The results were astonishing. The scandal was soon forgotten as a reinvigorated Babe Ruth enjoyed his greatest season in 1927, slugging 60 home runs and powering his New York Yankees to heights never seen before. Baseball at the Abyss features fascinating details of the 1926 scandal and the incredible resurgence of the national pastime when it seemed the game was permanently tarnished. It’s the story of a remarkable year in baseball history and the men who restored glory to a troubled game.

Download or read book Lights Camera Fastball written by Dan Taylor and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-03-17 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Hollywood Stars were the most inventive team in baseball history, known for their celebrity ownership and movie star following during the Golden Age of Hollywood. In Lights, Camera, Fastball: How the Hollywood Stars Changed Baseball, Dan Taylor delivers a fascinating look at the Hollywood Stars and their glorious twenty-year run in the Pacific Coast League. Led by Bob Cobb, owner of the heralded Brown Derby restaurant and known more famously as the creator of the Cobb salad, the Hollywood Stars took professional baseball to a new and innovative level. The team played in short pants, instigated rule changes, employed cheerleaders and movie-star beauty queens, pioneered baseball on television, eschewed trains for planes, and offered fans palatable delicacies not before served at ballparks. On any given night, Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Barbara Stanwyck, Humphrey Bogart, and dozens more cheered on their favorite team from the boxes and grandstands of Gilmore Field. During the Hollywood Stars’ history, its celebrity owners pushed boundaries, challenged existing baseball norms, infuriated rivals, and produced an imaginative product, the likes of which the game had never before seen. Featuring interviews with former players, Lights, Camera, Fastball is an inside look at a team that was far ahead its time, whose innovations are still seen in professional baseball today.

Download or read book A Season in the Abyss written by Brian Tuohy and published by . This book was released on 2015-09-03 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Football and gambling. The two activities are inseparable. Yet the National Football League states it does not want fans to bet on its games. The league even fought against the state of New Jersey to keep sports gambling illegal. If wagering threatens the league's integrity as it claims, then why does the NFL openly embrace the gambling taking place in fantasy football, and why does it allow teams to license their logos to state lotteries? Is the league clandestinely working with legal and illegal bookies? Are its athletes gambling as well? Why are referees constantly making calls that seem to benefit Las Vegas? And what role do the NFL's broadcast partners play in all of this? Controversial author Brian Tuohy spent the 2014 NFL season doing exactly what it is the league doesn't want its fans doing -- gambling on its sport in all its forms -- to learn the true relationship between the NFL and gambling. No football fan should watch another game without realizing the impact these two entities have on each other.

Download or read book Baseball on the Brink written by William J. Ryczek and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2017-11-20 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Major League Baseball was in crisis in 1968. The commissioner was inept, professional football was challenging the sport's popularity and the game on the field was boring, with pitchers dominating hitters in a succession of dull, low-scoring games. The major league expanded for the 1969 season but the muddled process by which new franchises were selected highlighted the ineffective management of the sport. This book describes how baseball reached its nadir in the late 1960s and how it survived and began its slow comeback. The lack of offense in the game is examined, taking in the great pitching performances of Denny McLain, Bob Gibson, Don Drysdale and others. Colorful characters like Charley Finley and Ken Harrelson are covered, along with the effects that dramatic changes in American society and the war in Vietnam had on the game.

Download or read book Baseball and the American Dream written by Robert Elias and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-15 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating look at how America's favorite sport has both reflected and shaped social, economic, and

Download or read book Ted Williams written by Rick Wolff and published by Chelsea House Pub. This book was released on 1993 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A biography of the outstanding Boston Red Sox slugger.

Download or read book Baseball and American Culture written by John P. Rossi and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2018-09-04 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than a hundred years, baseball has been woven into the American way of life. By the time they reach high school, children have learned about the struggles and triumphs of players like Jackie Robinson. Generations of family members often gather together to watch their favorite athletes in stadiums or on TV. Famous players like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron, Cal Ripken, and Derek Jeter have shown their athletic prowess on the field and captured the hearts of millions of fans, while the sport itself has influenced American culture like no other athletic endeavor. In Baseball and American Culture: A History, John P. Rossi builds on the research and writing of four generations of baseball historians. Tracing the intimate connections between developments in baseball and changes in American society, Rossi examines a number of topics including: the spread of the sport from the North to the South during the Civil War the impact on the sport during the Depression and World War II baseball’s expansion in the post-war years the role of baseball in the Civil Rights movement the sport’s evolution during the modern era Complimented by supplementary readings and discussion questions linked to each chapter, this book pays special attention to the ways in which baseball has influenced American culture and values. Baseball and American Culture is the ultimate resource for students, scholars, and fans interested in how this classic sport has helped shape the nation.

Download or read book The Cup of Coffee Club written by Jacob Kornhauser and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-02-27 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This is one of the very best baseball books in years.” Booklist, Starred Review Reaching the major leagues is a pipe dream for most young baseball players in America. Very few ever get to live it out. A select number of those players face the elation and frustration of getting to play in just one major league game. The Cup of Coffee Club: 11 Players and Their Brush with Baseball History tells the unique stories of eleven of these players. It details their struggles to reach the major leagues, their one moment in the limelight, and their struggles to get back. They include a former Major League Baseball manager, the son of a Baseball Hall of Famer, and two different brothers of Hall of Famers. Exclusive interviews with each of the players provide insight into what that single seminal moment meant and how they dealt with the blow of never making another major league appearance again. Spanning half a century of baseball, each player’s journey to Major League Baseball is distinct, as is each of their responses to having played in just a single game. The Cup of Coffee Club shares their unique perspectives, providing a better understanding of just how special each major league game can be.

Download or read book 100 Years of Baseball written by Andy Gondle and published by Andy Gondle. This book was released on with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "No One Who Wants to Know Baseball History Should be Without this Book" -- Portland Press Herald The story of America's pastime is rooted in our history. The most commonly told stories of baseball are no mystery. They can easily be found in any of the thousands of books on this team or that player. In 100 Years of Baseball, we get to look even further into the past at the stories that didn't make the headlines. Down through the years as baseball grew, Lee Allen traces the development... the New York knickerbockers of yesteryear; Jackie Robinson; the dark days of 1919, to the shenanigans of Durocher and MacPhail, and the New York Yankee world series monopoly. For a full-fledged history of professional baseball with all its crises, climaxes and heroes 100 Years of Baseball is a book that will excite you like no other.

Download or read book The Prehistories of Baseball written by Seelochan Beharry and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2016-03-09 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Baseball's roots lie deep in our ancestral past. The ancient arts of throwing (distance warfare), hitting (close quarters combat), and running (attack and retreat) were woven into the earliest forms of baseball. Early humans recognized the importance of the sun and sought to placate it with sacrificial offerings, imitating its movements and deifying it. Myths and relics of these foundational practices and beliefs were carried westward across the Old World by Indo-European peoples. Games for the early British and Continental Europeans (notably the Celts and Druids) served military, religious, social and educational needs. As the Celts and Druids came under the control of the Roman Empire, and later the Christian Church, their customs and practices, including games, fell out of favor. Despite persecution, some folk games survived the millennia under such names as "stool-ball," "tut-ball," and "base-ball." Descendants of these peoples brought their variant games to the New World where the standardization of various informal rules led to their rapid spread. Baseball, with its underlying beliefs, superstitions and practices, still brings us together with familiar and comforting rituals as we assemble under the sun.

Download or read book Baseball Beyond Our Borders written by George Gmelch and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2017-03-01 with total page 527 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A collection of essays about baseball in other countries across the globe that explores a wide range of issues for each region"--

Download or read book Fortnightly Notes written by and published by . This book was released on 1914 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Yankees 1936 39 Baseball s Greatest Dynasty written by Stanley Cohen and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-04-10 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Story of the Greatest Yankees Team—and Baseball Team—of All Time New York, 1936. Red Ruffing, Lefty Gomez, Bill Dickey, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, and rookie Joe DiMaggio—with these six future Hall of Fame players, the Yankees embarked on a four-year run that would go down in the history books as the greatest Yankees team, if not, the greatest baseball team of all time. Over the next four years, the Yankees won four straight pennants, finishing an average of nearly fifteen games ahead of the second-place team. They won their four World Series by an overall margin of 16-3, sweeping the last two, putting the punctuation mark on baseball’s first true dynasty. Even the Ruthian Yankees of the twenties never won more than two consecutive world championships. From 1936 to 1939, the world was changing rapidly. America was in the grip of the Great Depression. Franklin D. Roosevelt was re-elected president in the greatest landslide in American history. And Hitler’s Germany was on the move in the fall of 1939, just as the Yankee dynasty reached its climax. Against the backdrop of a world in turmoil, baseball, and America’s love for baseball, thrived. Starring the best team of all time, featuring little-known anecdotes of players and set against a history of the world, Yankees 1936–39, Baseball's Greatest Dynasty tells the tale of a legendary team that changed history.

Download or read book The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights written by Christopher Innes and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2013-12-19 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unrivalled in its coverage of recent work and writers, The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights surveys and analyses the breadth, vitality and development of theatrical work to emerge from America over the last fifty years. This authoritative guide leads you through the work of 25 major contemporary American playwrights, discussing more than 140 plays in detail. Written by a team of 25 eminent international scholars, each chapter provides: · a biographical introduction to the playwright's work; · a survey and concise analysis of the writer's most important plays; · a discussion of their style, dramaturgical concerns and critical reception; · a bibliography of published plays and a select list of critical works. Among the many Tony, Obie and Pulitzer prize-winning playwrights included are Sam Shepard, Tony Kushner, Suzan-Lori Parks, August Wilson, Paula Vogel and Neil LaBute. The abundance of work analysed enables fresh, illuminating conclusions to be drawn about the development of contemporary American playwriting.

Download or read book The Louisville Grays Scandal of 1877 written by William A. Cook and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-12-24 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the mid-1870s, gambling in baseball threatened the public's confidence in the sport and its very existence as a professional enterprise. Recognizing this, Chicago owner William A. Hulbert and seven of his colleagues formed the National League, dedicating it to such high-minded ideals as preventing contract jumping and, most importantly, eliminating gambling from the sport. Hulbert's new league was severely threatened in 1877 by a gambling scandal that rocked its foundation. In mid-season, the Louisville Grays were the league's hottest team, but a disastrous eastern road trip caused vice president Charles Chase to question the efforts of some of his players. Sure-handed infielders were making inexplicable errors, and pitcher Jim Devlin was suddenly not as sharp as he had been previously. Chase's investigation found Devlin, A.H. Nichols, W.H. Carver, and George Hall had "sold" games, and the four were banned from the league. This work focuses first on the formation of the National League and the changing nature of professional baseball in the 1870s. The early seasons of the league are covered, and the author gives a detailed account of the Grays' 1877 season and the evidence against the four players. Also fully explored are the impact of the Grays scandal and its lasting influence on the governance of the sport.

Download or read book Tumultuous Times in America s Game written by Bryan Soderholm-Difatte and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-06-26 with total page 509 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Tumultuous Times in America’s Game: From Jackie Robinson's Breakthrough to the War over Free Agency, Bryan Soderholm-Difatte provides a comprehensive examination of major developments and key figures in Major League Baseball from the integration of Jackie Robinson in 1947 to the owners-instigated catastrophic players’ strike of 1994-95. While many fans will recall those decades with fond remembrances of the baseball stars who played then—from Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and Willie Mays to Roberto Clemente, Pete Rose, Reggie Jackson, and Cal Ripken—they were also a time of substantial challenges that upended more than half a century of tradition that was the backbone of the major leagues. Tumultuous Times in America’s Game includes histories of each of the major league franchises, presented alongside Soderholm-Difatte’s detailed examination of the controversies, developments, and innovations from these significant decades in professional baseball. Recaps of several of baseball’s most exciting pennant races round out the narrative, making this book a valuable read for fans and historians of the national pastime.

Download or read book Out of My League written by Dirk Hayhurst and published by Citadel Press. This book was released on 2013-03-01 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times bestseller from the author of The Bullpen Gospels. “A humorous, candid and insightful memoir . . . Grade: Home Run.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer After six years in the minors, pitcher Dirk Hayhurst hopes 2008 is the year he breaks into the big leagues. But every time Dirk looks up, the bases are loaded with challenges—a wedding balancing on a blind hope, a family in chaos, and paychecks that beg Dirk to ask, “How long can I afford to keep doing this?” Then it finally happens—Dirk gets called up to the Majors, to play for the San Diego Padres. A dream comes true when he takes the mound against the San Francisco Giants, kicking off forty insane days and nights in the Bigs. Like the classic games of baseball’s history, Out of My League entertains from the first pitch to the last out, capturing the gritty realities of playing on the big stage, the comedy and camaraderie in the dugouts and locker rooms, and the hard-fought, personal journeys that drive our love of America’s favorite pastime. “A rare gem of a baseball book.”—Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated “Observant, insightful, human, and hilarious.”—Bob Costas “A fun read . . . This book shows why baseball is so often used as a metaphor for life.”—Keith Olbermann “Entertaining and engaging . . . reminiscent of Jim Bouton’s Ball Four.”—Booklist “The book is a terrific read. If you loved Bullpen Gospels (I’d have a hard time believing you are a baseball fan if you didn’t) you will love Out of My League too.”—Bluebird Banter