Book Description
One of the Most Important Teams in the History of Sports In 1947, major league baseball experienced its first measure of integration in the modern era when the Brooklyn Dodgers brought Jackie Robinson to the National League. While Robinson's breakthrough opened the gates of opportunity for African Americans and other minority players, the process of integration proved slow and uneven. It was not until the 1960s that a handful of major league teams began to boast more than a few Black and Latino players. But the 1971 World Championship team enjoyed a full and complete level of integration, with half of its twenty-five-man roster comprised of players of African American and Latino descent. That team was the Pittsburgh Pirates, managed by an old-time Irishman.
In The Team That Changed Baseball: Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates, veteran baseball writer Bruce Markusen tells the story of one of the most likable and significant teams in the history of professional sports. In addition to the fact that they fielded the first all-minority lineup in major league history, the 1971 Pirates are noteworthy for the team's inspiring individual performances, including those of future Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, and Bill Mazeroski, and their remarkable World Series victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles. But perhaps their greatest legacy is the team's influence on the future of baseball, debunking the myth that a multicultural clubhouse could not win and inspiring later championship teams such as the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics to open their doors fully to all talented players, regardless of race, particularly in the new era of free agency.
Customer Reviews:
You'll Feel Like You're Reliving the 1971 Season!.......2007-10-07
The subtitle of Bruce Markusen's The Team that Changed Baseball is "Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates." I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and the '71 World Series is one I'll never forget. On top of all that, Roberto Clemente has always been a hero of mine, so I simply had to read this book.
One of the things that makes this title so special is the difference between media coverage of a World Series back then vs. one today. Every aspect of the game and players lives is covered today. It's hard to miss even the smallest detail. Back then you had the game itself and a couple of local sports columnists. No ESPN. No Internet. No DVR-ing all the pre-game hype on every single channel. Even though I read every article I could back in 1971, I learned a lot of new tidbits thanks to this great book.
Markusen does a fantastic job of taking you back to the entire 1971 season. His extensive interviews with many of the players and coaches make this book a treasure for any Pirates fan of the 1970's. Month-by-month regular season assessments of the team's performance, roster changes, etc., lead up to almost 40 pages of coverage dedicated to the '71 World Series...yet another one the Pirates were supposed to lose, this time, to the extremely talented Baltimore Orioles.
My favorite part of this book is the "Where Are They Now" chapter he closes with. It was fun to read what some of these guys are up to now, especially the ones I hadn't even thought about since the early '70's. Any baseball fan will enjoy this book, but if you're a Pirates fan and you followed the team in 1971, you definitely need to add The Team that Changed Baseball to your library.
Not exactly what I expected.......2007-08-02
Those that love baseball or the Pittsburgh Pirates will love this book. The author has written a very engaging and easy read concerning the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates.Therein lies my problem. This book is essentially a chronological history of one year of one baseball team. I was expecting far more regarding integration and racial and social conflicts than what was included. There are whole chapters devoid of any discussion of race, integration, and other aspects one would associate with these issues. When the author does discuss the issue of integration in baseball, the coverage remains very limited and leaves the reader asking far more questions. One would think there would be far more coverage and debate of this issue given the title of the book and the supposed focus of the effort. However, this work is essentially a view of one year in a professional baseball team. Those that love baseball will find it a very good work whereas those who were hoping for a deeper study of professional baseball's struggle with integration, may want to look elsewhere.
Integration in Major League Baseball.......2007-01-25
I lived in Pittsburgh in 1971 in an integrated neighborhood, watched the Pirates play but did not realize what was happening with the 1971 Pirates. This book taught me about Roberto Clemente's struggle throughout his career, particularly in spring training in the south. It also taught me about the Pirates' management and how they ignored the color line and created history in 1971.
Seeing Roberto Clemente is even better.......2006-08-20
This book is about the Pittsburgh Pirates first and Roberto next however it was hard not to have Clemente on my mind throughout the story. As a boy in the fifties my father would give me $1.00 for the bus ride and right-field seats to the Pirates at Forbes Field. I will never forget the 'basket catches' and deadly throws to third base if any player dared to try and steal third. The Pirates played at Three Rivers in 1971, not a great stadium for baseball (or for football for that matter), seeing 10-12 games that season. Bruce Markusen captured my experience in surprisingly more detail than I would of remembered. This is great read for anybody who loves baseball, how teamwork can make a difference, seeing a manager at his best at the end of his career and performance from some of the best athletes in the game.
A Well Done Review of the 1971 Pirates' Season .......2006-06-10
Reviews of various team seasons have become popular over the past several years, and Bruce Markusen has provided us with a commendable effort of the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates. I am a fan of the Detroit Tigers, but respected this Pirates team enough to organize a Little League trip to Pittsburgh in August of 1972 to see this team play. The only reason I give this book four stars instead of five is because books of this sort are often heavy on what took place from inning to inning in several games. I found this true here, also. The author gets his title for the book from the diversity of players that made up the team's roster (black, white, and Latino). Since the 1971 Pirates other teams have thankfully adopted the belief that a position on the roster should be based strictly on ability. The 2006 Tigers of Jim Leyland emphasized out of Spring Training that he will select the best 25 players. Author Markusen also provides us with a "Where Are They Now" of each of the team members. The book is a quick read (213 pages). You don't have to be a Pirates' fan to enjoy the book, just an appreciation of baseball history.
Book Description
On an island called Puerto Rico a boy named Roberto Clemente dreamed of nothing but winning at baseball.
With no money -- but plenty of determination -- Clemente practiced on muddy fields with a glove made from a coffee sack. Little League became minor league, which turned into winter league...and, finally, he made it to the major leagues! With lightning speed, towering home runs, and grand slams, Clemente introduced himself to America.
Spare, evocative language -- and magnificent illustrations -- tell the story of a great athlete and even greater man who rose through the ranks of baseball to become one of the most admired players of all time.
Customer Reviews:
what you did not know.......2006-07-09
I enjoyed it cause I found out more about Roberto Clemente.
Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates and PR.......2005-03-19
A well-written, almost poetically spare introduction to the life of Roberto Clemente. Starts with his life of poverty in Puerto Rico to his climb to the top of the major leagues. Ends with Mr. Clemente's untimely death in an airplane crash when he was transporting relief supplies to earthquake victims. Illustrations capture the feel of the times and experiences as well as the excitement of the sports action. This excellent picture book will introduce another generation to a real hero. Karen Woodworth Roman, Librarians.info
Customer Reviews:
Cobb on Wagner: In the Footsteps of "The Glory of Their Times".......2006-06-30
A member of the board of the Ty Cobb Museum in Royston, Georgia, and a "distant Georgia cousin" of the other early 20th Century player widely thought of at the time as being the game's greatest player, William R. "Ron" Cobb has just edited an invaluable work on the teller of tall tales and possessor of a career 150 OPS+... Honus Wagner. "Honus Wagner On His Life & Baseball" is the Flying Dutchman in his own words... as originally published as a newspaper serial in the Los Angeles Times from December 13, 1923 to January 23, 1924. In effect an oral history originally written and published less than seven years after Wagner retired, it gives us a first-person insight into the great Pirate star, an insight that has generally been missing from history, due to Wagner's own reticence while he was playing, and his tendency to gild the lily in his later years. This then, is Wagner on Wagner, at a time when he was most likely to give us a straight story.
Although the 1920s were the heyday of the ghostwritten column, Cobb states strongly his opinion that the serial's words are Wagner's own. "I based this [opinion] on the overall tone and use of folksy and `down to earth' words and phrases," he explains. "The tone and flow sounds much like the spoken word, which indicates to me that a professional writer likely did not write this - at least not on his own. At the worst, I feel that Wagner might have dictated this and let an editor transcribe in into printable text. Even in this case, the text would be Wagner's story in `his own words.'"
And what a story it is. An historical bonanza, not just about the National League's greatest player, and some of his contemporaries, but also about the game as it was played during the first 50 or so years of his life. In 40 installments Wagner tells of everything from his early, minor league years in baseball, to his extensive thoughts on the skills and strategies of the early 20th Century game, to his admiration for Barney Dreyfuss, to the "good old days," to his thoughts on some of the greats he played with and against. And, of course, like practically every other old timer, he picks his All-Star teams. As with every oral history, Wagner's story is colored by his prejudices, especially when he talks about how the game had changed from when he broke in until 1924, but that hardly makes him unique among baseball storytellers. Indeed, much of Wagner's copy reads like it could well have come out of "The Glory of Their Times," except this is a total of 185 pages (with some marvelous photos) all from one exceptional player.
To cherry pick just a few of Honus' more interesting stories... Fred Lieb told the sad tale of the Philadelphia National League club sending a sore-armed pitcher named Con Lucid to scout the Paterson, New Jersey club in 1897, specifically to scout shortstop Honus Wagner. According to Lieb, Lucid thought the big Honus was too clumsy, and recommended they sign Kid Elberfeld instead, thus blowing the Phillies' chance to have a Wagner/Lajoie double play combination. A good story, but, according to Wagner, not exactly true. Honus' version is even better... no less a figure than Phillies' manager George Stallings was scouting him, and it was Stallings who was unimpressed. Seems as if Wagner was playing the outfield that day, and threw a couple of balls into the stands behind the plate. "I wouldn't give that big bum his carfare from here to Philadelphia," is how Honus quotes Stallings' reply to Patterson's Ed Barrow asking what the Phillies would give for Wagner.
Wagner's contract was sold later in 1897 to Louisville, enabling Honus to be present when the one and only Rube Waddell broke into the majors. In an installment entitled "The Bug Enters Baseball - at 2 a.m.," Wagner tells how Waddell insisted on meeting his new manager, Fred Clarke, when he arrived at the Colonels' hotel in Washington at 2 a.m. He pestered the night man enough to find out Clarke's room number, and proceeded to wake up the manager, who then suggested that Waddell needed to meet the rest of the team. The Rube went around to everyone else's room, pounding on doors and waking the entire team, with one exception. Waddell came back to Clarke's room at 4 a.m., not because the rest of the team wanted to lynch him (a possibility) but because the guy in room 128 wouldn't get up, and the Rube thought something was wrong. What was wrong was that William Hoy was in 128, and since he was deaf, he couldn't hear Waddell pounding on the door. (Actually, Waddell expert Dan O'Brien says that this story IS fiction.)
Although there is a tendency to think that Wagner could hit any pitcher who ever lived, he tells of one hurler, Jack Taylor, who gave him more trouble than any other. So much trouble, that Wagner once turned around and batted left-handed against the right-handed Taylor. Although Wagner says he "swung like a woman" he also punched the ball over the first base bag for a double. Other anecdotes include the time Jack Murray of the Giants made a game-saving catch by a flash of lightning, a bit on the game (and the box score) that clinched the 1901 pennant, Bill Klem tossing Clarke from a game for saying he was "a model umpire," and much more.
Wagner's anecdotes, both about himself and other players, are enlightening and amusing. No, he doesn't tell all, like exactly what he was up to in his 1908 holdout, but this is still a find that also includes a vast amount of what was called in those days "inside baseball." That is, how to play the game. Seems as if Honus coached baseball at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) after he retired, and he still had all of his old class notes around. Presenting a much different side than his standard, somewhat shallow though pleasant public persona, Wagner shares considerable insight, as he had done with his players, on everything from how to play shortstop to defensive signals to nine very specific points on the hit and run. This was no dumb jock and storyteller, but a deep thinker about the intricacies of the game.
While Wagner's story is rightfully deserving of kudos, so is Cobb's work to bring it forth. A SABR member, a Deadball Era expert, and a graduate of Georgia Tech (he really should be called "Dr. Cobb," since he has a doctorate in Engineering), Cobb is no rookie at enlightening the reading public on stars of that era. He has previously published two autobiographical works on The Georgia Peach, "Busting `Em" and "Memoirs of Twenty Years in Baseball." When asked about the nature of his relation to old Tyrus, he says, "I was raised in Atlanta with the family story that we were related to the `great one.' But, no one ever told me exactly how. Some in my family believe we descend from the half brother of Ty Cobb's great grandfather in North Carolina."
When Ron changed his historical focus from Tyrus to Honus, he undertook a big project, having to re-type the manuscript from 80 year-old printed microfilm images of the Los Angeles Times. As anyone who has ever done microfilm research knows, 80 year-old images are not the easiest medium to work with. The image that comes from this is of Cobb hunched over a microfilm reader, trying to decipher smudged and almost illegible newsprint from the Roaring Twenties - a feat that only an historian of Cobb's knowledge could accomplish with success. As hard to read as the old Times were, Cobb had to use his own, independent understanding on the context to make sense out of some of the more obtuse parts.
Ron Cobb's hard work should not go unrewarded. In a very real sense, "Honus Wagner On His Life & Baseball" is as valuable and entertaining to the baseball historian, and the average baseball fan, as "The Glory of Their Times."
An epic true life tale of how he became one of the greatest baseball players of his day.......2006-06-11
Honus Wagner On His Life And Baseball deftly edited by William R. Cobb is an intriguing tale of Honus Wagner's remarkable career in baseball where he was known as "The Flying Dutchman". Following Honus from the beginning of his career in 1897, Honus Wagner On His Life And Baseball informatively carries readers through an epic true life tale of how he became one of the greatest baseball players of his day, playing seventeen consecutive seasons, and retaining a .300 batting average the whole time. Honus Wagner On His Life And Baseball is very highly recommended for all baseball enthusiasts and those intrigued by the accomplished life of baseball legend Honus Wagner.
An epic true life tale of how he became one of the greatest baseball players of his day.......2006-06-11
Honus Wagner On His Life And Baseball deftly edited by William R. Cobb is an intriguing tale of Honus Wagner's remarkable career in baseball where he was known as "The Flying Dutchman". Following Honus from the beginning of his career in 1897, Honus Wagner On His Life And Baseball informatively carries readers through an epic true life tale of how he became one of the greatest baseball players of his day, playing seventeen consecutive seasons, and retaining a .300 batting average the whole time. Honus Wagner On His Life And Baseball is very highly recommended for all baseball enthusiasts and those intrigued by the accomplished life of baseball legend Honus Wagner.
Book Description
The Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the most storied histories in the annuals of baseball, The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia captures these fabulous times through the stories of the individuals and the collective teams that have thrilled the Steel City for 115 years. The book breaks down the team with a year-by-year synopsis of the club, biographies of over 180 of the most memorable Pirates through the ages as well as a look at each manager, owner, general manager and announcer that has served the club proudly. The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia will provide Pirates fans as well as baseball fans in general a complete look into the team's history, sparking memories of glories past and hopes for the future.
Customer Reviews:
Finally an all-in-one history of the BUCS!!.......2004-01-02
It is finally here! This book includes everything you could want to know about the Pirates. It rates the Top 100 players in Pirates history, Top 10 teams, and 10 worst teams. It includes info on all of the Pirates managers, general managers, and owners. It provides a year-by-year season recap. It has info on each of the ballparks the Bucs have called home. If you want one book for reference on Pirates history, this is the one.
Your source for all things Bucco.......2003-09-30
By far the best book on the Pittsburgh Pirates that I've seen, complete with season-by-season recaps and stats galore. The highlight: Lifelong baseball fans Finoli and Ranier offer their picks for the 100 best players in the history of the storied franchise. It's sure to start an argument or two among fans of the black-and-gold, but that's what a good book should do. Well-researched and written, this is a must reference guide for any self-respecting Pirates fan. (And you know who you are.)
Product Description
From its 1909 construction through the final game on June 28, 1970, this volume presents a detailed look at Forbes Field, home to the Pittsburgh Pirates for 62 seasons. Part I includes essays on important events at the stadium (not just in major league baseball but in boxing, football, and black baseball--Forbes Field also housed the Homestead Grays) as well as a transcript of the last game's play-by-play. Historians consider the stadium's legacy and discuss the dimensions and configurations of the field. In Part II, more than 55 former players, managers, and club officials of the Pittsburgh Pirates, over 100 fans, and several sportswriters reminisce.
Customer Reviews:
A Home Run.......2007-08-06
I had looked forward to this book since it was first shown on Amazon and it was worth the wait.
Forbes Field was the second of the all steel and concrete ballparks opening in 1909 and closing on June 28, 1970. Until now, no book has covered the history of Forbes Field like it should.
The factual information in this book is amazing. There are diagrams of the field dimensions through the years, comparisons of statistics in Forbes versus other parks, important dates in its history, and a list and descriptions of 62 memorable games. Events other than baseball held at Forbes like football and boxing are also covered.
Also included are memories from players and fans of their time spent there and a complete transcript of an interview with Roberto Clemente before the last game ever played there as well as the transcript of the radio broadcast of that last game.
This isn't a photo history, no color photos are included, but a lot of the photos included are rare ones I had never seen before in other books and even online.
Whether you're a Pittsburgh fan, a ballpark historian, or a baseball fan in general you will not be disappointed with this book.
Book Description
An admirer of Pirate president Barney Dreyfuss, prolific baseball writer Frederick G. Lieb consorted with the club’s biggest stars, christened the legendary Dreyfuss “the first-division man,” and produced The Pittsburgh Pirates, one of the fifteen celebrated histories of major league teams commissioned by G. P. Putnam’s Sons in the 1940s and 1950s. Originally published in 1948, Lieb’s history ranges from the ball club’s earliest professional days in the late nineteenth century as the Pittsburgh Alleghenies to its spring training session in preparation for the 1948 season, a span that included six National League pennants and two World Series championships, as well as a loss to the Boston Red Sox, then the Pilgrims, at the inaugural World Series a century ago.
“This reprint of Fred Lieb’s The Pittsburgh Pirates is an invitation for baseball readers to enjoy Lieb’s wonderful stories of the great Pirate teams of the first half of the twentieth century,” writes Richard “Pete” Peterson in the new foreword to this edition. “Lieb’s book is rich with accounts of World Series triumphs and disappointments, of epic encounters on the playing field, like that between Wagner and Cobb, of mutinies in the clubhouse, of courageous comebacks, and of devastating defeats, including the infamous ‘homer in the gloaming.’”
In Lieb’s personable and anecdotal prose, honed over the course of his sustained sportswriting career, the book conveys “baseball drama of the highest order,” including the pre-Dreyfuss days of Captain Kerr, Ned Hanlon, and Connie Mack; Dreyfuss’s dynasty in the early twentieth century; the dramatic World Series triumphs of 1909 and 1925; the end of the Dreyfuss era and the sale of the club to a syndicate headed by John Galbreath and Bing Crosby; and the purchase of Hank Greenberg and the emergence of slugger Ralph Kiner. Aided by twenty-five black-and-white photographs, this rare history revisits the glories and stories of “fabulous old Pirates” such as Honus Wagner, Tommy Leach, Fred Clarke, Babe Adams, Max Carey, Kiki Cuyler, Pie Traynor, Paul and Lloyd Waner, and Arky Vaughan.
Customer Reviews:
History of the Buccos up to 1947.......2007-06-24
First published in 1948 as part of Putnam's baseball team history series, Fred Lieb's book is a good summary account of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pittsburgh fielded professional baseball clubs as early as the 1880s, and became part of what became the National League in 1887. In 1891 they took on the name Pirates after being called "piratical" by the American Association after Pittsburgh signed a non-reserve player from the AA. Lieb's emphasis is on the early years of the organization: the first half of the book brings the team's history only up to 1910, with the second half breezing through the remaining 37 years. Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke receive much attention, as does early owner Barney Dreyfuss. One might wish for more anecdotal information on various players or in-depth coverage, but space limitations hamper such things in a summary history such as this. Regardless, it's a good account of the team and its star players and should delight old-time Bucs fans and baseball enthusiasts alike.
Book Description
The Pittsburgh Pirates have thrilled their fans for more than 120 years. Beginning as the Allegheny's, the Pirates boast 35 hall of famers, five world champions, nine National League pennants, and nine division titles. Treasured memories, from Honus Wagner's all-around excellence and Mazeroski's remarkable 1960 World Series blast to Roberto Clemente's grace on and off the field, are captured in this book.
Book Description
Greg Spalding wrote this book to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the finest team to ever play at Three Rivers, the 1972 Buccos. It stands as a detailed reflection about Virdon's squad that won the NL Eastern Division title and then lost on that heartbreaking wild pitch to the Cincinnati Reds in the NLCS.
This book, which covers the last season of both Bill Mazeroski and Roberto Clemente, includes many unique features such as Robertito's Reflections on Roberto, an interview with Clemente's oldest son; A Tribute to "No Touch", which is an essay about Bill Mazeroski; literary tributes to this particular team from other newspapers and publications and detailed statistics/analysis.
Amazon.com
The first decade of baseball in the 20th century witnessed the ascension of two stars who stood above the rest: Ty Cobb in the American League and Honus Wagner in the National. If Cobb was the game's tortured bully, Wagner was the anti-Cobb. He was kind and quiet, the most beloved figure in the game before Ruth, the local boy from the coalfields of western Pennsylvania who made good on the green fields of Pittsburgh's ballparks. Despite terribly bowed legs and freakishly large hands, he patrolled the shortstop slot with remarkable dexterity; he may not have been as acrobatic as Ozzie Smith, but no shortstop was steadier defensively. Offensively, he was a genius, winning eight batting crowns, four in a row between 1906 and 1909, and he remains, almost a century later, among the all-time top 10 in hits, doubles, triples, and stolen bases. Cobb, who rarely complimented anyone, considered Wagner "the greatest ballplayer that ever lived." Yet more than 40 years would pass after his death before any biographer seriously went to bat with his life.
In Honus Wagner, the DeValerias have produced a clean hit, maybe not a home run, but, befitting a star of the dead-ball era, a well-placed, well-struck double. As solid as Wagner himself--and at 5'11" and 200 pounds, he was solid--the "Flying Dutchman" emerges as a shy man who loved the game and loved to play it, and that's about the extent of it. He was a regular guy, no tormented Cobb, no educated Mathewson, no flamboyant Ruth. There are simply no strikes against him; he was unfussy, immensely likeable, anxious to please, tremendously supportive of his friends and teammates, and, while inordinately polite on the field, off of it he rarely pulled his punch lines. If anything haunted him, it was his poor performance against the Red Sox in the 1903 World Series, which he more than made up for against Cobb and the Tigers six years later. He may have led a simple life, but he wasn't exactly a simple man; his biographers treat him with the same respect he treated the game, and propel themselves with the same thoroughness, doggedness, and care that Wagner displayed on the field. --Jeff Silverman
Customer Reviews:
Better than my colleagues rate it.......2006-11-06
I see some tough criticism on this page, but I cannot accept that the book has too much baseball detail. When I think of other, more recent biographies of Whitey Ford, Gabby Hartnett, and others that read like a series of several hundred box scores in prose, I think of this book as just the opposite. It paints a good picture of Wagner the man and his family, and how he spent his non-baseball hours and seasons. It retells good anecdotes in proper context, and as my fellow reviewer, Eddie Waddell notes, it doesn't try to gloss over any weaknesses the man may have had - a fault of so many baseball biographers whose goal is to get their man into the Hall of Fame by their book's building up his stats.
The de Valerias obviously love their man, and you will too before you are done with the volume. Just the right amount of baseball detail, I'd say. And not just about Honus. You learn a great deal about his lesser known teammates. And the stats are almost always on target. The de Valerias may not have included a Wagner stats sheet, but at least they seem to have researched all stats they use in the book well. Yes, I wish the footnotes were more specific to the quotes, but that shouldn't deter the majority of readers.
Great story about a great player.......2006-10-07
Wow, reading the reviews, this is a tough crowd! Too much detail, not enough detail. For me, the detail was just about right. I have been listening to the unabridged audio edition while commuting. The book covers Wagner's career starting in his teen-age years. It provides a good illustration of American life at the turn of the century particularly as it related to baseball. I was especially interested to learn how many of the western PA towns I grew up around had had their own minor league ball teams back in the day - Sharon, New Castle, Warren (PA), etc. I think the authors did a good job of marching the reader through Wagner's career including the highs and the lows while also teaching about the early days of professional baseball and how the sport quickly became America's pastime.
a very incomplete picture.......2005-08-05
One lapse in the DeValerias' work is the preparation of their bibliography, which is incomplete, failing to list many works cited later under chapter sources. An examination of the bibliography, therefore, provides future researchers with a very incomplete picture of the extent of their work. Moreover, they eschew footnotes in favor of a general listing of sources for each chapter. Trying to pinpoint the source of the authors' conclusions or a particular quotation, consequently, is virtually impossible, and weighing the number of sources they used to establish a point even more frustrating. The result is often the impression that a thin foundation of a single quotation or story supports many of the DeValerias' conclusions.
Provides some insights.......2004-06-16
This work is useful for the baseball fan interested in the game's history. An enjoyable read but it falls prey to a critical error in any baseball biography -- it fails to include Wagner's career statistics. Not that you can't find them elsewhere, but most folks reading baseball history (such as myself) will want to leaf through and check out the stats as they read the narrative.
Flying Dutchman Grounded.......2002-02-23
If took almost 100 years for us to get Wagner biograhy. Unfortunately, we're still waiting for an effort worthy of the man universally considered the greatest shortstop ever.
The main problem with the book is that it gets too bogged down in detail. It goes through tedious information, like his getting three hits in an Iron & Oil League game.
Also, there's not enough about what kind of person Wagner was. Generalities are mentioned, but few specifics.
In defense of the authors, it would be tough to paint a portrait of a man when there is almost no one left who knew him pesonally. Then again, with such a handicap, they probably shouldn't have tried it in the first place.
Product Description
The 1970s were both successful and tragic for the Pittsburgh Pirates. They won five NL Eastern Division crowns and the 1971 World Championship, but lost the great Roberto Clemente in a plane crash and pitcher Bob Moose in a car accident during this time. By the end of the 1970s, the Pirates were a good team but no longer considered favorites to win a World Series. Thanks to a fantastic finish in 1978, the Pittsburghers gained new hope for the 1979 season. As intriguing as the season was, it wasnt until the evening of August 25th that the Pirate fans really started to believe it could happen. The history of that magical ball club is covered here, from how the 1979 world champion team was built, to a thorough look at the season and post season, to how The Family finally fell. Also included are biographical sketches of all players who appeared on the teams roster that year and a section of complete statistics.
Customer Reviews:
My boyfriend loved his present!.......2007-05-13
This was a gift for my boyfriend's birthday. He hasn't read it yet, but is looking forward to it. He was really excited when he saw it. Thanks.
Memories of Past Glory.......2006-09-30
Pittsburgh Pirates fans have suffered through an agonizingly extended season of discontent - one that encompasses fourteen consecutive years of losing more games than they have won. As October approaches, we watch the excitement that other fans in other cities experience, and watch our team hang up their spikes and go home - again. We wait for next year - a next year that never comes. As if we were in a bad dream from which we cannot wake, it is all the same, year after year; one excruciatingly long nightmare season. It's enough to drive a man to drink!
To keep off the sauce and chase away the baseball blues, I picked up `When the Bucs Won It All', the story of the 1979 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates. It proved to be just the right tonic to put a smile back onto my face. The book was a quick read - it does not dwell endlessly on a game by game, blow by blow recreation of the season, but hits on all the memorable highlights. One thirty-four page chapter covers the regular season, and forty-six pages are devoted to the post season. It is not exhaustive coverage of that championship year, but is really all that is necessary to trigger the great memories in any fan that lived through it. Like any good baseball book, it includes a good selection of black and white photos and plenty of charts of statistics as well.
The bulk of the book is taken up by biographies of the players who made up the Pirates' "Family" that magic season. Every player who was on the Pirates major league roster at any time during that season, as well as the manager and coaching staff, is covered. A brief history of their careers prior to the '79 season is given, a recap of what that player did during the '79 season and post season follows, and finally, what they did and what became of them after 1979 is related. Some of these bios are loaded with interesting information. For both Bert Blyleven and Dave Parker, the authors explore their respective cases for possible enshrinement in The Hall of Fame. In relief pitcher Enrique Romo's bio, they talk about his mysterious disappearance from Pittsburgh and baseball after the 1982 season, and the rumor that he had a relationship with a woman involved with a mob figure who told him never to return. To date, Romo has never appeared at any of the '79 Pirates reunions or autograph signings. I found this section most appealing, and more interesting than a simple blow by blow recreation of the season.
Any Pirate fan who remembers "the Family" and that magical '79 season will enjoy this book. It may have a broader appeal as well for those interested in that era of baseball, as it provides a snapshot of how the game was played at the dawn of the free agent era, when relief pitchers were first coming into prominence, and the game was in a major state of transition.
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- Marketing: 2000 Edition
- A House on the Water: Inspiration for Living at the Water's Edge
- Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon
- The Lost Men: The Harrowing Saga of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party
- The Evolution of Cooperation
- A Breath of Snow and Ashes
- What's Doin' the Bloomin'
- Money Order: The Money Management Guide for Women
- Normas de Exposicion de Estados Contables
- Jacqueline Susann's Shadow of the Dolls: A Novel
General
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Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero
The Classiest Team Baseball Ever Knew
Tales from the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates: Remembering "The Fam-A-Lee"
The Pittsburgh Pirates 1979 World Series Collector's Edition
Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates
