"The Greatest Game Ever Played in Dixie"

Author: John A. Simpson
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476611084
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
In 1908 baseball was the only game that mattered in the South. With no major league team in the region, rivalries between Southern Association cities such as Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, and New Orleans were heated. This season, however, no city was as baseball-crazed as Nashville, whose Vols had been league doormat in 1907. After an unpromising start, the Nashville club clawed its way into contention during the month of July, rising into the upper division, then into a battle for first. Local interest intensified, as the competitive fire of Nashville fans was stoked by sharp-tongued columnist Grantland Rice and the city's three daily newspapers. By the time the Vols met the New Orleans Pelicans for a season-ending series, and the championship, the city was gripped by a pennant fever that shut down the commercial district. Nearly 13,000 people thronged the Nashville ballpark, Sulphur Dell, for the third and deciding contest. What they saw was described by Rice as "the greatest game ever played in Dixie."

"The Greatest Game Ever Played in Dixie"

Author: John A. Simpson
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476611084
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 293

Get Book Here

Book Description
In 1908 baseball was the only game that mattered in the South. With no major league team in the region, rivalries between Southern Association cities such as Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, and New Orleans were heated. This season, however, no city was as baseball-crazed as Nashville, whose Vols had been league doormat in 1907. After an unpromising start, the Nashville club clawed its way into contention during the month of July, rising into the upper division, then into a battle for first. Local interest intensified, as the competitive fire of Nashville fans was stoked by sharp-tongued columnist Grantland Rice and the city's three daily newspapers. By the time the Vols met the New Orleans Pelicans for a season-ending series, and the championship, the city was gripped by a pennant fever that shut down the commercial district. Nearly 13,000 people thronged the Nashville ballpark, Sulphur Dell, for the third and deciding contest. What they saw was described by Rice as "the greatest game ever played in Dixie."

Ring

Ring PDF Author: Jonathan Yardley
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742511606
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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Book Description
"Sportswriter, storyteller, humorist - Ring Lardner was an American original. In this affectionate, entertaining, and authoritative biography, critic Jonathan Yardley gives us a new look at Lardner's all too short life and career."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Miracle Braves of 1914

The Miracle Braves of 1914 PDF Author: Bob Brady
Publisher: SABR, Inc.
ISBN: 1933599707
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 395

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Book Description
Long before the Red Sox "Impossible Dream" season, Boston’s now nearly forgotten “other” team, the 1914 Boston Braves, performed a baseball “miracle” that resounds to this very day. The "Miracle Braves" were Boston's first "worst-to-first" winners of the World Series. Shortly after the turn of the previous century, the once mighty Braves had become a perennial member of the National League’s second division. Preseason pundits didn't believe the 1914 team posed a meaningful threat to John McGraw’s powerful New York Giants. During the first half of that campaign, Boston lived down to such expectations, taking up residence in the league’s basement. Refusing to throw in the towel at the midseason mark, their leader, the pugnacious George Stallings, deftly manipulated his daily lineup and pitching staff to engineer a remarkable second-half climb in the standings all the way to first place. The team’s winning momentum carried into the postseason, where the Braves swept Connie Mack's heralded Athletics and claimed the only World Championship ever won by Boston’s National League entry. And for 100 years, the management, players, and fans of underperforming ball clubs have turned to the Miracle Braves to catch a glimmer of hope that such a midseason turnaround could be repeated. Through the collaborative efforts of a band of dedicated members of the Society for American Baseball Research, this benchmark accomplishment is richly revealed to the reader in The Miracle Braves of 1914: Boston's Original Worst-to-First World Series Champions. The essence of the “miracle” is captured through a comprehensive compendium of incisive biographies of the players and other figures associated with the team, with additional relevant research pieces on the season. After a journey through the pages of this book, the die-hard baseball fan will better understand why the call to “Wait Until Next Year” should never be voiced prematurely. Includes: FOREWORD by Bob Brady THE BRAVES Ted Cather by Jack V. Morris Gene Cocreham by Thomas Ayers Wilson Collins by Charlie Weatherby Joe Connolly by Dennis Auger Ensign Cottrell by Peter Cottrell Dick Crutcher by Jerrod Cotosman George Davis by Rory Costello Charlie Deal by Charles F. Faber Josh Devore by Peter Gordon Oscar Dugey by Charlie Weatherby Johnny Evers by David Shiner The 1914 Evers-Zimmerman Incident and How the Tale Grew Taller Over the Years by Bob Brady The Evers Ejection Record by Mark Sternman Larry Gilbert by Jack V. Morris Hank Gowdy by Carol McMains and Frank Ceresi Tommy Griffith by Chip Greene Otto Hess by Gary Hess Tom Hughes by Greg Erion Bill James by David Jones Clarence Kraft by Jon Dunkle Dolf Luque by Peter Bjarkman Les Mann by Maurice Bouchard Rabbit Maranville by Dick Leyden Billy Martin by Bob Joel Jack Martin by Charles F. Faber Herbie Moran by Charles F. Faber Jim Murray by Jim Elfers Hub Perdue by John Simpson Dick Rudolph by Dick Leyden Butch Schmidt by Chip Greene Red Smith by Charles F. Faber Paul Strand by Jack V. Morris Fred Tyler by John Shannahan Lefty Tyler by Wayne McElreavy Bert Whaling by Charles F. Faber George “Possum” Whitted by Craig Hardee MANAGER George Stallings by Martin Kohout COACH Fred Mitchell by Bill Nowlin OWNER Jim Gaffney by Rory Costello The Braves’ A.B.C. by Ring Lardner 1914 Boston Braves Timeline by Mike Lynch A Stallings Anecdote 1914 World Series by Mark Sternman “I Told You So” by O.R.C. The Rest of 1914 by Mike Lynch How An Exhibition Game Contributed To A Miracle by Bob Brady The National League Pennant Race of 1914 by Frank Vaccaro The Press, The Fans, and the 1914 Boston Braves by Donna L. Halper Return of the Miracle Braves by Bob Brady Miracle Teams by A Comparison of the 1914 Miracle Braves and 1969 Miracle Mets by Tom Nahigian An Unexpected Farewell by The South End Grounds, August 1914 by Bob Ruzzo The Time(s) the Braves Played Home Games at Fenway Park by Bill Nowlin The Kisselkar Sign The Trail Blazers in Indian File by R. E. M. - poems for 1914 Braves, collected by Joanne Hulbert The Story of the 1914 Braves by George Stallings “Mr. Warmth” and “Very Superstitious” – two George Stallings anecdotes by Bob Brady By the Numbers by Dan Fields Creature Feature by Dan Fields

The Lost Journalism of Ring Lardner

The Lost Journalism of Ring Lardner PDF Author: Ring Lardner
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 0803299427
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 590

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Book Description
Ring Lardner’s influence on American letters is arguably greater than that of any other American writer in the early part of the twentieth century. Lauded by critics and the public for his groundbreaking short stories, Lardner was also the country’s best-known journalist in the 1920s and early 1930s, when his voice was all but inescapable in American newspapers and magazines. Lardner’s trenchant, observant, sly, and cynical writing style, along with a deep understanding of human foibles, made his articles wonderfully readable and his words resonate to this day. Ron Rapoport has gathered the best of Lardner’s journalism from his earliest days at the South Bend Times through his years at the Chicago Tribune and his weekly column for the Bell Syndicate, which appeared in 150 newspapers and reached eight million readers. In these columns Lardner not only covered the great sporting events of the era—from Jack Dempsey’s fights to the World Series and even an America’s Cup—he also wrote about politics, war, and Prohibition, as well as parodies, poems, and penetrating observations on American life. The Lost Journalism of Ring Lardner reintroduces this journalistic giant and his work and shows Lardner to be the rarest of writers: a spot-on chronicler of his time and place who remains contemporary to subsequent generations.

Three Finger

Three Finger PDF Author: Cindy Thomson
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 0803244487
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
On October 8, 1908, Mordecai Brown clutched a half-dozen notes inside his coat pocket. The message of each was clear: We’ll kill you if you pitch and beat the Giants. A black handprint marked each note, the signature of the Italian Mafia. Mordecai Brown—dubbed “Three Finger” because of a childhood farm injury—was the dominant pitcher for the great Chicago Cubs team of the early twentieth century, a team that from 1906 through 1910 was arguably the best in baseball history. Brown’s handicap enabled him to throw pitches with an unconventional movement that left batters bewildered—the curve ball that Ty Cobb once called “the most devastating” he had ever faced. How Brown responded to the Mafia’s threats in 1908 mirrored the way he took life in general: with unflappable courage and resolve. Telling his story for the first time, Cindy Thomson and Scott Brown trail Mordecai from the Indiana countryside to the coal mines, from semipro ball to the Majors, from the World Series mound back down to the Minors. Along the way they retrieve the lost lore of one of baseball’s greatest pitchers—and chronicle one man’s determination to reach a dream that most believed was unreachable.

The Miracle Braves, 1914-1916

The Miracle Braves, 1914-1916 PDF Author: Charles C. Alexander
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476619646
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
The story of the "Miracle" Braves is one of the most memorable in baseball history, but less well known is what the club did after that spectacular season. In 1915, they were strong contenders for the National League pennant, and almost won it again in 1916. This book is the first to look at the team in a larger context. Under innovative manager George Stallings, the Braves swept the mighty Philadelphia Athletics in the 1914 World Series, the National League's only victory from 1909 to 1919. The Braves under Stallings were a roistering, pugnacious crew that battled the opposition, the umpires, and sometimes each other.

Finding the Hidden Ball Trick

Finding the Hidden Ball Trick PDF Author: Bill Deane
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442244348
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
The dying art of the hidden-ball trick dates back to the early days of pro baseball, with seven successful executions documented in 1876 alone. This ruse occurs when a baseman conceals the ball instead of returning it to the pitcher. When the runner steps off the base, he is summarily tagged out with the hidden ball. The trick has been used some 264 times with success, a rarity roughly in the class of the no-hitter. The hidden-ball trick has produced many hilarious stories throughout the years, and even enjoyed a renaissance of sorts in 2013 when it was employed twice late in the season. In Finding the Hidden-Ball Trick: The Colorful History of Baseball’s Oldest Ruse, every known execution of the hidden-ball trick in the major leagues is documented, compiled from decades of research. This book recounts how the hidden-ball trick has completed triple plays, ended games, resulted in two arrests, cost a Hall of Famer a managing job, and even occurred in a World Series. Stories include how Fred Merkle gained revenge on Johnny Evers, how Gary Carter was caught to end a game—on his birthday—and how Lou Boudreau was nabbed the day after saying the play was obsolete. In addition to a complete chronological listing of every documented ruse, Finding the Hidden-Ball Trick also includes descriptions of tricks that went awry and a list of unsubstantiated accounts. This unique compilation of baseball stories will be of interest to baseball scholars and fans alike.

Mack, McGraw and the 1913 Baseball Season

Mack, McGraw and the 1913 Baseball Season PDF Author: Richard Adler
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786451726
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
Few franchises in the deadball era won as consistently or as often as the New York Giants and Philadelphia Athletics. Between them, the teams claimed 12 pennants and finished second or higher 22 times. The steady success also earned managers John McGraw and Connie Mack their reputations. It was history in the making, then, when the two Hall of Famers led their clubs into the 1913 World Series, the third and final time they went head to head for the world championship. The author provides a carefully researched account of the season-long dominance of the Giants and A's, the narrative building toward a dramatic collision in the Fall Classic.

Bury Me In An Old Press Box

Bury Me In An Old Press Box PDF Author: Fred Russell
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1789125715
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 398

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Book Description
BURY ME IN AN OLD PRESS BOX is Fred Russell’s way of saying that he hopes the Hereafter will be half as much fun as the life of a sports writer. It is a book about sports and sports writing. There is a thread of autobiography in it, though the book’s main fabric is woven of joyful episodes and anecdotes involving many of sports’ best-known personalities. There is comedy on nearly every page, supporting the author’s thesis that the humorous twists and delightful oddballs contribute as much to the fun of sports as do the generally happy circumstances in which games are played and enjoyed. Mingled with these lighthearted aspects are the eye-filling views that a widely-roving sportswriter has of the whole sports panorama. While Russell’s base is Nashville and the Nashville Banner, his beat is the nation. His lack of provincialism is indicated by his regular authorship of the Saturday Evening Post’s annual “Pigskin Preview.” A change of pace in the frolicsome pattern of the book is Russell’s considered judgments on a good many of the sports personalities he has seen and known, and his analysis of each major sport’s basis of appeal. He also states the case for sports in general, cleverly and perhaps more convincingly than it has ever been argued before.

The Kitty League

The Kitty League PDF Author: Joshua R. Maxwell
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 0738593729
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
Between 1903 and 1955, the Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League--better known as the "Kitty League"--brought minor-league baseball to fans throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, and Indiana. Supporting teams with such colorful nicknames as the Hoppers, Oilers, Clothiers, Egyptians, and Miners, the league produced many great players, such as Tony Kubek, Chuck Tanner, and Don McMahon, who enjoyed solid major-league careers. It also produced future Hall of Famers Edd Roush and Red Schoendienst. The Kitty League also provided major-league veterans like Earl Browne, Hod Lisenbee, and Vito Tamulis the chance to keep playing the game they loved.