Author: K. Adam Powell
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442252065
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 355
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Book Description
Lyman Bostock Jr. had baseball in his blood. The son of a former Negro League standout, Bostock began his professional career with the Minnesota Twins in 1975. Two years later, he became one of the first players in major league baseball to cash in on the new era of free agency, signing with the California Angels for more than $2 million—one of the richest contracts in sports history at that time. But Bostock’s true potential would never be known. On September 23, 1978, Bostock was shot and killed in Gary, Indiana. He was just 27 years old. In Lyman Bostock: The Inspiring Life and Tragic Death of a Ballplayer, K. Adam Powell tells the story of Bostock’s humble beginnings in Birmingham, Alabama, his coming-of-age in Los Angeles, his involvement in the Black Power movement, his brief yet impactful baseball career, and his senseless murder in 1978. Those who knew Bostock and played alongside him believed he was good enough to win multiple batting titles, and perhaps even make the Hall of Fame some day. More than just a ballplayer, Bostock was known as a stand-out citizen who never forgot where he came from, investing hours of his time giving back to his community, visiting with local youth, and hosting baseball clinics. Lyman Bostock captures a remarkable era in professional baseball, an era when ballplayers such as Bostock still engaged closely with their fans even as power shifted from management and owners to the players. Through careful research, exclusive interviews, and rarely-seen photographs, Bostock’s life and the times in which he lived are conveyed in intimate detail. For baseball fans of all ages, Lyman Bostock’s biography is a poignant and inspiring story of an upcoming star whose life was cut much too short.
Author: Fran Zimniuch
Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing
ISBN: 1461733782
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 238
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Book Description
Shortened Seasons recounts the stories of some of the baseball players who never made it back for the next game, who died with the suddenness of a walk-off homerun. For them, there was no next year. From Hall of Fame caliber players such as Roberto Clemente, Thurman Munson, and Ed Delahanty to players who were still finding their niche in the game like Ken Hubbs, Lyman Bostoc, and Darryl Kile, this book explores the lives and deaths of ball players of all categories and abilities who were struck down at the height of their careers.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 64
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Book Description
The weekly source of African American political and entertainment news.
Author: Dave Wright
Publisher: Triumph Books
ISBN: 1600783260
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 273
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Book Description
In a series that imagines the impossible, each book plays out a flawless season for a particular team, identifying the most memorable real-life victory on every single day of the baseball calendar and including archival photos, original quotes and thorough research.
Author: Bill Ballew
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476646546
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 596
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Book Description
In the 1970s, after a decade of stagnant fan interest that seemed to signal the demise of Major League Baseball, the game saw growth and change. In 1972, the players became the first in professional sports to go on strike. Four years later, contractual changes allowed those with six years in the majors to become free agents, leading to an unprecedented increase in salaries. Developments in the play of the game included new ballparks with faster fields and artificial turf, and the introduction of the designated hitter in 1973. Eminent personalities emerged from the dugout, including many African Americans and Latinos. Focusing on the stars who debuted from 1970 through 1979, this book covers the highs and lows of more than 1,300 players who gave fans the most exciting decade baseball has ever seen.
Author: Bill Deane
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476642419
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 325
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Book Description
The greatest players in baseball history are honored in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Fans and sports journalists often lament about players who might have joined the immortal ranks, if only fate--circumstances, injury or even death--hadn't intervened. Presenting a "who's who of what-ifs," this book focuses on 40 well known non-inductees, such as Tony Conigliaro, Denny McLain and Jose Fernandez, along with many others all but lost to history, such as Ross Barnes, Charlie Ferguson and Hal Trosky. Also included are more than 100 "honorable mentions" covering all of pro baseball history, from the 1860s to the 2010s.
Author: Wil A. Linkugel
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786404841
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 257
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Book Description
For one brief period in the early 1940s, Pete Reiser was the equal of any outfielder in baseball, even Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio, but his penchant for running into outfield walls while playing defense prematurely ended his journey to Cooperstown. Pitcher Herb Score was a brilliant pitcher until a Gil McDougald line drive shelved his career. And Thurman Munson was one of the game's best catchers in the late 1970s until a tragic plane crash ended his life. These three players and fourteen others (Smoky Joe Wood, Vean Gregg, Kirby Puckett, Hal Trotsky, Tony Oliva, Paul Dean, Ewell Blackwell, David Ferris, Steve Busby, J.R. Richard, Tony Conigliaro, Johnny Beazley, Mark Fidrych, and Lyman Bostock) enjoyed brilliant careers--potentially worthy of the Hall of Fame--that were cut short by injury, illness or death. Some enjoyed several seasons of success only to see their playing days end just short of numbers worthy of Cooperstown; others enjoyed only a season or two of brilliance. The profiles concentrate on the players' accomplishments and speculate on how their careers might have developed if they had continued.
Author: Joe Haakenson
Publisher: Triumph Books
ISBN: 1623682355
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 273
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Book Description
Inspired by and written for the devout Angels fan, this lively and detailed book explores important facts and figures from the baseball team's storied history. Decades of tradition, victories and defeats, name revisions, and Hall of Fame inductions are distilled into an entertaining list that journeys from one to 100 into what makes a true fan of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. From the essentials, such as the Nolan Ryan era, to the lesser-known tidbits, including the team's origin and what started the Rally Monkey, this book is the ultimate resource to Angels knowledge and trivia and even suggests the best places to eat and drink before a game.
Author: Leslie A. Heaphy
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786426748
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 269
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Book Description
Founded in 1920, the Negro National League originally comprised teams throughout the Midwest, but the league's groundwork was laid in one city--Chicago. Two of the season's eight inaugural teams were based in the South Side, which was also the adopted home of Rube Foster, the "Father of the Negro Leagues." A former stand-out pitcher in the Windy City, Foster founded the dominant Chicago American Giants. As the first president of the Negro National League, Foster controlled all major aspects of the game, from personnel to equipment and ticket sales, and his influence left black baseball indelibly associated with Chicago. This essay collection presents notable papers delivered at the 2005 Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference in Chicago. With contributions from many Negro Leagues experts, the work offers a cohesive history of Chicago's long relationship with black baseball. After an introduction and an overview, sections cover early Chicago baseball from the nineteenth century to the founding of the Negro Leagues; teams in the Negro Leagues after 1920; players, both well-known and obscure, who spent significant time with Chicago clubs; owners and managers; the East-West All Star Game; ballparks; the Great Lakes Naval Team; and the integration of the Cubs and White Sox. Appendices provide a timeline of major black-baseball events in Chicago and player rosters for Chicago-area teams.
Author: Zeke Fuhrman
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 179607263X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 409
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Book Description
Professional sports returned to Minnesota in 1961, a year after one of the most successful pro sports franchises left Minneapolis for Los Angeles in 1960. Since then, a history of last-second losses, historically bad teams, draft busts, missed calls, terrible trades, disappointing playoff runs, blown leads, under-qualified front office staff and coaches and untimely injuries. Yet, this fan base stays loyal. For some reason. 'Land of 10,000 Aches' goes deeper into the most heart-breaking, gut-wrenching, soul-crushing, even-I-could-make-that-field-goal moments in Minnesota sports history with first-hand accounts from players, coaches and fans. Everybody remembers where they were for the good things: the Minneapolis Miracle, Kirby Puckett's Game Six home run. But were you face down in disbelief when Garrett Hartley kicked the Saints to the Super Bowl? Or forced into an emotional fetal position watching the Eagles hang 38 unanswered points on the NFL's best defense? Until names like Sal Bando, Ron Schock, Claude Osteen, Ed Thorp, Gordie Peterkin and Sergei Krivokrasov make your stomach turn, you have a long drop into the doldrums of Minnesota melancholy. This book is your guide down.
