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| The Only Game in Town: Baseball Stars of the 1930s and 1940s Talk About the Game They Loved (Baseball Oral History Project) | 
 enlarge | Author: Fay Vincent
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
Buy New: $7.49
You Save: $18.51 (71%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 307660
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3570922
ASIN: B0013A05ZQ
Publication Date: April 4, 2006
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Download Description
In this delightful book that every baseball fan will cherish, ten outstanding ballplayers remember the heyday of the game in the 1930s and 1940s. It was the era of Gehrig and DiMaggio; of Foxx, Greenberg, and Williams; of Grove and Feller. Elden Auker, Tommy Henrich, Dom DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky, and Bob Feller recall some great rivalries: Auker pitched to Ruth and Gehrig, then faced Dizzy Dean in an unforgettable World Series; Henrich was a clutch player for the Yankees who alertly turned a passed-ball third strike into a World Series victory; Dom DiMaggio was a superb center fielder who batted .298 lifetime and nearly ended his brother Joe's hitting streak; Pesky, a Red Sox mainstay, was blamed for Enos Slaughter's dash home that was the most memorable play of the 1946 Red Sox-Cardinals World Series; and Feller was a teenager when he faced -- among others -- Foxx, Greenberg, and Joe DiMaggio. But this was also the era of great Negro Leagues stars who never had the opportunity to play in the major leagues. Buck O'Neil remembers the outstanding players of his day who never got their chance or whose turn came too late -- Oscar Charleston, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, and Satchel Paige among them. Two great events happened in the 1940s, and one of them would change the game forever. World War II took some of these great players off the diamond and put them into a different kind of uniform. Warren Spahn pitched his first game in 1942 and didn't pitch again until the war ended, getting his first victory in 1946 (nonetheless he won more games than any other left-hander in history). As he recalls here, he served his country memorably in the war. Then in 1947 Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, followed only a few months later by Larry Doby, the first African-American in the American League, who vividly describes what it felt like to be the only black ballplayer in the clubhouse -- and the league. The game began to change after integration, and home run king Ralph Kiner remembers how some clubs were quick to sign African-American players and thrive. Meanwhile, some Negro Leagues stars, such as Monte Irvin, itched for the opportunity to face the major leaguers and prove that, like Robinson and Doby, they could compete with the best. All of these ballplayers recall their favorite memories: the games that mattered most, the players they all admired, the childhood experiences that shaped their lives, and the deep affection for the game that has always remained with them. Illustrated throughout, The Only Game in Town is a fascinating trip through two decades when baseball changed profoundly. Like The Glory of Their Times, it is a book that will find a permanent place on every fan's bookshelf.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Nothing New and An Annoying Text April 10, 2006
7 out of 14 found this review helpful
In the introduction former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent, and author of this book, states he got the idea of this book from listening to the interviews that Larry Ritter conducted with old ballplayers who played at the turn of the 20th century. Ritter wanted to do these interviews before that generation of ballplayers died. Vincent then states he wanted to do interviews of players from the era of the '30's and '40's, and hopes this book is the first of several volumes of interviews of former players. Apparently Vincent isn't aware that Donald Honig did three books of this same type entitled "Baseball When The Grass Was Real", "Baseball Between the Lines", and "The Dugout." You will probably find the book to be okay if you haven't read other books on any of these players. but I did find it awfully annoying when the direct words of the player being interviewed were used. Examples include incorrect grammar (was instead of were), and repeating a set of three words over again as people may do at times when speaking to another person. This I found to be very unnecessary and annoying. Please don't tell me it's more authentic with the direct words of the player. Also, what is found in this book can be found in several other books on baseball history. Finally, the New York Yankee scout (who signed Mantle) is Tom Greenwade, not Tom Greenway as listed in the book (page 96) and index. I have to admit to being disappointed, and I really didn't find anything new here. I'm being generous with three stars.
 Revealing April 23, 2006
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
I loved this book. The players seemed more self-revealing, more confessional than usual. Maybe there's something about sitting in front of a former Commissioner that encourages full disclosure. Some examples: Bob Feller:"Josh Gibson couldn't hit a curve ball if he had an ironing board"; "Tommy Henrich could hit me if he had his eyes closed." Warren Spahn: "(Teammate Sam Jethroe) couldn't see, ran on his heels. He'd run by fly balls so hard it took him ten minutes to retrieve the ball..." Dom DiMaggio speaks of his dread of making eye contact with his brother right after he robbed Joe of a hit to put The Clipper's historic streak in jeopardy. And Larry Doby movingly tells of his gratitude to Joe Gordon for inviting him, a rookie and the AL's first black, to a pre-game catch. It was a public show of acceptance and Doby never forgot the kindness. Vincent has a knack for poking around in crannies that others ignore and that's why I gave the book four stars.
Ed Vane, Los Angeles, CA.
Interesting memories by old-time players May 1, 2006
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
Former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent provides an interesting oral history of baseball by recording the words of ten of the game's top players. The players include stars of the big leagues (Dom DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky, Bob Feller, etc) one Negro Leaguer (Buck O'Neill), and two that played in both venues (Larry Doby, Monte Irvin). Each player spoke into a tape recorder, and their words are printed here, apparently verbatim. I liked the memories and insights from this diverse group of stars, not all of whom were educated or articulate. One wonders how many of today's pitchers follow Warren Spahn's method of stretching his arm between starts. I'm glad these interviews were conducted; Doby and Spahn both passed away in 2003, while at this writing the others range in age from 83 (Ralph Kiner) to 95 (Eldon Auker).
Some note that Lawrence Ritter (GLORY OF THEIR TIMES) and Donald Honig (IMAGE OF THEIR GREATNESS) wrote similar books about baseball's past, and perhaps in better fashion. Still, this version is a readable and interesting first-person look at baseball.
 Good Stuff April 19, 2006
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
I like to talk about and read about baseball, back in the '30s, '40s, etc. With just eight teams in each league, the teams were playing each other 22 times every year. So everybody knew everybody else's strengths and weaknesses. And that's what makes this book work for me... the verbatims...the hitters name the pitchers they hated to face and the pitchers name the hitters they hated to see coming up. For me, naming names is good stuff. I give the book an A.
Worthwhile April 23, 2006
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
I've read previous old-timers interviews and they were interesting. But the fact that these are new and also, as it says in the introduction, that they were videotaped to be put into the Cooperstown files made them worth looking into for me. It's like Bob Feller - and the rest of them - on the record in the Hall. And I liked some of the game-within-the-game info in the book, like Warren Spahn talking about the not quite legal pitches they threw in those days: Lew Burdett's spitball, Gaylord Perry's Vaseline ball and (new to me) Whitey Ford's mud-ball. All in all, I thought the book was a worthwhile addition to the old-timers interview side of baseball.
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