Download Free Ebbets To Veeck To Busch Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online Ebbets To Veeck To Busch and write the review.

Of baseball there have been countless books, but, surprisingly, relatively few about the owners, the men and women who invested their time--and, frequently, their fortunes--in baseball teams. What has been written tends to concentrate on the financial aspects of ownership or individual owners and their private lives, and pays less attention to the enduring contributions certain owners have made. Eight owners and their lasting influences on the game are the focus of this book. Charles Ebbets, Barney Dreyfuss, Helene Britton, Clark Griffith, Walter O'Malley, Bill Veeck, Charles Finley and August Busch were chosen for inclusion not only because of their larger contributions but also because they were hands-on owners who ran their teams decisively. For instance, Helene Britton proved that a knowledgable woman could successfully run a ball club, even if she couldn't vote; Bill Veeck hired the first black player in the American League, introduced exploding scoreboards and was the first owner to put his players' names on the backs of their uniforms; Walter O'Malley relocated his Dodgers to the West Coast and convinced Giants owner Horace Stoneham to bring his team out too.
In 1954, one year after Baltimore bought the St. Louis Browns, the New York Yankees hired former Browns executive and owner William O. DeWitt as assistant to general manager George Weiss. "DeWitt," the news announced, "was considered an astute baseball man who would have a definite role to play with the Yankees." Baseball fans had assumed that once the Browns were no longer the American League's doormats, DeWitt would quietly retire. But for DeWitt, a shrewd protege of Branch Rickey, his years with the Browns began a long and fascinating career, including his years as owner and general manager of the Cincinnati Reds. This first ever biography focuses on the career of a baseball executive who contributed greatly to America's pastime.
Long before Hank Greenberg earned recognition as baseball's greatest Jewish player, Jews had developed a unique, and very close, relationship with the American pastime. In the late nineteenth century, as both the American Jewish population and baseball's popularity grew rapidly, baseball became an avenue by which Jewish immigrants could assimilate into American culture. Beyond the men (and, later, women) on the field, in the dugout, and at the front office, the Jewish community produced a huge base of fans and students of the game. This important book examines the interrelated histories of baseball and American Jews to 1948--the year Israel was established, the first full season that both major leagues were integrated, and the summer that Hank Greenberg retired. Covered are the many players, from Pike to Greenberg, as well as the managers, owners, executives, writers, statisticians, manufacturers and others who helped forge a bond between baseball and an emerging Jewish culture in America. Key reasons for baseball's early appeal to Jews are examined, including cultural assimilation, rebellion against perceived Old World sensibilities, and intellectual and philosophical ties to existing Jewish traditions. The authors also clearly demonstrate how both Jews and baseball have benefited from their relationship.
The Ebbets Field volume is the second in McFarland's series on historic ballparks. The book combines articles about the park and the memories of those who went there in any capacity. Essay topics include long time Dodger owner Charles Ebbets, Brooklyn at the opening and closing of the park, the first and last Dodger games at Ebbets Field, black baseball at Ebbets Field, non-baseball events at Ebbets Field and statistical analyses of the park. The memories section includes the reminiscences of Dodger and visiting players as well as fans of all types and ages.
By 1964 the storied St. Louis Cardinals had gone seventeen years without so much as a pennant. Things began to turn around in 1953, when August A. Busch Jr. bought the team and famously asked where all the black players were. Under the leadership of men like Bing Devine and Johnny Keane, the Cardinals began signing talented players regardless of color, and slowly their star started to rise again. Drama and Pride in the Gateway City commemorates the team that Bing Devine built, the 1964 team that prevailed in one of the tightest three-way pennant races of all time and then went on to win the World Series, beating the New York Yankees in the full seven games. All the men come alive in these pages--pitchers Ray Sadecki and Bob Gibson, players Lou Brock, Curt Flood, and Bobby Shantz, manager Johnny Keane, his coaches, the Cardinals' broadcasters, and Bill White, who would one day run the entire National League--along with the dramatic events that made the 1964 Cardinals such a memorable club in a memorable year.
America grew rapidly after World War II, and the national pastime followed suit. Baseball dramatically changed from a 19th century pastoral relic to a continental modern sport. Six Major League clubs relocated to new cities, capped by the coast-to-coast moves of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants. Four expansion teams were created from thin air. Dozens of black stars emerged after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. The players formed a union--higher salaries materialized. This book tells the story of baseball's metamorphosis 1945-1962, driven by larger-than-life personalities like the bombastic Larry MacPhail, the sage Branch Rickey, the kindly Connie Mack, the quick-witted Bill Veeck and the wily Walter O'Malley--Hall of Famers all. The upheaval they sparked--and sometimes failed to control--would broaden the sport's appeal, setting the stage for tremendous growth in the half-century to come.
The 1936 Yankees, the 1963 Dodgers, the 1975 Reds, the 2010 Giants--why do some baseball teams win while others don't? General managers and fans alike have pondered this most important of baseball questions. The Moneyball strategy is not the first example of how new ideas and innovative management have transformed the way teams are assembled. In Pursuit of Pennants examines and analyzes a number of compelling, winning baseball teams over the past hundred-plus years, focusing on their decision making and how they assembled their championship teams. Whether through scouting, integration, instruction, expansion, free agency, or modernizing their management structure, each winning team and each era had its own version of Moneyball, where front office decisions often made the difference. Mark L. Armour and Daniel R. Levitt show how these teams succeeded and how they relied on talent both on the field and in the front office. While there is no recipe for guaranteed success in a competitive, ever-changing environment, these teams demonstrate how creatively thinking about one's circumstances can often lead to a competitive advantage.
Over their first four decades in the American League, the Cleveland Indians were known more for great players than consistently great play. Its rosters filled with all-time greats like Cy Young, Nap Lajoie, Elmer Flick, Tris Speaker, and the ill-fated Addie Joss and Ray Chapman, Cleveland often found itself in the thick of the race but, with 1920 the lone exception, seemed always to finish a game or two back in the final standings. In the 10 years that followed the end of World War II, however, the franchise turned the corner. Led by owner (and world-class showman) Bill Veeck, the boy-manager Lou Boudreau, ace Bob Feller, and the barrier-busting Larry Doby, Cleveland charged up the standings, finishing in the first division every season but one and winning it all in 1948. This meticulously researched history covers the Indians' first six decades, from their minor league origins at the end of the 19th century to the dismantling of the 1954 World Series club. It is a story of unforgettable players, frustrated hopes, and two glorious victories that fed a city's unwavering devotion to its team.
Bush League, Big City tells the interwoven stories of two low-level minor league baseball teams brought to New York City in the late 1990s. It also illuminates the history of the New York-Penn League, America’s oldest and longest-running minor league, from its inception in 1939 until its abrupt contraction by Major League Baseball in 2020. With an eye for details and firsthand accounts by many of the baseball people involved, Michael Sokolow tells the story of two franchises that went in very different directions, as the Cyclones achieved astronomical success while Staten Island’s ‘Baby Bombers’ sank under the weight of debt and recriminations. Along the way, the book visits small communities in upstate New York, New England, and Canada, introduces the multimillionaires who came to dominate small-time baseball ownership, and tells the tale of two of the most expensive minor-league baseball stadiums ever built. It also sheds light on the complex, behind-the-scenes influence of New York City politics, as the indomitable will of Mayor Rudy Giuliani reshaped the geography of both the city and professional baseball. Bush League, Big City is a compelling examination of both the power and limits of nostalgia in a sport that is increasingly focused on the bottom line.
More than any other sport, baseball has developed its own niche in America's culture and psyche. Some researchers spend years on detailed statistical analyses of minute parts of the game, while others wax poetic about its players and plays. Many trace the beginnings of the civil rights movement in part to the Major Leagues' decision to integrate, and the words and phrases of the game (for example, pinch-hitter and out in left field) have become common in our everyday language. From AARON, HENRY onward, this book covers all of what might be called the cultural aspects of baseball (as opposed to the number-rich statistical information so widely available elsewhere). Biographical sketches of all Hall of Fame players, owners, executives and umpires, as well as many of the sportswriters and broadcasters who have won the Spink and Frick awards, join entries for teams, owners, commissioners and league presidents. Advertising, agents, drafts, illegal substances, minor leagues, oldest players, perfect games, retired uniform numbers, superstitions, tripleheaders, and youngest players are among the thousands of entries herein. Most entries open with a topical quote and conclude with a brief bibliography of sources for further research. The whole work is exhaustively indexed and includes 119 photographs.