Readers who know their baseball oral history are consistently amazed at the detail with which old ballplayers can recall their careers. It's a testament to the passion with which the old-timers played the game, and that passion is on vivid display in this collection of 35 interviews with players who experienced most of their glory days in the years between 1945 and 1970. Veteran baseball writer Westcott includes Hall-of-Famers such as Warren Spahn, Billy Williams, and Eddie Mathews as well as such noteworthy figures as Jim Brosnan, the pitcher turned best-selling author, and Chico Carrasquel, who was the first of a stream of stellar Latin American shortstops to play in the major leagues. Among the less well known but equally fascinating subjects are Ned Garver, who starred for the hapless St. Louis Browns in the early fifties, and Ralph Branca, the pitcher who threw the single most famous pitch in baseball history and has spent the rest of his life explaining it. Baseball fans of any age will enjoy this compilation, but it may hold a special appeal to fans over 40. Wes Lukowsky
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Book Description
Baseball author and historian Rich Westcott collects intimate interviews and personal profiles of 35 legends of the game. Each player from one of baseball's greatest and most momentous eras--the decades following World War II--is a recognizable and unforgettable member of that cast of characters who gave a special flavor to a distinctively American age.
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