We Played the Game: 65 Players Remember Baseball's Greatest Era, 1947-1964Danny Peary 1947-1964. It was a fascinating era in baseball. It began with disruption, when Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby pioneered baseball integration; and it ended with a whimper, when the unstoppable New York Yankees lost, once and for all, their dominance of the game. The years in between were the wonder years: the grass was green and real, Yogi read comics, Mantle hit moonshots, Campanella smiled infectiously and said you had to be a boy at heart to play baseball; and for the first time, baseball games were televised - live. We thought we saw innocence. But that was before the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants went west - leaving their stunned, abandoned fans behind. That was before we saw the continued bigotry on the ballteams - and the exploitation of players by management. That was before the agents and the managers became as famous as the players - making the business of the game as important as the sport of it. But for the men who played the game - it was a glorious time; a time when, for once in their lives, they were doing just what they wanted to be doing: playing baseball. Danny Peary, author of the much-acclaimed Cult Baseball Players, spent years traveling the country, gathering the firsthand oral histories, remembrances, opinions, and gripes of 65 ballplayers of this magic era. A wide and inclusive cross section of players bring the years to life for us - from the Hall of Famers such as George Kell, Harmon Killebrew, Brooks Robinson, and Ralph Kiner, to the utility players and bench warmers whose names we've long forgotten, but whose memories of the game are the real fabric that our baseball dreams are made of. Their collective voices tell the story of the era: from pitchingno-hitters and arguing with managers to alcoholism, groupies, race problems, salary negotiations, and fights on and off the field. They were colorful years in baseball: Eddie Waitkus being shot by a female fan (the basis for The Natural); the on- and off-field antics of Jimmy Piersall and Bo Belinsky; Bob Cain pitching to midget Eddie Gaedel; Pedro Ramos "scouting" women; Joe DiMaggio wanting to meet Marilyn Monroe; Ralph Kiner dating Elizabeth Taylor; the A's bus being stopped by redneck cops in Florida; Roger Maris's record sixty-first homer; Ted Williams's final at-bat (a homer). Amazingly candid, often controversial, always informative, We Played the Game tells the real story of a wonderful era of baseball history - in the words of the only men who could tell it. This book is the ultimate tribute to the great game of baseball - and the men who made it live for us. |
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We Played the Game: 65 Players Remember Baseball's Greatest Era, 1947-1964 Danny Peary No preview available - 1995 |
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All-Star American League Athletics ballclub ballpark ballplayer base beat better big leagues Bill Billy Billy Pierce black players Bobby Boston Braves Cardinals career catcher Chicago Cleveland club clubhouse coach COOPERSTOWN Cubs Dick Dick Groat Dodgers Don Newcombe drink Eddie fans fastball field fielder friends GENE WOODLING Giants Hank HANK SAUER hard hit the ball hitter home run homers Indians infield Jackie Johnny knew Larry Doby led the league left-handed Louis major league manager Mickey Minnie Minoso mound Musial NATIONAL BASEBALL LIBRARY National League never outfielder pennant Phillies Pirates pitch pitcher played pretty RALPH KINER RBIs Red Sox right-handed Robinson rookie season shortstop slider Spahn spring training Stadium Stan Stan Musial started talk Ted Williams thought threw throw Tigers told tough traded Vic Power walked wanted White Sox Willie World Series Yankees