The pastime in turbulence : interviews with baseball players of the 1940s / by Brent Kelley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kelley, Brent P.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Baseball players--United States--Interviews.

Baseball players.

United States.

Baseball--United States--History--20th century.

Baseball.

History.

Genre:

Interviews.

Biographies.

Physical Description:

viii, 325 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Other Title:

Interviews with baseball players of the 1940s

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., [2001]

Summary:

The 1940s were years of change. Minor league free agents were introduced in 1940 by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis; Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941 and player after player left to join the war effort with men and boys both below and well above draft age completing the rosters; 1946 saw a first: two National League teams, the St. Louis Cardinals and Brooklyn Dodgers, tied for first place, forcing a best two-out-of three series; 1947 brought Jackie Robinson to the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers; and the American League saw its own tie for first in 1948 between the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox, resolved in a one-game playoff.

This work focuses on 27 players of the 1940s, guys -- like Gene Thompson, Elmer Valo, Damon Phillips, Joe Cleary, and Cliff Chambers -- who witnessed these firsts and changes personally. The players interviewed had very different experiences in the major leagues and came from diverse backgrounds as well.

Contents:

A Missing Piece (1939-1947) / Gene Thompson 9

Aka Dr. Steve Hardy (1939-1952) / John Berardino 20

Cobb Said He Could Fly (1939-1943) / Johnny Welaj 29

King for a Day (1939-1941) / Floyd Giebell 41

Hustle (1940-1961) / Elmer Valo 51

Name It and He Did It (1941-1950) / Paul Campbell 60

Mr. President (1942-1953) / Billy Hitchcock 67

Builder of Ballplayers (1942-1954) / Johnny Lipon 84

Everything Is Relative (1942-1946) / Pete Center 95

Double or Nothing (1942-1946) / Damon "Dee" Phillips 108

First Pitch (1938-1944) / Bill "Lefty" LeFebvre 124

A Major League Minor (1943-1954) / Carl Scheib 133

If Only the Throw Had Been Good (1943-1948) / Roy Partee 145

Breaking in with a Bang (1945-1960) / Whitey Lockman 163

50 Years Too Soon (1945-1952) / Ed Wright 182

Baseball Over Football (1945-1954) / Don Lund 192

Versatile (1945-1946) / Al Libke 202

Rookie Series Catcher (1945-1946) / Red Hayworth 211

Done In by Durocher (1945-1949) / Adrian Zabala 226

The Last Irishman (1945) / Joe Cleary 237

100 MPH? (1946-1956) / Lou Kretlow 248

A Good Man in a Pinch (1947-1957) / Frank Baumholtz 255

Team MVP (1947-1956) / Chuck Diering 266

Pirates' Ace (1948-1953) / Cliff Chambers 277

Spahn, Sain and a Whole Bunch of Others (1948-1949) / Clint Conatser 288

40 Years to the Top (1949-1960) / Wayne Terwilliger 307.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (page 317) and index.

ISBN:

0786409754

OCLC:

46729154