Before they were the Bombers : the New York Yankees' early years, 1903-1915 / by Jim Reisler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Reisler, Jim, 1958-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

New York Yankees (Baseball team)--History.

New York Yankees (Baseball team).

History.

Physical Description:

vi, 282 pages : illustrations ; 27 cm

Other Title:

New York Yankees' early years, 1903-1915

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., [2002]

Summary:

Many histories of the New York Yankees only skim the early years in their rush to pick up with the 1919 season when Babe Ruth joined the team and go on to celebrate the careers of Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Whitey Ford, and the teams World Series titles. But what about the Yankees before these big names? The early Yankees, who spent their first 12 years known as the Highlanders and were occasionally known as the Americans and the Invaders, get the attention they deserve in this work. It tells the story up until the 1919 acquisition of Ruth, beginning with 1903 when the team was formed from the remnants of the Baltimore Orioles. Led by future Hall of Famers "Wee" Willie Keeler, Jack Chesbro, and Clark Griffith, they were the most expensive major league team ever assembled--but they are remembered primarily for their terrible failures, which included losing a club-low 103 games in 1908 and finishing 55 games out of first place in 1912. Yes, the Yankees.

Contents:

Enter the prince

A normal start at least

Origins

Hell of a town

New Yawk, New Yawk

Play ball!

Into the swing

Of wise guys and other matters

The good, the bad and the (mostly) ugly

Happy Jack and the epic race of 1904

They might be giants

Prince Hal

A closer look

Going nowhere

Hoodoo reigns

Rock bottom

Evolution and other weighty things

Nowhere to go but up

Not bad, not so good either

East Side, West Side, all around the town

A bunion and an onion

Money talks

Endings

Postscript.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-276) and index.

ISBN:

0786412267

OCLC:

48944362