The greatest ballpark ever : Ebbets Field and the story of the Brooklyn Dodgers / Bob McGee.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McGee, Bob, 1952-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ebbets Field (New York, N.Y.)--History.

Ebbets Field (New York, N.Y.).

Brooklyn Dodgers (Baseball team)--History.

Brooklyn Dodgers (Baseball team).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (353 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, NJ : Rutgers University Press, c2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Generations after its demise, Ebbets Field remains the single most colorful and enduring image of a baseball park, with a treasured niche in the game's legacy and the American imagination. In this lively story of sports, politics, and the talented, hilarious, and charming characters associated with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Bob McGee chronicles the ballpark's vibrant history from the drawing board to the wrecking ball, beginning with Charley Ebbets and the heralded opening in 1913, on through the eras that followed. McGee weaves a story about how Ebbets Field's architectural details, notable flaws, and striking facade brought Brooklyn and its team together in ways that allowed each to define the other. Drawing on original interviews and letters, as well as published and archival sources, The Greatest Ballpark Ever explores the struggle of Charley Ebbets to build Ebbets Field, the days of Wilbert Robinson's early pennant winners, the eras of the Daffiness Boys, Larry MacPhail, and Branch Rickey, the tumultuous field leadership of Leo the Lip, the fiery triumph of Jackie Robinson, the golden days of the Boys of Summer, and Walter O'Malley's ignominious departure. With humor and passion, The Greatest Ballpark Ever lets readers relive a day in the raucous ballpark with its quirky angles and its bent right-field wall, with the characters and events that have become part of the nation's folklore.

Contents:

Hallowed ground

Brooklyn owes the charmer

A steward in the rough

The new ballpark

Robins' nest

The Daffiness boys

Larry and Leo: lights, camera, action

Football, fatigues, 4Fs, and FDR

Quicksilver and thwarted gold

Firing the American imagination

Waiting for next year

Over the wall

Never forgiven, never forgotten.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 313-318) and index.

ISBN:

1-280-46287-6

9786610462872

0-8135-3775-4

OCLC:

64187828