Overview

Of all the teams in the annals of baseball, only a select few can lay claim to historic significance. One of those teams is the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers, the first racially integrated Major League team of the twentieth century. The addition of Jackie Robinson to its roster changed not only baseball but also the nation. Yet Robinson was just one member of that memorable club, which included Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese, Pete Reiser, Duke Snider, Eddie Stanky, Arky Vaughan, and Dixie Walker. Also present was a quartet of baseball’s most unforgettable characters: co-owners Branch Rickey and Walter O’Malley, suspended manager Leo Durocher, and radio announcer Red Barber. This book is the first to offer biographies of everyone on that incomparable team as well as accounts of the moments and events that marked the Dodgers’ 1947 season: Commissioner Happy Chandler suspending Durocher, Rickey luring his old friend Burt Shotton out of retirement to replace Durocher, and brilliant outfielder Reiser being sidelined after running into a fence. In spite of all this, the Dodgers went on to win the National League pennant over the heavily favored St. Louis Cardinals. And of course, there is the biggest story of the season, where history and biography coalesce: Jackie Robinson, who overcame widespread hostility to become Rookie of the Year—and to help the Dodgers set single-game attendance records in cities around the National League.

Full Product Details

Author:   Lyle Spatz ,  Mark Langill ,  Maurice Bouchard ,  Leonard Levin
Publisher:   University of Nebraska Press
Imprint:   University of Nebraska Press
Dimensions:   Width: 20.30cm , Height: 2.10cm , Length: 25.40cm
Weight:   0.780kg
ISBN:  

9780803239920

ISBN 10:   0803239920
Pages:   400
Publication Date:   01 April 2012
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Foreword       Mark Langill Acknowledgments Introduction       Lyle Spatz 1. How the 1947 Team Was Built       Lyle Spatz 2. Spring Training in Havana       Irv Goldfarb 3. Jackie Robinson       Rick Swaine 4. Branch Rickey       Andy McCue 5. Leo Durocher       Jeffrey Marlett 6. Kirby Higbe       Ralph Berger 7. Bobby Bragan       David L. Fleitz and Maurice Bouchard 8. Dixie Walker       Lyle Spatz 9. Carl Furillo       John T. Saccoman 10. The Suspension of Leo Durocher       Jeffrey Marlett 11. Branch Rickey and the Mainstream Press       Joe Marren 12. Timeline, April 15April 30       Lyle Spatz 13. Ebbets Field, 1947       Bob McGee 14. Jackie Robinson's First Game       Lyle Spatz 15. Clyde Sukeforth       James L. Ray 16. Burt Shotton       Rob Edelman 17. Ray Blades       Russell Wolinsky 18. Spider Jorgensen       William H. Johnson 19. Hal Gregg       James L. Ray 20. Timeline, May 1May 20       Lyle Spatz 21. Hank Behrman       Rob Edelman 22. Rube Melton       Jack V. Morris 23. Jackie Robinson and the Jews       Rabbi Rebecca T. Alpert 24. Timeline, May 21June 15       Lyle Spatz 25. Gene Hermanski       Leonard Levin and Robert H. Schaefer 26. Hugh Casey       Russell Wolinsky 27. Rex Barney       Don Harrison 28. Tommy Brown       C. Paul Rogers III 29. Harry Taylor       Adam J. Ulrey 30. Timeline, June 16June 29       Lyle Spatz 31. Ed Chandler       James L. Ray 32. Marv Rackley       Rob Neyer 33. Gil Hodges       John T. Saccoman 34. George Dockins       Russell Wolinsky 35. Eddie Stanky       Alex Edelman 36. Timeline, June 30July 14       Lyle Spatz 37. Arky Vaughan       Ralph C. Moses 38. Duke Snider       Warren Jacobs 39. Ralph Branca       Paul Hirsch 40. Clyde King       James L. Ray 41. Jake Pitler       Stanley H. Bard 42. Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1947 All-Star Game       Lyle Spatz 43. Timeline, July 15July 31       Lyle Spatz 44. Pee Wee Reese       Rob Edelman 45. Bruce Edwards       Ralph Berger 46. The Protested Game of July 20, 1947       David W. Smith 47. Joe Hatten       Joseph Wancho 48. Timeline, August 1August 17       Lyle Spatz 49. Howie Schultz       Stew Thornley 50. Pete Reiser       Mark Stewart 51. Tommy Tatum       Dan Mullen 52. Timeline, August 18August 31       Lyle Spatz 53. Eddie Miksis       Peter M. Gordon 54. Stan Rojek       Edward W. Veit 55. Dan Bankhead       Rory Costello 56. Timeline, September 1September 19       Lyle Spatz 57. Phil Haugstad       Bob Buege 58. Don Lund       Jerry Nechal 59. Vic Lombardi       Lawrence Baldassaro 60. Jack Banta       Jimmy Keenan 61. Johnny Van Cuyk       David Greisen 62. Timeline, September 20September 28       Lyle Spatz 63. Willie Ramsdell       John Harry Stahl 64. Dick Whitman       Ted D. Smith 65. Erv Palica       Mark Stewart 66. Ed Stevens       Jim Kreuz 67. Walter O'Malley       Andy McCue 68. John L. Smith       Andy McCue 69. Red Barber       Warren Corbett 70. Connie Desmond       Rob Edelman 71. Advertising and the Dodgers in 1947       Roberta J. Newman 72. The 1947 World Series       Tom Hawthorn 73. Al Gionfriddo       Rory Costello 74. Cookie Lavagetto       Mathew Sisson 75. Al Gionfriddo's Memorable Game Six Catch       Rory Costello 76. Lavagetto Ends Bevens's No-Hit Attempt       Joe Dittmar 77. Most Valuable Player Award       Lyle Spatz 78. Rookie of the Year Award       Lyle Spatz 79. Cy Young Award       Lyle Spatz 80. Dodgers Attendance in 1947       John Pastier 81. Ownership Issues in Brooklyn       Andy McCue Epilogue       Lyle Spatz Notes and References Contributors

Reviews

What a marvelous concept for a book, and so brilliantly realized! Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey changed everything in 1947, but they did not do it alone. From Red Barber and Dixie Walker to Eddie Stanky and Clyde Sukeforth, stars and supernumeraries alike, all played a part in baseball's greatest drama. --John Thorn, official historian for Major League Baseball --John Thorn (09/26/2011)

"""The 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers were all heroes to me... 1947 started one of the most historic decades in baseball history. Lyle Spatz's book captures that time which set the stage for Brooklyn's world championship."" Carl Erskine, pitcher who won 122 games for the Dodgers from 1948 to 1959. ""What a marvellous concept for a book, and so brilliantly realized! Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey changed everything in 1947, but they did not do it alone. From Red Barber and Dixie Walker to Eddie Stanky and Clyde Sukeforth, stars and supernumeraries alike, all played a part in baseball's greatest drama."" John Thorn, official historian for Major League Baseball."

Author Information

Lyle Spatz’s many books include Dixie Walker: A Life in Baseball and (with coauthor Steve Steinberg) 1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York, winner of the Seymour Medal (Nebraska, 2010).

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