What they have said
about the book:
NEW
YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, 1980
ìWe
are again given a good history of the time and the particulars. ''New
York City Baseball'' starts near the end, with the initial maneuvering
in 1955 by Walter O'Malley in his attempts to get the city to build a
ballpark for the Dodgers, maneuvering that led to the eventual move to
the West Coast. From this point it goes back to the beginning, the
entrance of the black ballplayer onto the major league scene. And then
we are off into the individual histories of the three clubs as well as
that of their 10-year rivalry for domination of the majors.
Everyone is here: DiMaggio, in pain, killing the Red Sox; Lavagetto
ruining Bevens's no-hitter; Thomson and Branca; Wayne Belardi and the
Hondo Hurricane. It was a helluva 10 years we had for ourselves.
O'Malley, who almost seems human in the book, tells of entering a
Manhattan elevator a few weeks after the big play-off game to find
himself with Bobby Thomson. ''I said, 'Hello, Bobby,' and one of the
men on the elevator said, 'You talk to that bum, he cost me a hundred
dollars.' I smiled and said, 'He must have cost me half a million
dollars.' The man looked at me wide-eyed. 'You bet that kind of money,
Mister?' he said.''
Mr. Frommer includes a handy appendix with complete team rosters and
pertinent statistics for the 10-year period, so ''you could look it
up.'' In addition to the strong club records over the decade,
individual players on the three teams accounted for one-third of the
titles in batting average, home runs, games won, e.r.a. and the like.
And this was during the heyday of batters like Musial and Williams and
pitchers like Spahn, Roberts, Lemon and Wynn, so our boys were playing
against some heavy opposition.
The best part of the book, perhaps, is for old Giant fans. The club
had far less pure talent than either the Yankees or the Dodgers and
yet made the very most of what it had. They did splendidly, and
although I'm a lifetime Dodger fan, it took this book to make me admit
it, as well as, grudgingly, to allow the Yankees some class.
So it's a good time to find this book
''New York City Baseball,'' to re-create a happier era.
......................................................
NEW YORK TIMES, April 7, 1985,
"Focusing on New York's Giants, Dodgers and Yankees, Harvey
Frommer presents what our reviewer, Joel Oppenheimer, called ''a good
history of the time and the particulars.'' An appendix lists rosters
and statistics. Mr. Oppenheimer said the 1980 book ''re-creates a
happier era.''
......................................................
SIGNED EDITIONS
"When the lights came on again after World War II, they
illuminated a nation ready for heroes and a city --New York--eager for
entertainment. Baseball provided the heroes, and the Yankees, the
Giants, and the Dodgers--with their rivalries, their successes, their
stars--provided the show. Oisk and Newk, Pee Wee and Skoonj, Ski,
Campy, Preacher, Westy, Blacky, Whitey, Yogi, the Yankee Clipper, the
Peepul's Cherce, the Old Reliable--New York City Baseball recaptures
the golden decade of 1947-1957, when the three New York teams were the
uncrowned kings of the city and the very embodiment of the national
pastime for much of the U.S. In those ten years, Casey Stengel and his
Bronx Bombers went to the World Series seven times; Joltin' Joe
DiMaggio stepped gracefully aside to make room for a yong slugger
named Mickey Mantle; one Bobby Thomson hit "the shot heard 'round
the world"' and the Brooklyn (but not for much longer) Dodgers
achieved the impossible by beating the Yankees in the 1955 World
Series."
......................................................
LIBRARY JOURNAL
"A well-written, tight and amusing chronicle. A fine special study of an era and a phenomenon."
......................................................
KIRKUS REVIEWS
"An absolutely grand account. Glorious reminiscences."
......................................................
NEWSDAY
"In June of that first momentous year, he startled everyone by scoring all the way from first base on a sacrifice by Gene Hermanski in a game in Chicago. Another time he dashed to second base on a walk. He stole home and for a brief instant the loyalty of the hometown fans in a game in Pittsburgh. Walking leads that terrorized opposing pitchers, football-like slides that intimidated infielders, clutch hit after clutch hit, evasive tactics on rundown plays - these became part of the Robinson mystique and style."
......................................................
RED BARBER
"An excellent book that brings back the
humanness of the Dodgers, the Giants and the Yankees. We shall not
have such an era again except in such loving books as this one."
......................................................
ROGER KAHN
"A wonderfully written, evocative book."
......................................................
PETER GOLENBOCK
"Memory after memory, page after page. I enjoyed
it very much."
......................................................
ROBERT CREAMER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
"As one who remembers that era well, I thoroughly
enjoyed reading Harvey Frommerís account of it."
......................................................
NEWSDAY REVIEW
"No red-blooded baseball fan will want to be without
it. A genuine social history of New York sports in the decade of 1947 to 1957.
A compulsively fascinating book."
......................................................
READERíS CATALOG
When the lights came on again after World War II, they
illuminated a nation ready for heroes and a city--New York--eager for
entertainment. Baseball provided the heroes, and the Yankees, the Giants, and
the Dodgers--with their rivalries, their successes, their stars--provided the
show.
......................................................
NEW BROOKLYN
"A nostalgic and enjoyable treat."
......................................................
NATIONAL REVIEW
"The best blow-by-blow description of the move west by
the Dodgers and Giants to be found anywhere. A fine post-mortem which ought to
be the last word on the subject."
......................................................
PRAIRIE SUN
"The fans and the fanfare, the talented stars
and the unique rivalries with atmospheric stories and snappy prose.
Vivid and evocative."
......................................................
JERSEY JOURNAL
"Itís memories, moods and the story of times
that have escaped us. You have to read it."
......................................................
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
"Itíll make you eat your heart out and drown in
nostalgia."
......................................................
WNBC RADIO, NY
"A terrific book, the way Frommer describes
Ebbets Field it reads like a Fellini movie."
......................................................
USA TODAY
"A look back at the heyday of Big Apple baseball when at least
one New York team appeared in the World Series in 10 of the 11
years."
......................................................
WOR-RADIO/ N.Y.
"A most delightful, a most delectable book."
......................................................
NEW YORK POST
"LOVE OF A BOOK lovingly described."
......................................................
City Memories
"This slim, illustrated volume makes a fascinating
attempt at capturing in theoretical, sociological terms the love
affair between the Dodgers--the team of Branch Rickey and Duke Snider,
of Pee Wee Reese and, above all, Jackie Robinson--and the homely,
family-oriented, working-class borough of Brooklyn in the 1950s.
Robinson, a complex and courageous man, is captured here, warts and
all; few remember that the gifted ballplayer denounced the great actor
Paul Robeson to the House Un-American Activities Committee. But it's
the glory of those summer days that lingers in the memories, and in
the pages of this book."
......................................................
Baseballology
"New
York City Baseball in 1947-57 Was The Golden Age"
by
Russ Cohen
After
reading the touching dedication that Harvey Frommer had for his wife
Myrna and the foreword by Monte Irvin, I knew this was going to be
a special book.
The
author is a real expert on New York baseball in the "Golden Era"
and these books really serve as great reference books besides being
great reads. This book talks about the Dodgers moving and after talking
with Carl Erskine recently I realized how much that move affected
the players as much as the fans! When the Bums beat the Yankees on
October 4th, 1955 the author paints a terrific picture of one of the
greatest World Series moments.
Even
Met fans will love this book as it has some great quotes from Wes
Westrum and there are some early memories from the team's struggles
at the Polo Grounds, formerly the home of the New York Giants!
This book does a nice job of keeping up with events of the era such
as the new Buick B-58 car and other nuggets. This book also details
the early career of one Jackie Robinson like few books ever have.
You can read what Hall-of-Fame announcer Red Barber thought that time
in baseball history.
This
book also talks about a young ballplayer that hit the streets of New
York, one Willie Mays! If you ever heard the song 'talkin baseball'
then you will be able to read about Willie, Mickey and the Duke!
Look at the great pictures and marvel at the Abbott, Costello and
Joe DiMaggio shot! This book has everything and if you wanted to learn
more about this era, buy the book.
