4 comments about The Curt Flood Story: The Man Behind the Myth (Sports and American Culture Series).

1. According to the author, this book is the story of the life of a sensitive, brooding St. Louis Cardinals star center fielder who became unhinged after misplaying a costly line drive in the 1968 World Series, feuded with his boss, Gussie Busch, and the Cardinals front office, and then found himself traded. Bound by his contract that obligated him to go where the Cardinals sent him, or retire, he chose a third option--to challenge baseball's reserve clause which he believed, after conferring with his lawyer, was unconstitutional. The writer argues, successfully in this reader's judgment, that Flood's unusual decision, sacrificing his career, was another in a series of bad decisions that stemmed from his misplay in 1968. In this smoothly written book, Professor Weiss also argues very cogently that although Flood, because of his challenge to the reserve clause, is viewed by many people as the father of free agency, actually he was at best the grandfather, and perhaps only the Godfather, of free agency.



2. This book is a good read and not only for a baseball fans. It is primarily about a player's reasons for sacrificing his career, and in that sense it is extremely provocative. It directly attacks the eulogistic and long-standing view that Curt Flood was a hero who sacrificed his career on behalf of a noble cause--challenging baseball's reserve system in the courts. In that sense it is a psychodrama.



3. Interesting premise, and although the writing is a bit uninspired, a reasonable read. I am still not quite sure what problem the Mr. Weiss was trying to solve (but, indeed, the book is provocative, as the author promises). I also was struck by the apparent refusal of any of Curt Flood's teammates to speak with the Mr. Weiss about Flood's career. I think there also could have been a bit more discussion of Jackie Robinson's testimony at the trial and what prompted it.
   
   I did spot a few minor errors which I would suggest revisiting should there be a second edition.
   
   page 103, top paragraph, for Keane (who was dead by 1967) should be Schoendinst.
   
   page 106 there is a repeat of the phraase "-and Mickey Lolich"...which I think is unintentional
   
   page 114 The museum housing the old masters in Amsterdam is the "Rijksmuseum", not the "Reichsmuseum" (probably the last thing the Dutch would want the place called"
   
   page 140 Not really an error, but when the Phils were trying to lure Flood to come in 1970, the artificial turf of the Vet was still more than year away
   
   page 175 In January of 1970, the opposing teams in the Superbowl were Kansas City and Minnesota, not Green Bay and Minnesota
   
   My only other observation is that whatever the myth was, Flood was a fabulous player and in 1967, when the Cards came to New England for the Series, many of thought that with the excepton of Frank Robinson (who had come to the Orioles the previous year) the American Leagues did not have players the likes of Flood, Bob Gibson and Lous Brock.



4. As the author of The Curt Flood Story: The Man Behind the Myth, I want to correct a key date on page 110. It could not be more significant. It was central to my argument that Flood sued baseball because he became bitter and angry, even unreasoning, after he misplayed Jim Northrup's line drive in the 1968 World Series. A central piece of evidence was his failure to send his ex-wife her semi-monthly check on October 18, 1968, just a week after the Series ended. Unfortunately, I did not see until yesterday, August 26, 2008, that I placed the month at November, more than a month after the Series, which undermined the nexus and my argument. I am sorry on several counts, for not seeing the mistake before publication, for not correcting it sooner, and for partially vitiating my thesis.

1 comments about The Man In Dugout Cl.

1. Book has in-depth views of each hall-of-fame manager, and some other lesser known and modern managers that have made their mark on the game.

   Unlike The Bill James guide to Baseball, this book focuses on the man and his managerial career, and his stategy. James seems to have written a book on how baseball was generally managed in certain eras. He doesn't focus much on indivual men, as this book does.

   For a diehard like me, this book is money well spent. If you are only a causual man, save your money.

2 comments about Whitey Ford.

1. As a lifelong Yankee fan and an avid reader of sports biographies, Mr. Coverdale's Whitey Ford ranks number one in my book. Meticulously researched and consequently bereft of the inaccuracies which mar so many sport biographies, the book fully captures the excitement and mystique of the Yankee glory years in the 1950's and 60's.



2. Mr. Coverdale may be the most accurate baseball biographer, but he ranks among the driest. This book details about every start Ford ever made as a major leaguer. It's like a set of 460 box scores made into prose. What it lacks is any description of Whitey's private life after he became a Yankee, including the fun times with Mickey. The most famous stories are repeated in brief: the Copacabana incident, the Phil Linz harmonica strife, and Whitey's late career scuffing of the ball. But seek in vain for a "life" story here. And the book abruptly ends with Whitey's retirement. If you like Whitey, as I do, even though I'm not a Yankee fan, you want to know more about him. Has he been happy these last 39 years?

No comments about Lou Gehrig: A Biography (Baseball's All-Time Greatest Hitters).

5 comments about Stepping Up: The Story of All-Star Curt Flood and His Fight for Baseball Players' Rights.

1. The book is only 202 pages long, but author Alex Belth has written a very interesting account of Curt Flood's career as a baseball player with the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals in addition to the role he played in helping to grant players the free agency they enjoy today. Of course it was Flood's years with the Cardinals in the 1960's that distinguished him as one of the game's top flight players. After establishing himself with the Redbirds and having an art business in St. Louis Flood balked at a trade that sent him to the Philadelphia Phillies following the 1969 season. With the help of Marvin Miller and the Baseball Players' Association he decided to challenge baseball's right to trade him against his will. Although he ultimately lost the battle in the United States Supreme Court, this case provided the catalyst that ultimately gave free agency to players through the subsequent case involving Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally in which arbitrator Peter Seitz told baseball owners to come to an agreement with the players regarding the reserve clause. The game's owners refused to do this, Seitz made his ruling, and the reserve clause became a thing of the past. Although free agency came too late to help Curt Flood today's players owe a great debt of thanks to him for the role he played in making them the multi-millionaires they are today. This is a book that should be in any serious baseball fan's library.



2. Because the story of Curt Flood's fight to put an end to baseball's reserve clause is one of courage, the book is worth reading. It is, however, probably the worst edited book I have ever read. Let's hope that subsequent editions correct the myriad of mistakes.



3. I was excited last fall when I found out a new book on the life of Curt Flood was going to be published. How disappointed I was after reading the thin biography by Alex Belth.
   
   Belth does little new research in the life and times of Flood. He relies upon material about his career in baseball, his fight players' rights and an oftentimes misunderstood/controversial life off the field that was already available to the public.
   
   What especially demonstrates a lack of material outside the lines is Belth's over-reliance of play-by-play concerning Flood's baseball exploits. Instead of analysis of the man on the field of play, Belth goes to the stats book to reduce valuable pages in this thin text to nothing more than a baseball almanac.
   
   The book reads as if it is a draft of a screenplay instead of a true exploration of a multi-dimensional figure that Flood was as a person and player. If nothing else, this was yet another case of a black man waging a battle against a white-dominated institution for the betterment of many.
   
   But, Flood is as much a historical figure in the rising tide of black's demanding justice from the white power structure as he is an employee willing to risk his career in a labor dispute. Belth fails to juxtaposition both issues for that time in U.S. history.
   
   For those seeking a better read on Curt Flood, you'll need to seek out the book he penned in the 1970s, which is as much an exploration/opinions of those times as it is autobiography.
   
   And I hope that the future will bring a biography that is truly a holistic exploration of Curt Flood.



4. Think 'civil rights in sports' and you automatically think of Jackie Robinson - but there's another black baseball player who also fought on behalf of all players to choose which team they played for, a story revealed in STEPPING UP: THE STORY OF CURT FLOOD AND HIS FIGHT FOR BASEBALL PLAYERS' RIGHTS. It's the first biography of the three-time all-star who sued Major League Baseball and brought his case all the way to the Supreme Court for justice. Surprisingly, this is the first biography of Curt Flood, detailing his life, his sports achievements, and his battle against a vast system of built-in injustice. An outstanding recommendation for civil rights and sports collections alike.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



5. Alex Belth's "Stepping UP" is slim pickings. It is a sportswriter's cursory portrait of Flood sacrificing his career for the benefit of all players suffering from the restrictions of baseball's reserve system. It is a creampuff light example of what can be done without real research, and it is full of errors--major character's names misspelled, a reference to small claims court when the venue was federal district court, and much more. For a serious book about Flood, see Brad Snyder's "A Well-Paid Slave," and for a challenge to both books, see Stuart L. Weiss, "The Curt Flood Story: The Man Behind the Myth," due in April from the University of Missouri Press.

2 comments about Honus: The Life and Times of a Baseball Hero.

1. I thought this book was a great biography of one of baseball's least appreciated stars. It starts with his beginnings in the mines to his death in 1955. I thought this book had too many minor details in his retirement ventures. I think this is a book that all baseball fans will enjoy.



2. This book was a bit disappointing because there really was not a lot of in-depth background information on Honus Wagner the man. Seasons were covered in five pages and, in one instance, the text reviewed one game by stating that Honus had hit, "a three-run double, but the Pirates lost 5-2." How can the Pirates lose 5-2 if Honus hit a three-run double? There seemed to be many errors of this nature in the book as the editing was not very crisp.

   I tried not to be too harsh in my review as I know the material on Honus is not easy to find, but even the material that is available in the text is not presented very well. Honus Wagner was arguably the greatest player of his time and a simple, interesting person off the field, so his story is indeed an important one to baseball fans. Unfortunately, I don't think this biography is the one you want to read if you want a well-written, in-depth portrait of Honus Wagner.

No comments about The Early All-Stars: Conversations With Standout Baseball Players of the 1930s and 1940s.

2 comments about Harry Wright: The Father of Professional Base Ball.

1. As the author of the July 2003 Cap Anson 1: When Captaining a Team Meant Something: Leadership in Baseball's Early Years (Tile Books), I was excited about recently coming across a copy of Mr. Devine's book. Anson and Wright were parallel figures in 19th-century baseball. Wright was a captain (player)-manager and later a bench manager, while Anson was almost entirely a captain (player)-manager. The difference was big, as the captain but not the bench manager, into the early 20th century, had the power to argue with the usually lone umpire. If you were a captain-manager, you pretty much had free reins. Because of that, and the existence of some original correspondence in the 1870s but not the 1880s, the first half of Wright's career is presented more authoritatively than is his second half.

   Wright was someone people could like (and Devine presents him accordingly) while Anson liked to stir things up such as by making bold assertions. Devine's book is like a nice walk in the park, with lots of pretty scenery ('Arry even does some bicycling). Devine uncovered some new details about Wright's family, including some new photographs, apparently with the help of a direct descendant.

   Wright also was an early innovator, such as in seeing that his players had good off-the-field habits and worked on physical conditioning. Anglophiles will appreciate his Victorian gentlemanliness.




2. It seems impossible that in the rich history of baseball writing, never before had anyone written a biography on Harry Wright, a man whose contribution to the game prompted his admirers to call him the father of professional baseball. Christopher Devine provides the most in-depth factual account of his life to date, and in doing so, re-introduces us to one of the first great baseball men in America.

No comments about Gabby Hartnett: The Life and Times of the Cubs' Greatest Catcher.

No comments about Babe Ruth: A Biography (Baseball's All-Time Greatest Hitters).