Author: Michael Connelly Publisher: Lyons Press ISBN: 9781493067404 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 264
Book Description
Fenway 1946 celebrates the city and the team and the spirit of that wonderful 1946 season in Boston - a season, as usual that broke fans' hearts - as America returned to peacetime pastimes. And on was more American than baseball.
Author: Michael Connelly Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield ISBN: 1493046381 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 273
Book Description
Boston writer Michael Connelly captures the magic of America’s return to normalcy after World War II in this intimate portrait of a city and the baseball team it loves. Fenway 1946 celebrates the city, the team, and the spirit of that wonderful 1946 season in Boston—a season, as usual, that broke fans’ hearts—as America returned to return to peacetime pastimes. And none was more American than baseball. Along the way, Connelly brings out the stories and personalities that made that year so special in the Hub. For returning veterans like Ted Williams, young Congressman John F. Kennedy, and thousands of others and their families who worried while they were in Europe or the Pacific, the 1946 Red Sox season was a celebration. It was catharsis. It was what made America great. Husbands and sons were coming home to the open arms of a grateful nation. This included five hundred major leaguers who fought in World War II. The homecoming of America’s best sparked a spirit of collective pride from coast to coast—and New England was not exempt. For the previous five years, America sat around its radio listening to war reports. Now they would gather in the parlors to enjoy baseball once again. Baseball had always been a thread that connected the country—a sport that linked generations. Opening Day 1946 was a tangible reminder that the country was at peace—back to the way things were. Nowhere was this more relevant than in Boston. From Scollay Square to South Boston to the North End, veterans in their uniforms, kids with bats over their shoulder, and housewives were talking about the return of Ted Williams and a roster that was considered the best in the league. Expectations were high—as always, at Fenway Park. Fans somehow knew this would be their year. The 1946 Boston Red Sox finished first in the American League with a record of 104 wins and 50 losses. And they wouldn’t disappoint (until October).
Author: Michael Connolly Publisher: Lyons Press ISBN: 9781493046379 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Boston writer Michael Connolly captures the magic of American's return to normalcy after World War II in this intimate portrait of a city and the baseball team it loves. Fenway 1946 celebrates the city and the team and the spirit of that wonderful 1946 season in Boston--a season, as usual the broke fans' hearts--as America returned to return to peacetime pastimes. And none was more American than baseball. Along the way he brings out the stories and personalities that made that year so special in the Hub. From returning veterans like Ted Williams and young Congressman John F. Kennedy and thousands of others and their families who worried while they were in Europe or the Pacific, the 1946 Red Sox season was a celebration. It was catharsis. It was what made American great. Husbands and sons were coming home to the open arms of a grateful nation. This included five hundred major leaguers who fought in World War II. The homecoming of America's best sparked a spirit of collective pride from coast to coast--and New England was not exempt. For the previous five years, America sat around its radio listening to war reports. Now they would gather in the parlors to enjoy baseball once again. Baseball had always been a thread that connected the country--a sport that linked generations. Opening Day 1946 was a tangible reminder that the country was at peace - back to the way things were. Nowhere was this more relevant than in Boston. From Scollay Square to South Boston to the North End, veterans in their uniforms, kids with bats over their shoulder and housewives were talking about the return of Ted Williams and a roster that was considered the best in the league. Expectations were high - as always, at Fenway Park. Fans somehow knew this would be their year. The 1946 Boston Red Sox finished first in the American League with a record of 104 wins and 50 losses. And they wouldn't disappoint (until October). ***** * In January of 1946, Ted Williams, Dom DiMaggio, John Pesky and Bobby Doerr are released from the military and vow to come back as good as ever. * American and especially Boston are desperate for real baseball. In 1945, the Red Sox averaged only 7,814 fans a game at Fenway. In 1946, with Williams and the team back home, they played in front of over 33,000 in their last scrimmage game at Fenway Park before the season started. * Opening Day for the league was in Washington D.C. between the Senators and the Red Sox. President Harry Truman threw out the first pitch. Ted Williams went 6-12 in the series and was mobbed by Senator fans who rip his shirt off while he leaves the field. As he approached the dugout, Williams tossed his hat to a GI sitting in the lower box * The home Opening Day for the Red Sox at Fenway Park was an event for the ages. Before the game Marines re-enacted the flag-raising at Iowa Jima in center field. The first pitch was thrown out by Governor Tobin. Standing by his side was a local war hero, John Murdoch, who got a bigger ovation than Ted Williams. Murdoch was part of the team that saved boxing world champion Barney Ross, whose bravery at Guadalcanal was unparalleled. * Red Sox won an amazing 41 of their first 50 games. Ted Williams hits eleven home runs in just June. A spirit of euphoria overtakes Boston as the always hopeful fans pray for the Red Sox to break their 28-year curse. * All Star game is played at Fenway where Ted Williams and voted MVP after going 4 for 4 with 2 home runs including a grand slam. * In September, the Red Sox win a matinee game 1-0 in Cleveland on a Ted Williams inside the park home run. Later that day the Tigers lose giving Boston the pennant. Red Sox owner, Tom Yawkey throws a party in his hotel room. No one can find Ted Williams. Not telling anyone, Williams went to the local veterans' hospital in Cleveland and spent the night with a dying veteran. * Red Sox clinch the pennant. In one year their win total improved by 33 games (71-83 in 1945 to 104-50 in 1946). America is returning to
Author: Douglas B. Lyons Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield ISBN: 1493017225 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 217
Book Description
In celebration of the 100th issue of Who’s Who in Baseball—one of the game’s most venerable publications—comes a century's worth of the annual's iconic covers, insightful breakdowns of the players featured on those covers, and informative accounts of the baseball history tied to each year’s issue. 100 Years of Who’s Who in Baseball is a colorful, must-have book of baseball nostalgia for fans of the American Pastime. The start of the baseball season brings with it a host of annual traditions and reminders, and one of the most beloved—the annual Who’s Who in Baseball—arrives on newsstands across the country every Spring Training. The 2015 season marks 100 years of Who’s Who delivering year-by-year stats to generations of baseball fans to quickly and easily track a player’s performance from the minors to the majors. And while Who’s Who is trusted as an authoritative source of baseball statistics and has been used by generations of club executives, broadcasters, journalists, and fans—it’s the publication’s cover subject that each year generates as much hot-stove speculation and buzz as off-season rumors of trades, firings, and pitching rotations. In partnership with Who’s Who in Baseball, this celebratory book features each of the annual's 100 iconic covers in full color along with an account of why the player rated the cover and what was going on in baseball at the time. From baseball’s deadball era to the dawn of “replay review,” this collection offers a gorgeously illustrated history of the game.
Author: Charlie Bevis Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 1476629641 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 251
Book Description
For 52 years, Boston was a two-team Major League city, home to both the Red Sox and the Braves. This book focuses on the two teams' period of coexistence and competition for fans. The author analyzes the Boston fan base through trends in transportation, communication, geography, population and employment. Tracing the pendulum of fan preference between the two teams over five distinct time periods, a deeper understanding emerges of why the Red Sox remained in Boston and the Braves moved to Milwaukee.
Author: Philip J. Lowry Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 0786457341 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 371
Book Description
Baseball is the only major team sport that doesn't feature a clock, and there's a familiar saying among fans that as long as outs remain, the game can, theoretically, go on forever. Every now and again, it nearly does, as author Phil Lowry demonstrates. The product of more than four decades of research, this book catalogs baseball games from around the world and throughout history that lasted 20 or more innings, stretched five or more hours, or ended after 1:00 am. Lowry also examines probability models to predict how often games of unusual length will occur.
Author: John Powers Publisher: Running Press Adult ISBN: 0762444908 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 510
Book Description
Fenway Park. The name evokes a team and a sport that have become more synonymous with a city's identity than any stadium or arena in the country. Since opening in the same week of 1912 that the Titanic sank, the park's instantly recognizable confines have seen some of the most dramatic happenings in baseball history, including Carlton Fisk's "Is it fair?" home run in the 1975 World Series and Ted Williams's perfectly scripted long ball in his final at-bat. For 100 years, the Fenway faithful have been tested. They have known triumph and heartbreak, miracles and curses -- well, one curse in particular -- to such a degree that an entire nation of fans heaved a collective sigh of relief when Dave Roberts stole a base by a fingertip in 2004, triggering the most amazing comeback in the game's annals. To sit and watch a game at Fenway is to recognize that the pitcher is standing on the same mound where Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, and Babe Ruth pitched, that a hitter is in the same batter's box where Ty Cobb and Hank Aaron and Shoeless Joe Jackson dug in to take their swings. This is a ballpark that has embraced its odd construction quirks, including the bizarre triangle out in center field and the Green Monster that looms above the left fielder, and today -- for better and for worse -- it remains largely unchanged from the day it opened. In its long history, Fenway has hosted football, hockey, soccer, boxing, and so much more. It has provided a backdrop to hundreds of historic events having nothing to do with sports, including concerts, religious gatherings, and political rallies. It was the site of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's final campaign address, as well as visits by music luminaries from Stevie Wonder to Bruce Springsteen to the Rolling Stones. Through it all, the Boston Globe has been the consistent, respected chronicler of every important moment in park history. In fact, the newspaper played a remarkable role in Fenway's creation and evolution: the Taylor family -- founders and longtime owners of the Globe -- owned the ballclub in 1912, helped finance the new stadium, and renamed the team the "Red Sox". It is the Globe's insider perspective, combined with more than a century of exemplary journalism, that makes this book the definitive narrative history of both park and team, and a centennial collectors' item unlike any other. Its pages offer a level of detail that is unmatched, with exceptional writing and hundreds of rarely seen photographs and illustrations. This is Fenway Park, the complete story, unfiltered and expertly told.
Author: Leigh Montville Publisher: Anchor ISBN: 0767913205 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 562
Book Description
The Kid. The Splendid Splinter. Teddy Ballgame. One of the greatest figures of his generation, and arguably the greatest baseball hitter of all time. But what made Ted Williams a legend – and a lightning rod for controversy in life and in death? Still a gangly teenager when he stepped into a Boston Red Sox uniform in 1939, Williams’s boisterous personality and penchant for towering home runs earned him adoring admirers and venomous critics. In 1941, the entire country followed Williams's stunning .406 season, a record that has not been touched in over six decades. Then at the pinnacle of his prime, Williams left Boston to train and serve as a fighter pilot in World War II, missing three full years of baseball, making his achievements all the more remarkable. Ted Willams's personal life was equally colorful. His attraction to women (and their attraction to him) was a constant. He was married and divorced three times and he fathered two daughters and a son. He was one of corporate America's first modern spokesmen, and he remained, nearly into his eighties, a fiercely devoted fisherman. With his son, John Henry Williams, he devoted his final years to the sports memorabilia business, even as illness overtook him. And in death, controversy and public outcry followed Williams and the disagreements between his children over the decision to have his body preserved for future resuscitation in a cryonics facility--a fate, many argue, Williams never wanted. With unmatched verve and passion, and drawing upon hundreds of interviews, acclaimed best-selling author Leigh Montville brings to life Ted Williams's superb triumphs, lonely tragedies, and intensely colorful personality, in a biography that is fitting of an American hero and legend.