Fall Classics: The Best Writing About the World Series
First 100 Years
Edited by Bill Littlefield and Richard A. Johnson
Crown Publishers 2003
p. 290
Here is a book that is a breath of fresh air among baseball books. This
book is not only about baseball and its evolution, but it is also about
journalism and the evolution of sports journalism. Of course they evolved
together and over time they became much more smooth and complex as both
writers and players found their niche.
The book is a compilation of articles written about the
World Series. It contains articles that were written for the daily papers
and ready to print hours later in addition to many articles that took
days, weeks, and even years of pondering before the writer felt ready
to put the words down upon paper. (editor’s note:
we know how they feel)
The difference between the two is startling at times
and it’s obvious as you go through the chapters that the quality
of journalism has been uneven by today’s standards. However much
of that which we might consider uneven today was indeed the height of
journalistic artistry of the writer’s day.
As the book implies it’s about the first 100 years
of the game and the accounts, usually of just a single game, often the
final one in the series, but not always. The news articles run from the
convoluted and confusing to those that are superb examples of the printed
word.
The account of the first World Series is one of those
that stands out, not for its artistry but as an example of how much journalism
has changed over the years. A reporter who submitted such a piece today
would be lucky to keep his job, but in those times who really knew how
to report baseball - let alone a world series in 1903? Baseball was still
in infancy - less than 20 years past standardized rules when that first
series was played.
Each article is an account of a game, covering the works
of about 40 writers and 32 different World Series. Several series (especially
those of 1919 and 1923) are represented by more than one story and several
are written by ghost writers who, as was common in their day, were writing
from the player’s point of view – so the pieces were supposedly
written by those stars. Some are excerpts from books including Eight Men
Out (1919 Black Sox), Maybe I’ll Pitch Forever (Satchel Paige),
Catching Dreams (Josh Gibson), and several others. The book also includes
a brief look into the “other World Series”, that of the Negro
Leagues and the players who were banned because of color from reaching
baseball’s ultimate prize in those days.
The list of writers in this book is a virtual who’s
who of sports journalism with names like Jimmy Breslin, Peter Gammons,
Elliot Asinof, Roger Angell, Thomas Boswell, Heywood Broun, Arthur Daley,
Ring Lardner, Damon Runyon, Red Smith, Joe Trimble and more.
For those looking for a baseball book that is different
and is not just about the game but about evolution, artistry and those
who have turned on field antics into baseball’s mythology, this
is a very special book. Its strength is not however the baseball therein,
but the writing itself. For that reason it cannot be rated as
a four ball book, however it is definitely worth three as a very enjoyable
and interesting book.
Buy from Amazon!
Our Rating System is based on a four ball system
as follows: One Ball: Average. It has something to say but is nothing special. Two Balls: Something men usually have - also means its a cut above
average, and worth reading/owning. Three balls: Stands out from its peers and is highly recommended. Four Balls: More than just what two men have when hanging out
together, it means it is an exceptional book that truly earns a walk -
straight to the local book store to get a copy.
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