The definitive account of the life and tragic death of baseball legend Lou Gehrig.
Lou Gehrig was a baseball legend--the Iron Horse, the stoic New York Yankee who was the greatest first baseman in history, a man whose consecutive-games streak was ended by a horrible disease that now bears his name. But as this definitive new biography makes clear, Gehrig's life was more complicated--and, perhaps, even more heroic--than anyone really knew.
Drawing on new interviews and more than two hundred pages of previously unpublished letters to and from Gehrig, "Luckiest Man" gives us an intimate portrait of the man who became an American hero: his life as a shy and awkward youth growing up in New York City, his unlikely friendship with Babe Ruth (a friendship that allegedly ended over rumors that Ruth had had an affair with Gehrig's wife), and his stellar career with the Yankees, where his consecutive-games streak stood for more than half a century. What was not previously known, however, is that symptoms of Gehrig's affliction began appearing in 1938, earlier than is commonly acknowledged. Later, aware that he was dying, Gehrig exhibited a perseverance that was truly inspiring; he lived the last two years of his short life with the same grace and dignity with which he gave his now-famous "luckiest man" speech.
Meticulously researched and elegantly written, Jonathan Eig's "Luckiest Man" shows us one of the greatest baseball players of all time as we've never seen him before.

With incredible skill, passion, and insight, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Halberstam returns us to a glorious time when the dreams of a now almost forgotten America rested on the crack of a bat.

The year was 1949, and a war-weary nation turned from the battlefields to the ball fields in search of new heroes. It was a summer that marked the beginning of a sports rivalry unequaled in the annals of athletic competition. The awesome New York Yankees and the indomitable Boston Red Sox were fighting for supremacy of baseball's American League, and an aging Joe DiMaggio and a brash, headstrong hitting phenomenon named Ted Williams led their respective teams in a classic pennant duel of almost mythic proportions--one that would be decided in an explosive head-to-head confrontation on the last day of the season.

In the spring of 1933, with a new president in office and a banking crisis narrowly averted, there was optimism in Washington, D.C., even among the baseball fans. The hard-luck Senators, who topped 90 wins in each of the previous three seasons only to finish well in back of the pennant winner, seemed full of promise. They secured a "new deal" of their own with 26-year-old Joe Cronin, their peppery shortstop, who had emerged as one of the best players in the American League. Newly signed as the youngest manager in the majors, Cronin was determined to lead the Senators to the pennant, though Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and the world champion New York Yankees stood in the way.

Explore the important influence of Japanese-American players on baseball history in California.

This brief but readable biography tells the story of the most recognized figure in baseball-Babe Ruth. Besides vividly describing the highlights of Ruth's career, author Wayne Stewart examines the unprecedented impact Ruth had on the nature and future of the game. Ruth's ability to hit the long ball and the flamboyance of his off-field persona infused the game with a new excitement that rescued baseball from the negative effects of the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Making extensive use of interviews conducted by the author with members of Ruth's family and with players who knew Ruth, this biography is an engaging exploration of how Ruth helped shape modern baseball. Babe Ruth is the most recognized figure in baseball and a true American icon. In this brief but readable biography, author Wayne Stewart engagingly describes the highlights of Ruth's career and deftly examines the reasons for the unprecedented impact Ruth had on the game. Ruth's ability to hit the long ball and the flamboyance of his off-field persona infused the game with a new excitement that rescued baseball from the negative effects of the 1919 Black Sox scandal. The author draws new insights into Ruth's life and career through interviews he conducted with members of Ruth's family and with other baseball players who knew him. Readers are also provided with a quick reference chronology to Ruth's career, a bibliography of important print and non-print information resources on Ruth, a statistical appendix summarizing Ruth's on-field production by season, and a discussion of how Ruth has been depicted in books, movies, plays, and other media since his death. This biography will both explain and satisfy the continuing curiosity about Ruth among young basbeball fans who never had the opportunity to see him play.

The year 1906 holds special significance for the city of Chicago for a number of reasons, but probably nothing generated as much excitement as the all-Chicago World Series that pitted the White Sox against the Cubs.

Upton Sinclair had just written The Jungle, which revealed the inner workings of the city's slaughterhouses. There was also a new central city and county government building rising in the Loop. In considerations of that year, however, it is the city's two baseball teams that probably generate the most attention. More than one hundred years have passed, and we still haven't seen a repeat of the all-Chicago World Series.

This history examines the bold moves made by ballclub owners and managers, and puts the significance of baseball in context with this detailed account of the events of 1906. It also introduces Charles Comiskey before the "Black Sox" scandal as well as Charles Murphy, the feisty, lively owner of the Cubs. The entire season is relived in Windy City World Series I: 1906, White Sox-Cubs.

There is no question that the physical and mental demands of the sport of baseball are rigorous. Not only is it difficult to successfully hit a ninety-mile-per-hour fastball in front of a crowd of passionate spectators, but it is also challenging to navigate an often confusing system that leads players through youth leagues, high school, college, and for a lucky few, the Minor and Major Leagues.

Rod Humphries, sports journalist, television writer, and former administrator of a worldwide professional tennis tour, shares his personal experiences and advice from experts in this complete insider's guide designed to help players, their parents, and baseball fans understand how Major Leaguers "pay their dues." Humphries, who closely studied the entire baseball assembly line when his son was drafted out of high school by the Houston Astros, offers valuable information on:

- The professional baseball structure- Little League vs. select/travel ball- Player analysis and recruitment- Scholarships and coaching camps- Draft day decisions, salaries, and career chances

"Little League to the Major Leagues" provides proven tips and time-tested advice for any family or player who dares to dream of journeying beyond youth baseball to high school, college, and the professional game.

From the perspective of 2007, the unintentional irony of Chance's boast is manifest-- these days, the question is when will the Cubs ever win a game they have to have. In October 1908, though, no one would have laughed: The Cubs were, without doubt, baseball's greatest team-- the first dynasty of the 20th century. Crazy '08 recounts the 1908 season-- the year when Peerless Leader Frank Chance's men went toe to toe to toe with John McGraw and Christy Mathewson's New York Giants and Honus Wagner's Pittsburgh Pirates in the greatest pennant race the National League has ever seen. The American League has its own three-cornered pennant fight, and players like Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and the egregiously crooked Hal Chase ensured that the junior circuit had its moments. But it was the National League's-- and the Cubs'-- year. Crazy '08, however, is not just the exciting story of a great season. It is also about the forces that created modern baseball, and the America that produced it. In 1908, crooked pols run Chicago's First Ward, and gambling magnates control the Yankees. Fans regularly invade the field to do handstands or argue with the umps; others shoot guns from rickety grandstands prone to burning. There are anarchists on the loose and racial killings in the town that made Lincoln. On the flimsiest of pretexts, General Abner Doubleday becomes a symbol of Americanism, and baseball's own anthem, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, is a hit. Picaresque and dramatic, 1908 is a season in which so many weird and wonderful things happen that it is somehow unsurprising that a hairpiece, a swarm of gnats, a sudden bout of lumbago, and a disasterdown in the mines all play a role in its outcome. And sometimes the events are not so wonderful at all. There are several deaths by baseball, and the shadow of corruption creeps closer to the heart of baseball-- the honesty of the game itself. Simply put, 1908 is the year that baseball grew up. Oh, and it was the last time the Cubs won the World Series. Destined to be as memorable as the season it documents, Crazy '08 sets a new standard for what a book about baseball can be.