Bursting onto the scene as a 20-year-old rookie, Arky Vaughan quickly established himself as the next great Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop. In 1935 his .385 batting average eclipsed even that of the immortal Honus Wagner, who was a steadying influence for Vaughan during his 10 seasons with the Pirates. Vaughan never hit under .300 with Pittsburgh and his versatility later made him an asset to the Brooklyn Dodgers. One of the quietest men in baseball, the nine-time All-Star eschewed the limelight but received plenty of attention for his on-field performance, for his one-man mutiny against Brooklyn manager Leo Durocher, and for walking away from the game to take care of his family and his beloved ranch during World War II. Drawing on dozens of articles, personal writings, recorded interviews and his daughter's unpublished biography, this book covers the life and career of an often overlooked Hall of Famer who died in a tragic boating accident at age 40.

This book brings to life one of baseball's greatest sluggers, Willie Stargell, first by examining the factors that shaped him as a man growing up in tumultuous racial times of the 1950s and '60s, then by recreating the major moments in his Hall of Fame baseball career, and finally by tracing his various endeavours during the post-playing days. Interviews with more than 80 people--family members, childhood friends, teammates, opponents, front office workers and others--combined with dozens of newspaper and magazine articles shed light on the iconic patriarch of one of baseball's last great ""families,"" the 1970s-era Pittsburgh Pirates,