Dick Stuart (1932-2002) began as a minor league first baseman, noted for his outsized ego and terrible fielding. His brash personality and 66 home runs for the Lincoln Chiefs of the Western League made him a national figure in 1956. In 1958, he came up to the majors in Pittsburgh and played some fine seasons with the Pirates, and later the Boston Red Sox. In 1961, he was selected for the National League All-Star team, and he led the American League in RBI in 1963. A wise-cracking bon vivant, his career was not what it might have been. If he had worked harder, he might have been a better player. If Bill Mazeroski hadn't ended the 1960 Series with a home run, Stuart, who was on deck, might have been the hero. Yet his great hitting ability, quick wit and love for the limelight made him one of the most interesting players of his era.

Major League Baseball was in crisis in 1968. The commissioner was inept, professional football was challenging the sport's popularity and the game on the field was boring, with pitchers dominating hitters in a succession of dull, low-scoring games. The League expanded for the 1969 season but the muddled process by which new franchises were selected highlighted the ineffective management of the sport. This book describes how baseball reached its nadir in the late 1960s and how it survived and began its slow comeback. The lack of offense in the game is examined, taking in the great pitching performances of Denny McLain, Bob Gibson, Don Drysdale and others. Colorful characters like Charley Finley and Ken Harrelson are covered, along with the effects dramatic changes in American society and the war in Vietnam had on the game.

It was a novel experiment as baseball's leading men formed the National Association, bringing order to the hodgepodge of professional and amateur clubs that made up the sport from the end of the Civil War through 1870. It was an imperfect beginning to organized professional sports in America-the league was plagued by gambling, contract jumping and rumors of dishonest play-but it laid groundwork for the multibillion dollar enterprises of the 21st century. Like most sporting endeavors, it was entertaining, with the best players in the world displaying their talents throughout the northeastern and mid-western United States and, in 1874, during a ground-breaking journey to England. In its second edition, this book covers all the action-both on and off the field-of the NA's early years, providing the definitive history of the first professional sports league in the U.S.

This narrative history of minor league football teams in Connecticut during the 60s and 70s is based on extensive newspaper and periodical research and interviews with nearly 70 former players, broadcasters and journalists. Only a few players - such as Marv Hubbard, Lou Piccone and Bob Tucker - emerged from the minors and made it to the NFL, but many more played for as little as $25 per game in their quest to make it big, or just to have fun playing the game they loved. Wealthy men like Pete Savin and Frank D'Addario got to live their dreams by owning teams in Hartford and Bridgeport. In the days before cable television saturated the media with live sports, small town fans turned out to support their local heroes, often men who worked on construction crews during the week, and stopped by the diner Sunday morning to talk football. Now in their 60s, 70s and 80s, these men share their stories of a simpler era; the good times, like the Hartford Knights' 1968 ACFL championship season, and the long bus rides and missed paydays that were as much a part of minor league ball as first downs and interceptions.

This is a history of the New York Yankees over a decade which saw them at the top of the American League and at the bottom. Based upon thorough background research and interviews with over 100 former players, the book covers the major stories of the period as well as some not seen elsewhere. The seventh games of the 1960 and 1962 World Series are described in detail, replete with the remembrances of many of the participants. The infamous Phil Linz harmonica incident, the fruitless search for another Mickey Mantle and the surprising emergence of Mel Stottlemyre are some of the stories that make the early ?60s such a fascinating era in Yankee lore.

This book traces the history of the New York Mets from the franchise's inauspicious beginnings?the 1962 team, led by Casey Stengel and made up of players like Rod Kanehl and Jay Hook, lost 120 games?through the miraculous championship season of 1969. Based on interviews with more than one hundred former players and extensive research by one of the more highly regarded baseball historians writing today, the book covers the era in unprecedented detail. Any Met fan from the 1960s will find some familiar stories along with some they?ve probably never read before. Presented in an easy-to-read, narrative style, this book traces the rapid ascent of the Mets and explores the reasons for their early failure and dramatic success.

This history of America's pastime describes the evolution of baseball from early bat and ball games to its growth and acceptance in different regions of the country. The New York clubs (i.e., the Atlantics, Excelsiors and Mutuals) are a primary focus, serving as examples of how the sport became more sophisticated and popular. The author compares theories about many of baseball's "inventors," exploring the often fascinating stories of several of baseball's oldest founding myths. The impact of the Civil War on the sport is discussed and baseball's unsteady path to becoming America's national game is analyzed at length.