Only Game in Town: Baseball Stars of the 1930s and 1940s Talk about the Game They Loved

by Fay Vincent

Book Overview

The 1930s was the era of such baseball legends as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg, and Joe DiMaggio. In The Only Game in Town, pitcher Elden Auker recalls what it was like to face these sluggers, while Red Sox outfielder Dom DiMaggio remembers how he nearly ended his brother Joe's record hitting streak. Then, in the 1940s, baseball underwent tremendous change. First came World War II, and stars such as Bob Feller and...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743273184
• ISBN13: 9780743273183
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

For the serious fan

An oral history that catches the ethos of an earlier time in a most wonderful and unspoiled manner. Vincent's editing never disrupts the beauty or the simplicity of memories that flow from the passions of the men who played in the 30's and 40's. This is a work that ranks with those of Honig and Ritter. Easy read. An essential for the baseball library. An absolute delight.

For all baseball fans

This is a book that any baseball fan needs to read. It makes us appreciate the game back when it was pure. When the game was truly the national pasttime, and the players such as Monte Irvin, Ralph Kiner, and so many others played a game they loved. Yes, it was a business, but it was also a game, which it's not anymore. It's a sport, no more, no less. The stories of Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Satchel Paige, Jimmie Foxx, Casey Stengel, and the ones we love reading about are there, along with Warren Spahn and Tommy Heinrich, Bob Feller, and Larry Doby. The discuss their lives, teammates, and what made baseball great. I wish I could give this more than five stars.

Interesting memories by old-time players

Former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent provides an interesting oral history of baseball by recording the words of ten of the game's top players. The players include stars of the big leagues (Dom DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky, Bob Feller, etc) one Negro Leaguer (Buck O'Neill), and two that played in both venues (Larry Doby, Monte Irvin). Each player spoke into a tape recorder, and their words are printed here, apparently verbatim. I liked the memories and insights from this diverse group of stars, not all of whom were educated or articulate. One wonders how many of today's pitchers follow Warren Spahn's method of stretching his arm between starts. I'm glad these interviews were conducted; Doby and Spahn both passed away in 2003, while at this writing the others range in age from 83 (Ralph Kiner) to 95 (Eldon Auker). Some note that Lawrence Ritter (GLORY OF THEIR TIMES) and Donald Honig (IMAGE OF THEIR GREATNESS) wrote similar books about baseball's past, and perhaps in better fashion. Still, this version is a readable and interesting first-person look at baseball.

Revealing

I loved this book. The players seemed more self-revealing, more confessional than usual. Maybe there's something about sitting in front of a former Commissioner that encourages full disclosure. Some examples: Bob Feller:"Josh Gibson couldn't hit a curve ball if he had an ironing board"; "Tommy Henrich could hit me if he had his eyes closed." Warren Spahn: "(Teammate Sam Jethroe) couldn't see, ran on his heels. He'd run by fly balls so hard it took him ten minutes to retrieve the ball..." Dom DiMaggio speaks of his dread of making eye contact with his brother right after he robbed Joe of a hit to put The Clipper's historic streak in jeopardy. And Larry Doby movingly tells of his gratitude to Joe Gordon for inviting him, a rookie and the AL's first black, to a pre-game catch. It was a public show of acceptance and Doby never forgot the kindness. Vincent has a knack for poking around in crannies that others ignore and that's why I gave the book four stars. Ed Vane, Los Angeles, CA.

Good Stuff

I like to talk about and read about baseball, back in the '30s, '40s, etc. With just eight teams in each league, the teams were playing each other 22 times every year. So everybody knew everybody else's strengths and weaknesses. And that's what makes this book work for me... the verbatims...the hitters name the pitchers they hated to face and the pitchers name the hitters they hated to see coming up. For me, naming names is good stuff. I give the book an A.