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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Battle of Broadway, March 27, 2010
This review is from: 1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York (Hardcover)
It has become popular in recent years to write books dealing with specific years, and authors Lyle Spatz and Steve Steinberg have hit a home run with their new book on the rivalry between the New York Giants and Yankees in the year 1921. A lot was taking place in the baseball world at this time. The spitball had been banned in 1920 with only those skilled practitioners allowed to continue with the damp hurl. New York Giants outfielder Benny Kauff would be banned for life by Commissioner Landis due to his undesirable character and for supposedly purchasing stolen cars. In May of 1920 Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians was killed by a pitch thrown by Yankees' hurler Carl Mays who dealt from the bottom with his submarine slants towards home plate. On Memorial Day of 1921 a memorial would be placed in deep center field at the Polo Grounds to honor Giants' player Eddie Grant who died in The Great War. Commissioner Landis would also assert his authority in September of 1920 in banning eight members of the Chicago White Sox for their participation in throwing the 1919 World Series. The authors deal with the stress on both New York managers John McGraw and Miller Huggins. Huggins had the support of owner Jacob Ruppert, but co-owner Cap Huston wanted Wilbert Robinson. Both McGraw and Huggins were aged beyond their years. McGraw told his players the team has a chance to win "if my brains hold out." Years later George Kelly said McGraw would have had a barrage of bats thrown at him if he hadn't left immediately. Huggins said he "wouldn't go through those years again for a million dollars" since his health was more important. The photos in this book are sparkling and many never seen before. The photos of the players show several of them old beyond their years. Shufflin' Phil Douglas shows how a life of hard-living with alcohol can age a person. We learn of Ty Cobb fighting umpire Billy Evans under the grandstand following a game because Evans had the audacity to call Cobb out during the game. In addition to reliving the lives of the managers and players we are treated to examples of the writings of such sportswriters as Joe Vila, Damon Runyon, Westbrook Pegler, and Walter Trumbull. Trumbull had a great line from game five of the World Series in which he said "the Giants ran bases with all the skill of a fat lady with the asthma racing for a street car." Carl Mays was not liked by neither teammates nor opponents, and he feels the incident involving Chapman kept him out of the Hall of Fame. However, respected baseball historian and Hall of Fame voter Fred Lieb said it was due to his alleged acceptance of a bribe by gamblers in game four of the World Series of 1921. Mays pitched well in that game and he may have simply ran out of gas in the eighth inning. However, no proof was ever found of any wrongdoing. The World Series was the best five games out of nine with the Yankees at a distinct disadvantage due to Babe Ruth seeing limited action due to an infected elbow and a starting pitching staff that really didn't go beyond Carl Mays and Waite Hoyt. McGraw kept close friend and former pitcher Christy Mathewson informed of the outcome of the games while Matty was being treated for tuberculosis at Saranac Lake in upstate New York. I found it interesting that McGraw would say if the Giants can't win with the lead they now have, they don't deserve to win. In other words he isn't accepting any blame if the Giants lose. The Giants would win the battle of Broadway in both 1921 and 1922, but the Yankees became dominant beginning in 1923 when they opened their own playpen across the Harlem River from the Polo Grounds. If you enjoy baseball's rich and glorious history you will certainly find this book a worthy addition to your baseball library.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A treat for serious baseball fans, May 2, 2010
This review is from: 1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York (Hardcover)
Authors Lyle Spatz and Steve Steinberg bring 1921, an interesting and pivotal year, to life in this book about that year--subtitled, "The Yankees, the Giants, and the battle for baseball supremacy in New York." The Yankees and Giants presented a clash of styles and personalities. Sportswriter Fred Lieb termed the 1921 Yankees, which included Babe Ruth, Bob Meusel and an aging Frank "Home Run" Baker, as "the greatest combination of clouters in history." While Wee Willie Keeler had practiced the art of "hit'em where they ain't," Babe Ruth adopted the philosophy of "hit'em where there's no chance of them being." The Giants, under the guidance of manager John McGraw, practiced the art of "small ball" or "inside baseball." Advancing runners any way they could. McGraw frowned on Ruth's impact on the game and despised the Yankees' playing style. While Ruth was one of the most loved personalities in all of sports, McGraw was one of the most hated. McGraw had a dictatorial personality, was a vociferous umpire baiter and egotistical. Yankees' manager Miller Huggins faced the challenge of whether or not he "could mold an unruly group of stars and prima donnas along with ordinary, every day players into a championship team." Huggins, who clashed frequently with Ruth, was highly criticized and didn't receive the respect he deserved. The Yankees and Giants shared the Polo Grounds. The Yankees, before the arrival of Ruth, had been the city's poor step child, leasing space from the Giants. The Yankees and Giants were both involved in pennant races in 1921. The Yankees trailed the Indians by 1.5 games on Aug. 30 and the two clubs tangled in "one of the fiercest pennant battles in history." The Giants trailed the Pirates by 7.5 games with six weeks to play. The Yankees and Giants would meet in the first all-New York World Series, which set records for attendance, money wagered and gate receipts. Spatz and Steinberg take the reader through virtually a day-by-day account of the 1921 season, focusing on the Yankees and Giants. They put flesh and bones on many of the players with insights into their personalities, personal lives and other nuggets of information. After spending 312 pages on the regular season, the eight-game World Series (it was the best of nine) is covered in just 70 pages. 1921 is thoroughly researched and documented, well written and contains some rare photographs of players. It is a treat for any serious baseball fan.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
New York vs New York, April 5, 2010
This review is from: 1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York (Hardcover)
Much has been written about the nototious "Black Sox Scandal" during the 1919 World Series. By 1920, several of the guilty players had been booted out of baseball, including the great Shoeless Joe Jackson; the game had come to a crossroads. Clearly, its credibility with the American public had become a major issue. Baseball was on life support, in desperate need of a hero. With that as a backdrop, Lyle Spatz & Steve Steinberg have chronicled the 1921 season in baseball, culminating with the first ever all New York World Series, as John McGraw's notorious Giants prevailed over Miller Huggins' upstart Yankees, five games to three. The real story behind that outcome was the limited action Babe Ruth would see (only one home run in sixteen at bats) due to an infected elbow. During the regular season, Ruth had the greatest offensive season of his career, highlighted by a new single season home run record of 59. Although that mark would be eclipsed later in his career, by that one extra home run, the Bambino's 171 runs batted in would stand as his personal best. As the 1921 World Series began, the Yankees were the underdogs to John McGaw's legendary Giants. Both teams played in the Polo Grounds, but the park belonged to the Giants; the Yankees were just the tenants, playing in their very first Fall Classic. In another couple of years, they'd inhabit "The House That Ruth Built" - Yankee Stadium - and go on to become the world's most successful sports franchise. The Giants would eventually abandon the Polo Grounds and head to the left coast, along with the rival Dodgers, after the 1957 season; the Yankees reigned supreme. Spatz & Steinberg have compiled a wonderful piece of baseball history, and American history, as well. It's a fascinating tale of baseball's evolution as the Roaring Twenties were just starting to heat up, and a restless American society looked forward to the party.
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