1951: When Giants Played the Game [Paperback]

Kerry Keene (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 18, 2001

Fifty years have now passed, yet it remains a baseball moment frozen for an eternity. New York Giants slugger Bobby Thomson will seemingly always be a 27-year-old ballplayer in his prime, blasting a home run against the arch-rival Brooklyn Dodgers to vault his team into the World Series against the neighboring New York Yankees. Servicemen and women stationed in Korea were able to share in the moment via radio, earning its claim as "the shot heard `round the world." It was the biggest baseball highlight in a year that the game witnessed many significant moments and stories. Future superstars Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle would make their debuts with their respective New York teams early in the 1951 season, just as legendary Yankee hero Joe DiMaggio was embarking on his final big league campaign. Baseball Commissioner Albert "Happy" Chandler was being ousted from office just as maverick owner Bill Veeck was bringing his entertaining antics back into the game as the new owner of the St. Louis Browns. All-time great hurler Bob Feller was tying a record for career no-hitters, while Yankee pitcher Allie Reynolds was tying a record for no-hitters in a single season. As baseball celebrates significant milestones in 2001-the American League's 100th anniversary and the National League's 125th-there will be much reflecting on the game's glorious past. What better time to roll the clock back 50 years to 1951 and re-live one of baseball's most noteworthy seasons, 1951: When Giants Played the Game.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kerry Keene is the author of three books on baseball and a member of the Society for American Baseball Research. He is married with two children and lives in Raynham, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 235 pages
• Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC; 1st ed edition (September 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582613095
• ISBN-13: 978-1582613093
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,332,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GOOD NOSTALGIA, March 8, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: 1951: When Giants Played the Game (Paperback)

THIS IS ABOUT BASEBALL IN 1951. AN EXCITING AND INTERESTING SEASON WHICH THIS BOOKS COVERS IN DETAIL. THE COMING OF WILLIE AND MICKEY, THE GOING OF JOE D, THE PENNANT RACES, AND OTHER GOINGS ON IS COVERED EXPERTLY BY AUTHOR KERRY KEANE. THIS A A REAL NICE SLICE OF BASBALL HISTORY. I RECOMMEND THIS FOR ALL BASEBALL FANS. JUST WISH IT WAS LONGER.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Year in A Great Decade, March 23, 2002

By 

C. W. Emblom "Bill Emblom" (Ishpeming, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 1951: When Giants Played the Game (Paperback)

Baseball had a fabulous decade in the 1950's and the year 1951 provided a number of historic moments culminating in Bobby Thomson's dramatic "shot heard 'round the world." DiMaggio's last season and Mantle's first. Connie Mack no longer managing the Athletics, Albert "Happy" Chandler ousted as Commissioner and replaced by Ford "It's a league matter" Frick, Bill Veeck sending in midget pinch hitter Eddie Gaedel in St. Louis, Willie Mays arrives in the Polo Grounds under the guidance of "Lippy" Leo Durocher, the N.L. is 75 years old and the A.L. is 50, and an obscure rookie named Bob Nieman homers in his first two times at bat in the major leagues. It was a time of Yogi, Stan the Man, the Splendid Splinter, the Cuban Comet, Willie, Mickey, and the Duke, the Boys of Summer, and Topps and Bowman baseball cards. How lucky I was to be a kid growing up at a time when every boy was a baseball fan, and if he wasn't, he wasn't a boy. Author Kerry Keene has done an admirable job in reliving the year 1951 when baseball reigned undisputably as America's national game. Whether you are old enough to remember the year or if you want to learn the way it was, this book will bring you back to a time when baseball was king in America. It was a great time to be alive. I only wish the book was available in hardcover.