1960: The Last Pure Season [Hardcover]

Kerry Keene (Author), Dick Groat (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 21, 2000

1960: The Last Pure Season is the most complete work ever about one of baseball's most glorious campaigns. There was Pittsburgh's shocking World Series victory over the indomitable Yankees, Ted Williams' legendary final season, a classic home run derby, the formation and ultimate disbanding of Branch Rickey's proposed Continental League, and the birth of baseball's Twins and Angels. It was a time when most of the game's players earned salaries about 25 times that of the average American, compared to 1999, where those salaries are nearly 400 times greater. So jump into your 1960 Chevy Impala, tune in the ball game, and take a trip back to one of baseball's most historic and pivotal years.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...grandfathers as well as dads will enjoy the nostalgic appeal of 1960: The Last Pure Season. -- USA Today Baseball Weekly

This is an affectionate, well-written trip on the baseball time machine. Hop aboard. -- Booklist

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

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC (July 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582612803
• ISBN-13: 978-1582612805
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #882,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Good Subject, But A Disappointing Book, September 29, 2000

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: 1960: The Last Pure Season (Hardcover)

There has been a trend in the past few years to write books that cover a particular season, and 1960 would be a good year to include in a book. However, I didn't find anything new here. I feel it would be a book more suitable for high school students who are totally unfamiliar with that year in baseball. I was immediately suspicious with repeated misspellings of "Ebbetts Field". This would be an easy thing to check. Also on Page 129 I shuddered when I came across the name of "Johnny DeMaestri". Joe Demaestri, of course, along with first baseman Kent Hadley (neither mentioned) were acquired by the Yankees along with Roger Maris following the 1959 season. The book is filled out with appendices A-E with statistics, team rosters, trades, etc. I'm sorry, but I was disappointed.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Many short stops in short book, September 9, 2000

By 

David Dahl - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1960: The Last Pure Season (Hardcover)

A disappointment. I was distracted by the references to "Ebbetts Field" at least three times. Too much space is given to, for example, lists of all the Hall of Famers connected to 1960 baseball. The book tries to give mention to many, many topics, rather than tell the entire year in the context of, say, the Pirates-Yanks World Series or the trade of Roger Maris. (By the way, "World Series" should always be capitalized, as should "Series" when referring to the WS.)

Much of the material is apparently drawn from newspaper and Sporting News accounts of the day, with little apparent content from interviews of surviving players from the day.

Many 1960 Topps cards, a nice touch.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I LIKED IT, June 26, 2005

By 

COOL JEWEL (MACEDONIA, OHIO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1960: The Last Pure Season (Hardcover)

THIS IS ABOUT 1960 WHICH IS THE LAST SEASON BEFORE EXPANSION TOOK PLACE IN BASEBALL. I LIKED THE COVERAGE GIVEN TO TED WILLIAMS, THE PENNANT RACES AND ABOVE ALL THE WORLD SERIES. THIS BOOK WAS BETTER THAN I THOUGHT AND IS EASY READING. MANY OTHER THINGS TO BE FOUND IN THIS BOOK IS TEAM ROSTERS, LEAGUE STATS, TOP SALARY INFO AND MANY OTHER THINGS MADE THIS A GOOD READ FOR ME. I RECOMMEND IT.