Baseball Between the Wars : A Pictorial Tribute to the Men Who Made the Game in Chicago from 1909 to 1947 [Hardcover]

Bill Hageman (Author), William Hageman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2001

Featuring vintage baseball photograps

From the archives of the "Chicago Tribune, Chicago Herald, and "Chicago Herald-American, this remarkable collection of baseball photographs resurrects the game's nostalgic past, a golden age when players were more accessible and photographers worked closer to their subjects. The names of those pictured--Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb--will be familiar to fans, but the spontaneous poses, such as Babe Ruth donning a fireman's helmet for the outfield cameras, may not be. The sense of informal fun of a long-gone baseball era is uniquely captured in the pages of "Baseball Between the Wars.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Describes Chicago baseball better than any other book I have ever read. The pictures are outstanding. . . . -- Bob Feller

The photos are sensational. The book is a smash. Enjoy! -- Peter Golenbock, author of Wrigleyville and Bums

You find yourself wishing that the book could go into extra innings that would somehow never end. -- Bob Greene

From the Inside Flap

This remarkable book revisits Chicago’s memorable baseball past in pictures and words. The historic photographs and fascinating essays help to bring the golden age of baseball to life.

In Baseball Between the Wars, author Bill Hageman traces the lives of those who played the game in Chicago in the first half of the twentieth century. Readers are treated to images of rough-hewn ballplayers in wool uniforms on the field, as well as glimpses into these heroes’ lives off the field. Here are nearly 300 images of players who appeared in the majors between 1909 and 1947. These photos—many seen here for the first time—were pulled from the archives of the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago American, the Chicago Herald American, and the Chicago Herald and Examiner.

The subjects in this book are national in scope. Not only are members of the Cubs and White Sox included, but players and executives from other ball clubs—familiar names like Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb, Feller, Tinker, and DiMaggio—are here as well.

Within each decade, Hageman describes through lively anecdotal narrative the context in which the game evolved and provides detailed captions that help bring the glory of the era to life. As you journey through this unique chronicle of baseball’s golden age, you will see not just the players but also their personalities captured timelessly in rare photographs.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies (April 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809297485
• ISBN-13: 978-0809297481
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,466,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasure trove, July 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Baseball Between the Wars : A Pictorial Tribute to the Men Who Made the Game in Chicago from 1909 to 1947 (Hardcover)

This isn't your normal linear history of baseball. The author assumes anyone who buys a book like this already has a clue.

But imagine rooting around an uncle's attic and discovering shots of Ruth, Gehrig and other greats both as players and, incredibly, as human beings.

My guess is not only have most of these photos never been seen, but never has even the most fanatic lover of baseball seen pictures of immortals in the context of real life as they're seen here.

Is everyone in the book? No. Is it loaded with stats? Wrong book.

This is a find, a treat, not another "Photographic History of Baseball." We have those. These are photographs, and this is a book, to cherish.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars factual errors galore, December 21, 2005

By 

rickblaine1942 (Denver, Co.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baseball Between the Wars : A Pictorial Tribute to the Men Who Made the Game in Chicago from 1909 to 1947 (Hardcover)

There are numerous never-before-seen candid photos of home team and visiting players in Chicago starting with the first decade of the 20th century. All are in sepia tone. Most of the photos identify the players although in several group shots only a famous player or two are sometimes identified.
In a shot of Hack Wilson signing a contract, the only other player identified is Rogers Hornsby, though well-known Chicago Cubs players such as Kiki Cuyler, Charlie Grimm, Riggs Stephenson and Woody English are not identified.
In another photo depicting at least five members of the Black Sox leaving the courtroom after being cleared initially of throwing games, not one of the players is identified. One of the players is Joe Jackson, and since this is the only photo in the entire book which shows Jackson, it would have seemed of some importance to identify him.
In addition, there is not a single photo of Hall of Famer Harry Hooper, who spent the last five years of his career in Chicago. Nor are there any pics of Dickie Kerr, a pitcher who won two games for Chicago in the 'Black Sox' Series of 1919. Yet there are numerous photos of backup players in Chicago who had little impact on the game.
Most egregious, however, are the numerous editing errors in the book, many of which cite incorrect statistics or facts for players in captions underneath photos. I found about a dozen of these mistakes upon first reading, such as: It's stated under a photo of Lou Gehrig that his best RBI year was 127 in 1936, though it's well-known that Gehrig had seven seasons alone of over 150 RBI.
Another photo identifies Babe Ruth as a Red Sox pitcher, when he's in a Yankees uniform. Still another photo mixes up the identities of Kiki Cuyler and Woody English. Smoky Joe Wood's last season was in 1922, not 1920. Big Ed Walsh' 1906 W-L record is incorrectly stated. And so on, and so on- the factual errors are numerous.
The book's preface states that the photos were culled from thousands from Chicago newspapers- yet a few were washed out, some feature benchwarmers you've never heard of, while some important figures are virtually left out.
The book feels like an editor mulled over a bunch of photos, extracted the best negatives, without regard to any cohesive story-telling, splashed them together in a relative progression of decades, then put some sort of statistical caption under the photos unrelated to the possible importance of the photo as it was taken.
Many of the photos are fun to look at, especially if you're a fan of baseball in Chicago. Just don't expect much in the way of coherent writing or factual presentation.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars No Shoeless Joe?, July 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Baseball Between the Wars : A Pictorial Tribute to the Men Who Made the Game in Chicago from 1909 to 1947 (Hardcover)

How can you print a book of photographs about baseball in Chicago and not have one photo of Shoeless Joe Jackson? The photos that do makeup the book are interesting but all have the sepia tone treatment and appear faded or washed out. The collection lacks the dramatic quality of crisp black and white images contained in such works as "Baseball", the companion book to the Ken Burns' special on PBS. Definately not a "must have".