Customer Reviews

Baseball's Greatest Season, 1924

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Reed Browning's "Baseball's Greatest Season, 1924" makes the assertion that, given the close pennant races in both leagues, the 1924 season is the greatest in history. I thought that 1908 was pretty good, maybe the best, but Browning does have some convincing arguments for 1924: it was a watershed year for baseball, after World War I, the lively ball, the rookies and near rookies who began then or were breaking in around that time, and the last major scandal involving the throwing of games. Plus, it had a very exciting World Series involving a first time league champion versus one that had just won its league for the fourth time in a row.

Browning constructed his book in an interesting way, alternating the happenings of the sixteen teams during the year with the off-the-field aspects of baseball during that time. It is an effective way of getting a well-rounded picture of the total baseball scene for 1924. For example, a chapter may cover the period from Memorial Day to the 4th of July, and the surges and failings of the pennant contenders and second division teams are outlined. The next chapter may be about the business of baseball in the mid-1920s: how the money was earned by each club, how it was spent, and how much might be spent on which items. There are some that may find this kind of information less interesting than pennant races, or a distraction to the flow of the book, but there are also those who find this information interesting and may enjoy this slight break in the 1924 season to get an overall view of baseball in that era.

Overall, it is most interesting book, one that has the drama of exciting pennant races, the joy of a national hero making his first World Series appearance, a seven-game contest between contrasting styles of play, extra inning dramatics several times during the Series, unexpected quirks of fate in the last game, and, as in all good plots, a surprising ending. It's definitely a good book to read.

Basically, this was somewhat of a boring read, and that's coming from a guy (me) who loves baseball history from 70-125 years ago and is a huge admirer of Walter Johnson.

The Johnson-led Washington Nationals shocked the baseball world in 1924 by winning the pennant and then the World Series, but author Reed Browning's account of it is too dry. He goes almost day-by-day with accounts of games with nothing bnt scores of each game and statistical highlights. Where are the colorful stories of that season? Where's the spark in this account? It isn't there; just a bunch of statistics in written form, mainly.

I did appreciate the "why" behind the statement that 1924 was a better year than 1908. It leads to some honest debate over which year offered the most when it comes to baseball history, and I enjoyed reading how our nation's capital went bonkers over their team......something very rare in the annuals of MLB. The chapters NOT dealing with the 1924 season were actually the best.

Don't get me wrong: it's not a bad book, but it isn't half as interesting as other books about the great old days of baseball and the exploits of its unique characters.