Customer Reviews

Black and Blue: The Golden Arm, the Robinson Boys, and the 1966 World Series That Stunned America

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just finished it. And I think it is great. I grew up in Baltimore, and I was not-quite 14 when the '66 Series was played. It was (and is) the biggest sports-moment of my life. This book did a wonderful job of bringing it back to life.

If you weren't there, it's hard to appreciate how much of an upset the Orioles' sweep was. The Birds had never won squat before, and this was at the very height of all-time Dodger success. This was LA's 3rd WS in 4 years. They had won both of their appearances in the previous 3 WS, including a 4-game sweep of the Yankees. They had Koufax and Drysdale. Koufax had just had a stretch of 4 seasons that was the best 4-year-stretch that any pitcher ever had, before or since. In addition, the achievements of the Dodgers felt even bigger, simply because we never got to see them. Very few games were on TV, and there was no inter-league play. So the Dodgers were not just huge, they were huge of mythic proportions at the time. Before the Series, I hoped the Birds would not embarrass themselves. I hoped they could go 7 before they lost. I'm not a wimpy fan, but that's how it was. This is somewhat like the O's-Mets in '69, but in reverse. But the '66 O's weren't a fluke, they were the start of one dynasty... and the end of the Dodger dynasty. Neither Koufax nor Drysdale ever made the post-season again.

The best inning in Oriole history was the first inning of the first game in LA. F-Robby hit a 2-run dinger that barely cleared the fence. Then Brooks followed with a solo shot that their LF'er just watched as it disappeared over his head into the seats. Just like that, everything changed. Everything changed for the Series. Everything changed for the Orioles. And a whole lot changed for Baltimore. If you care about noteworthy World Series, read this book.

I think some Maryland folks have been far too thin-skinned about the author. Yes, he screwed up by referring to Baltimore as Maryland's capital. While that's just dumb, it was even dumber that he didn't have anyone from Baltimore proof-read the thing. He also made another more-subtle and obscure error. When talking about Spiro Agnew, he referred to him twice as "a Baltimore County executive". (In fact, Agnew was "the Baltimore County Executive", which was his job title. That error is more understandable. Baltimore is unusual in that the City is not part of the County). But so what? The author erred, but he not about anything regarding either baseball or the City. A few readers evidently are angry at the author for his comments about race-relations in Baltimore at the time. What he said was true. He didn't say anything incorrect on that score. Just ask Frank Robinson about it. He'll tell you about not being allowed to live anywhere except in "certain neighborhoods". There's no point in getting self-righteous or angry about it. It's just a part of how racial matters were in Baltimore area then, just as in many other places.

Some reviewers also have made a big deal about the author's treatment of Vin Scully vs. Chuck Thompson. I loved listening to Chuck Thompson, and I understand those who want to see him receive due credit. But Vin Scully *is* great. He does something remarkable by calling the game by himself. He does a wonderful job of talking to the audience. Even now, sometimes at night, I'll listen to a Dodger game despite the fact that I don't care about the Dodgers at all. I do it just to listen to Vin Scully. The guy is a treasure. To those who resent his treatment in the book, I suggest that you listen to him sometime with an open mind. The author didn't say anything critical of Chuck Thompson. The worst you can say is that he didn't emphasize what a great announcer Chuck was too.

The only aspect of the book I didn't enjoy was the tone of the quotes from Wally Bunker. The author gave the impression that Bunker was unhappy with the City and thought the O's were lucky to win. I don't know what Wally Bunker thought. I know it was fun watching him try to get 20 W's in his flash-in-the-pan '64 rookie year. I don't know if had a critical attitude towards the City and the team. I don't care much, because Bunker doesn't matter much in the story of the '66 season except for Game 3, when he pitched the best game of his life despite a sore arm. Another oddity is that the author referred to Frank Robinson as "Robby". Perhaps that's what his teammates called him in the clubhouse, I have no way to know. But among fans, you couldn't refer to "Robby" because we had two of them. It was common to refer to "F-Robby" or "B-Robby".

But these are small things. If you care about the Orioles or about important World Seres, and you want the '66 Series to become real to you, I suggest you ignore the people who make an issue about which city is the capital of Maryland. Instead, go ahead and read this book. Despite its minor flaws, it is very good indeed.

This is a great baseball book about two very different teams and how they beat the odds to win their respective leagues. It celebrates the national pastime, the bullpen characters, the managerial strategies, and especially two stellar athletes - Frank Robinson and Sandy Koufax - who had the best years of their careers before facing off in the post-season. Perhaps more importantly, this is also a work of social history, placing baseball in a cultural context, looking in depth at America's tumultuous environment during the mid-sixties.

Very well structured tale of the '66 Dodgers and O's capturing the flavor of the times by weaving social history throughout seasons. Excellent inside story complete with plenty of footnotes references. This author is a complete historian.
Very pleased with the book. Could have used statistics in the index completing the teams seasons and series boxscores.

The title is one mouthful. Being from Baltimore I was expecting a good read about my favorite baseball team and one I grew up watching and listening to. It is a shame the book was written by someone not at all familiar with Baltimore or one would assume baseball for that matter. Continually refering to "Jack Robinson" in the book instead of the name we all know him by as Jackie Robinson was an unbelievable gaff. Then calling Baltimore the capital of Maryland over and over again. Couple these with the other errors that pop out to anyone that lived through the 1966 season and lived in Baltimore and you gotta wonder about the research that actually went into this book and who was responsible at Little John for proofing it. One has to assume that the behind the scenes facts and the interviews were accurate but were they? I guess we will never know until someone writes another book about the 1966 season so that we can compare them. I enjoyed the book for the memories that it rekindled for me about the 1966 baseball season and the personalities on the Orioles team and those in Baltimore. The read for me was a nostalgic trip down memory lane for one that lived through it.
If you want to read a great Baltimore sports book, pick up a copy of Johnny U, The Life and Times of John Unitas by Tom Callahan. It will bring a tear to a true "Baltimoreon!"

I was surprised at the in depth coverage of the team activities off the field. The racial tension building in the country did not affect the teams' performance. It was interesting to learn more about players habits such as Lou Johnson's (Dodgers) drug addiction, and the way Dodgers all-star catcher John Roseboro would catch their remarkable pitching staff. I now know that Frank Robinson had one of the happiest seasons in his career, and that despite looking so over powering, the Orioles had their weaknesses as well. Who ever said that Curt Blefary knew what to do with a glove once he went out to left field? Every fly ball was an adventure out there!

This book takes you inside the 1966 season with the Dodgers and Orioles. An honest look at why Frank Robinson played so well for the Birds...and the racial strife in America as it mixed with baseball at that time. A quick read and very enjoyable not only for the true baseball fan, but for anyone who enjoys recent American history.

This book takes a wonderful story about major league baseball and a city and turns it into a minor league work. Adelman apparently never visited Baltimore, consulted a map or talked to anyone who was directly involved in the events he attempts to describe. He relies on second-hand sources and commits enough factual errors (Frank Robinson's Mother's Day home run off Luis Tiant, Baltimore as the capital of Maryland?, etc.)to be put into the DH role. If you are from Baltimore or have fond memories of the 1966 World Series, you'll want to read this book - but you'll be frustrated and angry once you do because the book is a slap at the intelligence of baseball fans everywhere.

The subject of this book is one that resonates with me more than four decades later --- the year the O's finally broke through, launching 20 years of excellence.

That is why some of the factual errors are so annoying. Admittedly, most of you probably don't care that Frank Robinson's record-setting homer flew out of Memorial Stadium on May EIGHTH (rather than the 7th, as the author claims). However, it is important to me, for two reasons. One, you cannot change the calendar. And, two, I was there when it happened. (Also, F-Robby didn't homer on Luis Tiant's FIRST pitch. The count was 1-1.)

As some of you have stated, it is confusing for Oriole fans of that era if someone refers to "Robby", without clarifying which one ("B" or "F"). Frank was certainly better-known nationally, but, in Ballmer, "Robby" means "Brooks", and "F-Robby" means "Frank".

Finally --- come on --- Baltimore is NOT the capital of Maryland. (Annapolis is the capital. You know ... the city with the famous NAVAL ACADEMY?)

The 1966 World Series and how the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers got there is the subject of this good, nostalgic baseball book. The story begins with the trade of Frank Robinson to the Orioles from the National League Cincinnati Reds and how the trade fueled Robinson's determination to prove that he was not "an old thirty", as he was labeled by the Reds' general manager. Robinson's excellent season culminated in winning the triple crown and in total dominance by his team of the American League that season. The story of Sandy Koufax and his pitching mastery and the staying power of his Dodgers during a tough pennant race is also fully treated and both teams headed down the home stretch to compete in the Fall Classic. This baseball account is a solid hit.

THIS IS BOOK IS ABOUT THE 1966 WORLD SERIES, ORIOLES VS DODGERS. IT WAS A CLASSIC MATCHUP OF THE HOMERUN POWER OF BALTIMORE AND THE BEST PITCHING STAFF IN BASEBALL, LOS ANGELES. IT TURNED OUT TO BE A VERY LOW SCORING AND BORING SERIES, IF YOU DON'T LIKE PITCHING DUELS. THIS SERIES WAS A DREAM COME TRUE FOR FRANK ROBINSON AND THEIR VERY YOUNG PITCHING STAFF OF THE ORIOLES. IT ALSO MARKED THE LAST GAME SANDY KOUFAX WOULD EVER PITCH. THE BOOK COVERS IN DETAIL EACH GAME AND ALSO GIVES US MUCH INSIGHT INTO SUCH PLAYERS AS BOOG POWELL, THE DAVIS BOYS AND THE TRUE STAR OF THE SERIES, FRANK ROBINSON. THEIR ARE SOME MINOR ERRORS IN THE BOOK BUT IF OVERLOOKED, IT IS WELL WORTH READING. I SUGGEST IT FOR ALL ORIOLE AND NOSTALIGIC FANS.