Fred Claire: My 30 Years in Dodger Blue [Hardcover]

Fred Claire (Author), Steve Springer (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2004

Al Campanis' appearance on Nightline, the selling of the Dodgers to corporate giant Fox and the trading of Mike Piazza. All great stories that have never been fully told, but are now laid bare by a man who was privy to the inner workings of the Los Angeles Dodgers for 30 years. From sportswriter to publicity director to executive vicepresident and general manager, Fred Claire has been an integral part of one of baseball's most colorful, popular and successful franchises.

Now, in My 30 Years in Dodger Blue, he opens the door to his private office to offer a unique perspective on headline-making events-including some that were never made public, like the day Manager Tommy Lasorda threatened to quit and the Dodgers decided Joe Morgan would be an ideal replacement, the bizarre scene in the Dodger Stadium parking lot the night both Claire and manager Bill Russell were fired, the eerie night Claire and Don Newcombe invaded Maury Wills' house in order to save his life, and more.

From Jackie Robinson to Darryl Strawberry, from Walter O'Malley to Rupert Murdoch, from the triumph of the 1988 championship to the turmoil of the 1998 Fox purchase, Claire takes you there in My 30 Years in Dodger Blue. There has never been a work on the Los Angeles Dodgers this definitive-until now.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Fred Claire developed a passion for baseball while growing up in a small Ohio town. After his family moved to California, Claire graduated from San Jose State in 1957 and set out on a 12-year sportswriting career in the newspaper field. Assigned to cover the Dodgers in 1969, he soon wound up as the teamÂ’s publicity director. Claire moved up the ladder to become the executive vice president and general manager of the Dodgers.

This is Steve SpringerÂ’s fourth book. He coauthored WinninÂ’ Times with Scott Ostler, as well as 60 Years of USC-UCLA Football with Mike Arkush and wrote The Encyclopedia of the Lakers. Springer has been a sportswriter for 30 years, with the Los Angeles Times for the last 20 years. Prior to the Times, he worked at the Thousand Oaks News-Chronicle and the Orange County Register. Springer has covered the Dodgers, Lakers, Clippers, Raiders, Kings, USC football and is currently the TimesÂ’ boxing writer.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582617325
• ISBN-13: 978-1582617329
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,320,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and candid look at the Dodgers, February 28, 2004

By 

Kurt Colicchio (West Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fred Claire: My 30 Years in Dodger Blue (Hardcover)

Anyone who is a Dodger fan (or was a Dodger fan until the bumbling Fox regime got their grubby hands on the team) will find this book to be an interesting and candid look at three decades of Dodger baseball. Claire's book is great because it lets you know what made the Dodgers win with class (a front office under Walter O'Malley all pulling in the same direction), and what recently made the Dodgers a sad laughingstock (a Fox TV exec making a terrible trade to finalize a cable TV deal). And the best part about the whole book is that Claire isn't out to glorify himself or grind an axe towards the Fox people --- he simply tells his story like it was at Dodger Stadium.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fabulous, May 9, 2005

By 

Claire Tokunaga (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fred Claire: My 30 Years in Dodger Blue (Hardcover)

This was a great book to read for all baseball fans to get a look behind the scenes into the business aspect of each and every game. The level of detail in this book was remarkable, really accentuating Fred Claire's passion for baseball. He writes very honestly, conveying emotions beyond the words on the page. He describes his experience with the Dodger's team but moreso in detail of every singly person who makes it work on a daily basis, who sweat and cry and laugh for the "family members" in this family culture that they've developed. Claire is not only talking about the last 30 years of his professional experiences but of the last 30 years of his life in general, ending with life beyond the Dodgers. Even to someone as clueless about the world of baseball, I was emotionally captivated by this book and the pages just flew by. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in baseball, his objective story-telling makes it very easy to read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Insight into the World of a Baseball Exec, May 5, 2005

By 

Nathan A. Coffey - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fred Claire: My 30 Years in Dodger Blue (Hardcover)

Fred's book offers an excellent first-hand account into the world of a baseball GM. His stories and experiences help to shed some light on what it takes to become a successful sport executive. I don't think there is any better way to learn how to become successful in this business than through someonee who did it himself. This book is excellent for sport management classes as it shows students what skills are necessary in different situations. A MUST READ, I will put this book in my baseball library as one of the most useful books on the business of baseball.