A Lifetime of Yankee Octobers [Hardcover]

Sal Maiorana (Author), Salvatore Maiorana (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2002

It is a look at the New York Yankees through the eighty-five-year-old eyes of life-long Bronx resident, Joseph Kimmerle. A fictional character, Kimmerle has served as batboy, scribe or confidante for every Yankee team since 1923. He has been like a son to Babe Ruth, a trusted friend of Joe DiMaggios, and a father figure for current manager, Joe Torre. A Lifetime of Yankee Octobers is Kimmerles chronicle of the Yankees twenty-six World Series victories, the seasons that lead up to them, and the players that made them memorable.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Baseball's ultimate gift is its mythology. Ask any baseball fan to define this mythology and you hear the same names roll off their tongue without hesitation and without haste...Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle. Each name is uttered with an unmatched reverence, recalling indelible memories of greatness on the field. These men were New York Yankees, and these are the memories and chronicles of Joseph Kimmerle, a man who has spent a lifetime with the most storied team in the history of the sport-as a fan, bat-boy, scribe, and confidante.

Fortunately for the game and those who follow it, when his extraordinary career in sports journalism came to an end, he found that he just couldn't walk away without giving something back. His contributions is a tangible gift that exists in the stories contained within A Lifetime of Yankee Octobers. He is one of the few who could have illustrated this mythology. In October of 1923, a seven-year-old Kimmerle watched with his father as the Babe brought the first championship to the Bronx. In October of 2000, an 84-year-old Kimmerle witnessed the capturing of the 26th with the ghosts of those legendary men... Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle...prominently in his mind.

A Lifetime of Yankee Octobers is a comprehensive work that details the Yankees'dominance during their World Series championship years, while it shines the spotlight on the players, the managers, the big games and the events that shaped those years. From the construction of Yankee Stadium to the heartbreaking outcome of the 2001 World Series, Joseph Kimmerle is the eyes, ears, and collective memory of baseball's greatest fans.

A Lifetime of Yankee Octobers documents the Yankee mythology and, as a result, has become the latest addition to it.

About the Author

Sal Maiorana is a sportswriter for the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrate and Chronicle. He is also a regular contributor to numerous magazines and online sites, and is the author of five other books: Through the Green-The Mind and Art of a Professional Golfer, written with the cooperation of PGA Tour star Davis Love III; Relentless-The Hard-Hitting History of Buffalo Bills Football, volumes I and II; Thank You Sabres-Memories of the 1972-73 Season;and Oak Hill Country Club Centennial 1901-2001.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Gale Cengage (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585360392
• ISBN-13: 978-1585360390
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,350,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sal Maiorana was born in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1962, grew up in the suburbs of Syracuse, N.Y., and graduated from Buffalo State College in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism.

After working part-time for The Associated Press, he landed his first job in the daily newspaper business at The Leader in Corning, N.Y. Within 20 months he moved on to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle in 1986 where he remains today. His primary responsibilities are coverage of the Buffalo Bills, the Buffalo Sabres, golf and professional and college lacrosse.

Maiorana is also a regular contributor to numerous magazines and online sites, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and he is the author of 15 other books including the two-volume history of the Bills entitled Relentless: The Hard-Hitting History of Buffalo Bills Football, and a compilation of the greatest moments in Buffalo sports history entitled Game Night in Buffalo.

In 2009 he was inducted into the Frontier Field Walk of Fame, is a two-time winner of the Rochester Press-Radio Club Sports Writer of the Year award winner, the American Legion's Sports Writer of the Year in Rochester, and has also won numerous New York State Publishers' Association citations for his work with the Democrat and Chronicle.

Maiorana lives in Walworth, N.Y. with his wife, the former Christine Charlton, their two daughters, Taylor and Caroline, son, Holden, and dog, Buddy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Yankee fan's dream, July 16, 2002

By 

Sam (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Lifetime of Yankee Octobers (Hardcover)

This book is a Yankee fans dream because it chronicles the historic success of the greatest franchise in sports history. But what makes this book special is that it is unlike most Yankee books, of which there are literally hundreds. The story of the Yankees is told by a fictional character created by the author, a man who has personally witnessed all 26 of the Yankees' World Series championships. The character, named Joseph Kimmerle, was born and raised in the Bronx and lived across the street from where Yankee Stadium was built in the early 1920s. His father becomes friends with Babe Ruth, and through that connection, young Joseph Kimmerle gets a job with the Yankees as a bat boy and later as a clubhouse assistant. He ultimately covers the team as a sports writer for 45 years, and late in life he serves as a personal confidant to Yankee manager Joe Torre, whom he has known since Torre was a teenager growing up in Brooklyn. All of the facts and game accounts in the book are real, and Kimmerle is fictionally and ingeniously woven into the story. If you weren't warned on the title page that Kimmerle was a fictional character, you would certainly believe he was a real person, so artfully crafted is his character. This was one of the most enjoyable baseball reads I have encountered, and I highly recommend it, especially for Yankee fans looking for an interesting twist on their team's history.