The New York Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics met in the World Series three times between 1905 and 1913. Each team had its future Hall of Famers. The Athletics had owner and manager Connie Mack as well as Eddie Plank, Chief Bender, Eddie Collins, and Frank “Home Run” Baker. The Giants had manager John McGraw and pitchers Christy Mathewson and Rube Marquard. Adler, a microbiologist and baseball historian, tells the story of the legendary 1913 season. Early on, he focuses on the lives of Mack and McGraw, then segues to chapters on each team’s regular season and on each game of the epic World Series. An epilogue recaps the subsequent careers of the principals. Adler includes fascinating period details to provide a context and fleshes out the players and managers so they are more than just shadowy black-and-white images. Readers will need to bring an interest in baseball history to this volume, but those who do will be rewarded with a revealing look at both some of the game’s greatest players and one of the most memorable World Series of all time. --Wes Lukowsky
Review
"Richard Adler has captured the flavor and drama of the final World Series clash between the Deadball Era's two most successful managers, sons of Erin who couldn't have been more unalike." --Norman Macht, author of
Connie Mack and the Early Years of Baseball"The 1913 season marked the end of an era, with legendary managers John McGraw and Connie Mack facing each other in the World Series for the third and final time. Rich Adler has done a fine job of recapturing the drama of the campaign and the nuances of the unforgettable personalities involved. A must-read for anyone who loves this fascinating bygone era." --Peter Morris, author of
Baseball Fever, A Game of Inches, and
Level Playing Fields"This well-researched, highly readable work brings an oft-ignored slice of baseball history--the 1913 season--to life. Rich Adler is to be commended for his skill in capturing the personalities of John McGraw, Connie Mack, and many other players and managers both famous and obscure." --David Fleitz, author of
Shoeless: The Life and Times of Joe Jackson
