Customer Reviews

Miracle Ball: My Hunt for the Shot Heard 'Round the World

5 star:		(42)
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3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Devoted baseball fans will tell you that their game blends head and heart more powerfully than any other. I learned my love for the Giants (by then in San Francisco) and all things baseball at my favorite uncle's knee, even though the only games I could sit in the stands for as a kid were those played by my beloved Hawaii Islanders, an AAA club. (We listened to the Giants on the radio, and the Islanders' road games as re-creations by the amazing Les Keiter, but that's a story for another day.)

The author of Miracle Ball, Brian Biegel, also found his love for baseball quite young, nurtured by his parents, who'd followed the Dodgers when they were still on the east coast, and then rooted for the expansion Mets when that program started. Nurturing and passion are two bright threads that Biegel weaves through this story of his hunt for the homerun ball that ended the Dodgers' 1951 hopes and propelled the Giants into the World Series representing the National League.

Throughout the book, Biegel shares various fans' anecdotes of that era of the game and that game in particular. Interwoven with them is the tale of personal challenges he was facing, and the incredible possibility that his own father might have bought that long-lost ball at a Salvation Army thrift shop for $2. During his 2-year search for the ball Bobby Thomson hit into the hands of an unknown fan, Biegel spoke with a number of people in the baseball world. He also tapped the expertise of police and private detectives and photo analysts. Thanks to a combination of solid research, good sources and a sprinkling of lucky coincidence, Biegel was able to trace the path of the shot heard 'round the world.

The answer to the mystery made me smile. The person who caught that ball was truly a fan. Once you read the book, I think you'll agree that the right person caught the ball. Tempting as it might be to skip ahead to look at the period photos, please don't, because Biegel's tracing of his search is much the better way for the tale of the ball to unfold.

My only nitpicks about this book are that the lead-in section runs a bit long, and that there's a little too much detail of Biegel's personal challenges, but I acknowledge that the latter is a matter of personal taste.

Almost by birthright, every kid from Brooklyn is an instant Brooklyn Dodgers sentimalist. Even when - as is my case - the team's sudden exodus out West pre-dates one's own existence by decades. The Mets - of course - became the door prize to this legion of grooms left at the altar. To become a (gasp!) Yankees fan meant marrying our best friend's sister simply out of unwanted convenience.

In this commonality of lament, Jackie, The Duke, Pee Wee, Gil and Campy remain ingrained as secondhand icons, likewise the sadness of an Ebbetts Field denigrated to a nondescript apartment complex.

Dem Bums are OUR bums; NY Giants infielder Bobby Thomson the precursor to Bucky Dent. Thomson, the slap-hitting supposed second thought, who - in one swing - knifed collective hearts and baseball memories for Brooklynites past and present.

In, Brian Biegel's 'Miracle Ball,' a Dodger fan turned documentarian seeks to put an unhappily ever after to where Thomson's epic stitched trajectory calls home. Inspired by his father's mystery ball, Biegel goes on a personal and professional discovery to determine why one of baseball's greatest bits of memorabilia remained as lost as Jimmy Hoffa.

Biegel certainly tells an interesting tale in doing so, and intertwines inner mental health demons, family bonding, and baseball lore quite well with his search. Arguably the most interesting part of 'Miracle Ball' lies in his relationship with his parents, in specific his unending quest for purpose in a much grander scheme than America's Pasttime.

Unfortunately, however, Biegel does not fare as well in recounting his search for Thomson's prized souvenier. It's hard not to conjure the legendary 'Boys of Summer' in reading a book dedicated to reliving Brooklyn's baseball days, a comparison that find 'Miracle Ball' (perhaps, pun intended) completely out of its league.

Biegel book reads much like one would expect a documentary writer's recount to transcribe, a surface level common thread that circumnavigates around central themes. For a book attempting to cover so much...and so few pages...this a solid flaw in 'Miracle Ball.'

While it's impossible not to like or empathize with Biegel when concluding this book, 'Miracle Ball,' however, is best served as a baseball book centered around a singular event. Perhaps the documentary - once visuals/direction are inserted - will surpass its written counterpart.

This is an easy-reading, enjoyable (and in some aspects, even inspirational) book. Although it runs over 200 pages, with more normal line spacing the book would be significantly shorter. Many people will read it in a day or two, not only due to its shortness, but also because it's a real page-turner. Importantly, there are several stories intertwined within Brian Biegel's (and Pete Fornatale's) book. The main theme is Biegel's two-year search for the real story behind the disappearance of the legendary homerun baseball hit by Bobby Thompson in the final game of the three-game playoff for the National League pennant in 1951. But wait, there's more. Additional themes include the human-interest stories behind the intense rivalry between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers--and their fans--in an era when baseball really was the national pastime. Indeed, most of the book's chapters begin with a description of the 1951 environment and then transition to the present search for the baseball. Another theme concerns Biegel's tough, inspirational battle with depression, which confined him to his parents' home for months at a time. Still another theme was the dynamics of Biegel's family, particularly his relationship with his father. (My own son gave me this book for Father's Day.)

You might think it would take a near-miracle to figure out the fate of Bobby Thompson's ball over 50 years after the fact, and you'd be right. Nevertheless, with the help of an interesting group of helpers and some outright characters, Biegel doggedly follows up on lead after lead, many of them ultimately turning cold. Remember, many of the important characters in the mystery of Thompson's ball are now dead. With important and, frankly, transformational encouragement from his family, and more than a little luck, Biegel follows the 50-year-old trail of one of the most famous pieces of missing memorabilia in sports history. He encounters seemingly cavalier auctioneers, the modern day girlfriend of Bobby Thompson (by coincidence), the man himself (Thompson), New York detectives, private investigators, sports columnists, numerous passionate baseball fans, priests, nuns and an oddball or two.

I won't spoil the story, other to say that by the end of the book most readers will likely conclude that they know what happened to the missing baseball and why the ball remained a mystery for so long. As to the "miracle" in Miracle Ball, was it the ball itself? The transformation of Biegel's depression? The dynamics of his family? Or something else entirely? You be the judge.

I like to take my time reading books. But not this one. Miracle Ball was read by me in a very short amount of time because, honestly, I could not put it down. The author is fantastic in bring the flavor of people's stories to the readers, and his search for the Shot Heard 'Round the World was amazing. If you like Baseball, you will love this book. I did, and I am not really a baseball fan! Buy it today, highest rating!

"MIRACLE BALL... MY HUNT FOR THE SHOT HEARD 'ROUND THE WORLD" by Brian Biegel is a superb blend of baseball and mystery. Even though I was personally devastated by the Bobby Thomson home run that ended the 1951 season for my beloved Brooklyn Dodgers, I found the book and its ultimate resolution to be fascinating (albeit it painful!) reading. Considering my lifelong interest in baseball, I was surprised that I had never heard this fascinating tale of a never-give-up sleuth (Biegel) performing in the style of Columbo and Monk. For those who enjoy sports lore wrapped up in a whodunit (or, more appropriately, "whohasit") should enjoy MIRACLE BALL!
--R. Howe / Erskine, Minnesota

This is a compelling and riveting book about a man's search for the legendary 1951 "Shot Heard Round the World" baseball, more than 50 years afterwards. It is also the story of his triumph over depression and despair. I could not put this book down and spent more of my day off than I should have reading it cover to cover nearly non-stop.

To be sure, it helps to be a baseball fan; and if you lived in the New York area in the 50s and 60s, as I did, the book will have great nostalgia value as the author meets and interviews famous baseball figures. It helps, too, if you love a mystery, for this book is really something of a mystery story that happens to be about baseball.

The writing, sequencing, and pacing isn't perfect, but you'll pay no attention to that, because the story itself is so gripping. You'll travel with the author to a simpler day in America when baseball was truly the national sport. You'll meet top players, sportswriters, and fans that were fanatic in only the way Dodger and Giant fans of the era could be. And you'll end up in the New Mexican desert in a turn of events that demonstrate the old adage that truth is stranger than fiction, and that the impossible can be done if only you believe in yourself and never give up. I won't spoil the ending for you here. Get the book and start to read it. Put it down if you can, but you won't be able to.

This is one of the best books of any description that I have read in a long while. Although you would not expect such a thing from a book such as this, it will give you faith, and hope, and courage in your own life to carry on and complete your own journeys, whatever they may be.

If you're baseball fan and love a good mystery, this book is for you. I couldn't put it down. The book gets better and better with each chapter. But Miracle Ball is more than just a book about baseball. It's a touching and heart warming story of Brian Biegel's struggles and how the hunt for for the "Miracle Ball" ends up being a life-changing experience.

I was deeply touched by Miracle Ball and hope you have the same experience reading it as I did. I can't say enough good things about this book. If you have one book to read this summer, make it Miracle Ball.

I thank Brian for including us in his adventure and journey. It's a great ride and a wonderful read. DON'T MISS READING THIS BOOK!

Bobby Thomson's October 3, 1951 "shot heard round the world" is one of the most famous and romanticized events of 20th century American sports and common knowledge to most baseball fans. The home run ball flew over the Polo Grounds' outfield wall and seemed to disappear from history. After "recovering from a bitter divorce, and struggling with crippling depression and anxiety", the author spent two years trying to find conclusive proof of what happened to the baseball. He was inspired in part by his father's insistence that a dirty baseball with signatures of the 1951 Giants bought at a secondhand store for $2 is in fact "the ball". The author relates how his quest helped get his life back on track, but unfortunately the narrative is not very interesting and seems long even at only 250 pages. There are a few chapters of baseball history, including an interview with Bobby Thomson himself, but much of the book consists of dull pursuits of dead end leads and biographies of bit characters. Those with familial roots in early 1950's New York City will enjoy the nostalgic rehash more than me. I enjoyed Biegel's survey of the cultural references to this event (and agree that the opening to Don DeLillo's "Underworld" is my favorite treatment) but found myself skimming through much of the book looking for the ultimate resolution.

This book is much more about the author's journey to discover his family and examine his relationships than it is about the baseball he's searching for. The premise for trying to find the ball is strained so that one doesn't quite believe the story. It's as if the writer thought of a catchy, albeit weak, link between his father and this ball for marketing purposes, but the link is tenuous enough that it all falls apart mid-trek. The writing isn't bad but the ending is unsatisfactory, with the author setting up a journey that he never finishes.

One photograph tells it all, for those willing to look very closely.

"Pafko at the Wall," an iconic shot of Andy Pafko of the Brooklyn Dodgers looking up into the outfield stands at the Polo Grounds after Bobby Thomson of the New York Giants slammed the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" on October 3, 1951, appears to give solid clues to what happened to the baseball. But early conclusions can be very deceiving.

Author Brian Biegel - with Peter Thomas Fornatale - begins Miracle Ball: My Hunt for the Shot Heard 'Round the World (May 2009, Crown Publishing Group: Crown Publishers) with the photo and finishes with a different angle to the big picture in a chronicle of a two-year quest to find the elusive ball. There is a personal memoir woven into the story, with one key element becoming the starting point in the quest.

In 1990, his father bought at a thrift store a baseball signed by the 1951 Giants for two dollars. In Spring 2004, he learns that a major sports auction house is offering a $1 million reward for the ball, which he feels he has at home. And it's from this point where Biegel becomes more and more involved in the story, which includes filming a documentary on his search.

There is the unsavory world of sports memorabilia, the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, Thomson's girlfriend and Thomson, the sons of the clubhouse manager for the Giants, forensic science, media outlets, attorneys and enough false leads to thwart even the most tenacious investigator.

But several dangling clues - a passage in an obscure book written by sportswriter Tommy Holmes and a fan's recollection of a scheme he had to sneak into the Polo Grounds the night before the game - ultimately leads Biegel to Felician convents, a church in Hicksville, Long Island, and the connection Saint Rita has to the game...which leads him to the "the Holy Grail of Sports."

Though the main plot oftentimes gets bogged down by bulky backstory material, the final piecing together of the clues and the conclusion drawn by Biegel makes an easy ground ball out into a bad hop single that keeps the inning alive.