The October Twelve: Five Years of Yankee Glory 1949-1953 [Paperback]

Phil Rizzuto (Author), Tom Horton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1995

A Hall-of-Fame shortstop and thirty-five-year television announcer for the Yankees describes the seasons between 1949 and 1953 during which he and his teammates won five consecutive World Championships. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Fresh from his recent election to baseball's Hall of Fame and aided by Horton (coauthor of Yogi: It Ain't Over, McGraw, 1989), "The Scooter" salutes the group who won five successive World Series titles. Rizzuto relates his fond memories of Yogi Berra, Allie Reynolds, Vic Raschi, Gene Woodling, and the rest who played with him. His feelings for Casey Stengel are less fond, and he also has some terse comments for opponent Eddie Stanky. Another account of the Yankees during this era by Rizzuto's teammate Mickey Mantle (Mickey Mantle: The American Dream Comes to Life, LJ 2/ 1/94) provides a contrasting perspective. Rizzuto's book is essential for New York libraries and is worth considering elsewhere.
Morey Berger, St. Joseph's Hosp. Medical Lib., Tucson
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

In an unparalleled streak, the New York Yankees won five World Series in a row, from 1949 through 1953. Only 12 players were on all five winners, and current Yankee broadcaster Phil ("Scooter") Rizzuto was one of them. With the help of coauthor Horton, he tries to impart a sense of the camaraderie among the 12 and how the import of what they accomplished has colored their lives. He's only marginally successful. Early on, Rizzuto reveals his dislike and disrespect for manager Casey Stengel, who, years before while managing Brooklyn, had rudely dismissed a young Rizzuto from a tryout. It was a wound that festers yet today, and it sets a surly tone for the book. Rizzuto also fails to provide thorough profiles of the other 11 players--too much Scooter, not enough Gene Woodling. On the positive side, he does offer a few fresh anecdotes, and his best buddy, Hall of Famer Yogi Berra--one of the 12--supplies some humor. Expect interest in a book that's not bad but could have been much better. Wes Lukowsky --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 305 pages
• Publisher: Forge (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812534808
• ISBN-13: 978-0812534801
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,407,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some Interesting Anecdotes, January 7, 2002

By 

William Hare (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The October Twelve: Five Years of Yankee Glory 1949-1953 (Hardcover)

Phil Rizzuto was part of the remarkable achievement, along with his New York Yankee teammates he writes about, of winning 5 straight American League pennants and subsequent World Series titles. Some of the anecdotal information, as stated by reviewers, is incorrect, based on relying on Rizzuto's memory over events being recalled many years later. The interesting aspect of the book is looking into the mindset of one of the truly great shortstops to play the game, who also was a part of some of the greatest teams ever to step on a big league diamond.

Rizzuto pulls no punches when it comes to his Yankee manager Casey Stengel, who turned thumbs down on Rizzuto after a tryout when he was earlier manager of the Dodgers. Rizzuto questions some of Stengel's unconventional strategy, such as using Mickey Mantle as a leadoff hitter. Some of the patented Stengel humor comes across nonetheless, such as his comment that every time junkball pitcher Ed Lopat worked for the Yankees people would come out of the stands and ask the manager for a chance to pitch on the theory that if the pitches looked that slow (and deceptively easy to hit) that they could do the job as well.

Rizzuto gives a lot of credit to the Yankee pitching staff in helping achieve the 5 straight World Series titles. Baseball historian Roger Kahn, who covered the Dodger beat in the fifties, reasoned that Brooklyn had a narrow edge when it came to matching up with Yankee regulars, but that the difference came with the pitching. Rizzuto reveals how wrong the Cleveland Indians were to let Allie Reynolds go on the erroneous pretext that he just didn't have the heart or competitive instinct to make it to the top rung. Tell that to the hitters who faced him during his Yankee days!

Along with writing about the other brilliant Yankee starters of the period, Whitey Ford and the aforementioned Lopat, and throwing bouquets to reliever Bob Kuzava, who made a habit of excelling at World Series time, Rizzuto speculates on what might have been if the top brass had not traded Vic Raschi, New York's other celebrated starter, to the St. Louis Cardinals after the '53 season. The Yankees chalked up 103 wins in 1954 but finished in second place eight games behind the Cleveland Indians. Rizzuto speculates that, had Raschi remained with the Yankees, the team might have been able to extend its remarkable record for one season or beyond following the 5 world titles in a row. This makes for interesting speculation, the idea that this remarkable string could possibly have continued at least a little longer.