Customer Reviews

Sal Maglie: Baseball's Demon Barber

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book belongs up there with the best baseball bios ever. It's a great baseball story as well as a wonderful human story, and the writing is FIRST-RATE. Despite its length, there's not a dull or boring moment. Even though Maglie wasn't a Hall of Famer, he had a remarkable career, and reading about it in this great bio was a pleasure.

I should include one warning, however: don't give this book to your 9-year-old son or grandson or nephew. The cover should carry an "adults only" warning. The "colorful" language used by ballplayers in the 1950s is on full display here, and it will singe your ears! The author also delves into Maglie's personal life, including his sex life, in a most uninhibited way. There's none of that sanitized, he-could-do-no-wrong stuff you sometimes find in baseball biographies.

Although I liked Giglio's bio of Stan Musial, the writing in that book is often dry and professorial. Not in this book! I was continually delighted by the author's wit, terrific turns of phrase, and ability to bring to vivid life ballgames that took place more than half a century ago. The two chapters that cover the famous 1951 season where the Giants caught up with the Dodgers and forced a three-game playoff that ended with Bobby Thomson's "shot heard 'round the world" are gripping. I've slogged through Prager's "The Echoing Green," a recent book about the 1951 season-- the most poorly-written sports book I've ever read--and all I can say is that Testa covers that season, including the sign-stealing scandal and its consequences, better in two chapters than Prager does in an entire book!

This is a sports bio that's also a genuine, in-depth biography. The author isn't a sportwriter (the cover says she's a retired university prof), but boy, does she know the game of baseball! In addition to that, she brings a historian's skills to delving into Maglie's life. Along with all the colorful details of his baseball career in the minors, in Cuba, Mexico, Canada and in the Majors, we also find out about Sal's Italian family background, his two marriages, his two adopted sons (one of whom died tragically young), and all the behind the scenes stuff that never gets into the average baseball bio. The author also provides interesting background on what was going on in the world and in the larger baseball scene during Maglie's playing and coaching years.

There are memorable sketches, sometimes no more than a line or two, that convey the essence of other baseball figures. Here's a thumbnail sketch of Eddie "the Brat" Stanky: "A pleasant man off the field, on the field a personality emerged that seemed composed of equal parts of barbed wire, itching powder, and broken glass." Maglie protege Don Drysdale is described as "the willowy, boy-faced fireballer who looked like an angel and pitched like the devil." Jackie Robinson's integration of baseball also receives a condensed, but dramatic and moving treatment. The author even weaves in a thread that follows the career of Ralph Branca as he and Maglie both move toward that famous third game in the 1951 Giants-Dodgers playoff.

This book will grab you from its great opening line: "HE LOOKED LIKE HE CAME TO KILL YOU," and hold your interest right down to its moving final pages that describe the sad ending of Maglie's life.

I must admit that my love of baseball is not unconditional, nor can I dredge up any feelings of nostalgia for Sal Maglie or for the period in which he played. I couldn't even have told you he was the "other pitcher" the day Larsen pitched his perfect game. I knew the name, and that's about all. But when I finally cracked the spine on this somewhat daunting 400-pager it took me only the better part of a minute to get completely drawn into his story. In the first place, the quality of the writing compelled me to keep reading on. The narrative structure, the word use, the pacing, the attention to detail all combined to give the appearance of effortlessly composed prose casually falling onto the page in compelling dramatic form.

Two other things really stood out for me. One was the social context. After giving my head a shake I had to read out loud the opening paragraph to the 1947 season linking the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls with the integration of baseball. (Holy horsehide! ) And the second thing that stood out was the collection of sub-themes woven into the narrative, especially the story of Jackie Robinson. The author dared present him as not only heroic, but also as a flawed human being. That was a real insight for me, along with the unflinching portrayal of what I can only call the tribal mentality of the baseball players of that era (war and hate).

Another fascinating sub-theme was the cultural landscape of Mexico when Sal played ball there, especially the dietary challenges he and his wife faced. And speaking of his wife, while she did seem to hide in the background of the book, presumably as she did in Sal's life, her presence enriches and informs the story and gives resonance to his character. And there are so many other gems, like the business about the number of children the major leaguers fathered in those says (the boomer generation) versus the double stigma the Magli family faced of being childless and then adoptive parents.

Yet that's all background and context as Testa develops the story line of a most unlikely hero, the immigrant son from humble beginnings who makes it to the top of his field, a feat made all the more difficult by virtue of him doing it so late in life. She captures his odyssey magnificently, that tortuous path to mythic status. (Oh brother!) So much gritty, telling detail about who he pitched to, what kind of pitches he threw, how he felt on the mound, who said what to whom. I could almost feel myself on the field beside him, staring down a seething Jackie Robinson.

But I guess my favorite element of all was the reconstruction of so many different conversations by various players, and especially the managerial tirades as they four-lettered their way into Toastmaster purgatory. If I read the author's notes correctly she said she approximated the language used in some of these tirades based on various sources. Until I read that note I just assumed that someone had been in the dugout taking very accurate notes. (Granted, a dumb supposition, but she had me all the way.)

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Not just the best sports book, but the best book in any genre. It is an outstanding biography, professionally presented in every respect. Most books these days cut corners in all sorts of ways, and it shows, but Judith Testa touched all the bases as she legged out this literary grand slam.

This is an exceptional biography - not just a baseball biography. I've read a LOT of baseball biographies, and written one. I confess that I was never particularly interested in Maglie, but after reading Judith Testa's book, I was very impressed with him and the way he lived his rather complex life.

This is a deep biography, but it doesn't drag - it is very well written. I can't take the time to write a detailed review right now, but just wanted to express my appreciation to the writer for a job well done.

This remarkable book is unlike most baseball biographies I have read, mainly because the author is a writer first and a baseball fan second. She weaves a fascinating tale of a complex man who played baseball for a living, but whose life was more than playing baseball. The fact that Maglie is not a Hall of Famer or a "household name" on the baseball scene makes it possible for the reader to come to this book without any expectations or preconceptions; the result is that the book delivers more than we would expect from ANY baseball biography.

Judith Testa provides us with a full psychological portrait of Sal Maglie the man, from an extensive look at his family background to a constant exploration of how Maglie's psyche affected not only his personal life but his baseball career. There was something about his character which caused his early failures in the minor leagues but also made him receptive to the teachings of his baseball guru, former major league pitcher Dolf Luque, who during stints managing Maglie in winter leagues and the Mexican League taught him not only the pitching mechanics that made him one of the most outstanding curveball specialists ever, but more importantly the use of "brushback" pitches to intimidate batters and make his curveball even more effective. When Maglie returned to the major leagues after his harrowing experiences in Mexico (the description of which is perhaps the most vivid part of the book), he had a new pitching arsenal and a new persona, an attitude which brought him success during the 1950s and created his legacy as "The Barber". After his playing career ended, he turned to coaching, continuing the teachings of Luque and instilling an aggressive attitude which brought sudden success to many pitchers, for instance Jim Lonborg of the pennant-winning 1967 Boston Red Sox.

The writing is consistently sharp and vivid in this book, as is Testa's attention to baseball details and the ways history and generational attitudes also shaped Maglie's life. No aspect of his journey is shortchanged, from his professional struggles to his family difficulties. We get the full portrait of a man trying to do the best for himself and those around him, experiencing the roller coaster ride of an athletic career, and savoring the fleeting triumphs along the way. He was a product of a turbulent time and place in American history and baseball history, and this book does full justice to both the man and his times.

I have read many baseball books, and this may be the best of them.
It tells the whole Maglie story, not just the baseball part but the personal part, some of it tragic, in exquisite detail. It is extremely well-written, it is thoroughly researched and its subject, Sal Maglie, is a fascinating topic.
Author Judith Testa is a historian, and she brings a historian's research method to her work. No fact about Maglie is left out, a result of dozens of interviews as well as thorough research of documents, including various baseball books and newspapers from the period. Testa traces Maglie's story from his parents' early lives in Italy to his final days in a nursing home, leaving no stone unturned. The sources include dozens of ballplayers from the 50s, as well as more recent players, like Dick Radatz, Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson, all of whom learned from Maglie, whose brilliant career as a pitching coach is often overlooked.
She has also spoken with longtime friends and members of Maglie's family, and is able to present a complete portrait, so complete that you see Maglie sitting in a motel room, after his career is over, trading stories with Sibby Sisti when the two were the coach and manager of a minor league team. In these conversations, Sisti recalls, Maglie never mentioned his family life and its tragedies - particularly the inability to have children with his wife, whom he loved and who died young, and later, the death of his adopted son.
Maglie's life in baseball is a wonderful story. He did not reach the majors until late, both because of his slow development as a pitcher and because he played two seasons in the Mexican league and had to endure a two-year ban from baseball afterwards. He was a starting pitcher in two of baseball's greatest games - the third game of the 1951 NL playoffs, when Bobby Thomson hit his home run, and Don Larsen's perfect World Series game in 1956 (Maglie gave up just two runs.) He was part of the great New York baseball scene in the 50s, when New York teams played in nine of the 10 World Series. He was one of just 15 people to wear the uniforms lf all three teams, either as a player or manager.
Yet off the field, he had a relatively normal life. In the 50s, athletes - even successful, near-legendary athletes like Maglie - were not compensated in a way that set them apart in their lives. So Maglie was constantly involved in the normal struggle to make a living. In this, he was not quite such a hero, losing money, for instance, in a liquor store and other business ventures.
His success in baseball is summarized in a quote from writer Bill Madden, who wrote that Maglie would never be elected to the Hall of Fame unless "there's a Hall of Fame just for the pitchers whom you wanted to have the ball in a game you had to win." Another historic point Testa makes is that the last time the Giants won the World Series, Maglie was a key starter.
If the book has a single flaw, it is that the intensive research leads to game by game accounts of early every Maglie's major league seasons, which may be a bit much for all but the most devoted fan. At the same time, this book is so well-written, and Maglie's story is so compelling, that you may just want to relive every game he ever pitched.

I never heard of Judith Testa before, but she has done an outstanding job in bringing Sal "The Barber" Maglie to life. Maglie's career encompassed the decade of the 1950's in which he became one of only a few major leaguers to play on all three New York teams. Sal's experience in the Mexican League during the 1940s proved to be a mixed bag for him. Playing conditions and life in Mexico left a lot to be desired, but it reunited him with manager Dolf Luque who rescued Sal's career by changing him from a thrower to a pitcher. Sal benefited from Luque's instruction on his return to the major leagues in the early 1950s. Sal became part of several historic baseball events such as Bobby Thompson's legendary home run in 1951, the four game sweep of the Indians in the 1954 World Series, and being on the losing end of Don Larsen's perfecto in the 1956 World Series. Most people probably remember Maglie as a member of the Giants, but Sal stated his experiences with the Brooklyn Dodgers remained the most memorable to him. Maglie moving from the Giants to the Dodgers was akin to Leo Durocher moving from manager of the Dodgers to the Giants. It was with Brooklyn with the 1956 season winding down that Sal tossed his no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies. Once bitter rivals such as Jackie Robinson and Carl Furillo became close friends of Sal upon his joining the Dodgers. Baseball's Barber spent brief periods with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Cardinals while later serving as a pitching coach with the Red Sox and the one-year 1969 Seattle Pilots. His post-baseball years were not especially kind to Sal since he, like several other players of his era, had a difficult time adjusting to a lower standard of living with only a small pension to live on. If you grew up during the 1950s like I did Sal Maglie was an integral part of the baseball scene whether you a fan of his team or not. Songwriter Terry Cashman honored Sal in his song "Willie, Mickey, and The Duke" and when I think of a photo of Sal Maglie it is the 1953 Bowman color baseball card with a sinister look on his face as he ponders the batter at home plate who has the audacity to bring a bat up to the plate. A ton of thanks to writer Judith Testa for writing this book, and to her subject who played such a significant part in baseball's glorious history. Honor your baseball library with the inclusion of this book.

When I first laid eyes on the book: "Sal Maglie, Baseball's Demon Barber" (Northern Illinois University Press, 2007) I remember wondering if I was ready for 400 pages on Sal Maglie. Wouldn't a nice summary of his life suffice for my interest? Having recently finished this compelling book, I know now that the answer to my question is a resounding and emphatic "Yes!" This is Sal Maglie... plus a whole lot more; and "Sal Maglie, Baseball's Demon Barber" is a book that should be read by all serious students of the game. In broad terms, it covers baseball in the 1940's and 1950's with Sal Maglie's life and times overlaid upon this era. But this trite characterization does not do a bit of justice to the breath and scope of this far-reaching, ambitious book. This is a new generation of baseball biography, and in Judith Testa's talented hands, it emerges at its very best.

The quality and depth of the author's research is quite simply breathtaking, and to say that she has done a thorough job in her research would be a gross understatement. As is befitting her status as a retired college professor, Judith Testa has succeeded in elevating baseball research to a new, higher standard of excellence. This is not your typical baseball biography, and for those seeking the usual lighthearted baseball fare (think Robert Creamer's "The Babe"), this may not be the book for them. It's a more serious, scholarly approach to baseball biography, and for those who make the effort to read it in its entirety, the rewards are significant. To her immense credit and as a testament to her talent as a writer, Testa succeeds in converting this detailed biography into one of the most interesting and enjoyable books I've ever read - one that kept me turning the pages from start to finish. The writing and editing are simply superb. If there was even one typo or misstatement of fact, I was not aware of it. Testa's description of Eddie "The Brat" Stanky gives a sample of her skill in penning vivid characterizations:

"A pleasant man off the field, when he played, a personality emerged that seemed composed of equal parts of barbed wire, itching powder, and broken glass."

That's Eddie Stanky all right! Testa peppers the highly sourced manuscript with a steady dose of unvarnished baseball dialogue, with all the profanities and obscenities heard in the dugouts of that era given full exposure. The book is not for prudes or the faint of heart. The characters are presented with their often-dysfunctional personalities on full display. No one is spared and no one is portrayed in the standard sanitized version, not even the saintly Jackie Robinson, who, in later years, could give as well as he took. Here we read the uncut, uncensored version of Maglie's conflicts with volatile manager Leo Durocher, with Leo spewing forth the crudest profanities at his players, opponents, and umpires. All this gives the book a rare, refreshing air of realism and accuracy, seldom found in other books of this genre.

Sal Maglie was an interesting character whose life was full of contrasts and contradictions. He was unquestionably a remarkable pitcher whose grit, determination, perseverance, and mastery of the art of intimidation transformed him from a career minor leaguer into one of the most feared and dominant pitchers of his. Salvatore Anthony Maglie was the son of Italian immigrants and was a star athletic in his home town of Niagara Falls, New York. Judith Testa follows Maglie through his high school years; his romance and subsequent elopement with Kay Pileggi; the Minor Leagues; his two years in the Mexican League, where he was the most successful of the "jumpers" from the Majors; his storied Major League career, where he achieved stardom and was one of a few in history who played for all three New York teams; his mostly successful years as a coach for the Red Sox, including the turbulent year of 1967 under Dick Williams; the disastrous, embarrassing year as pitching coach for the Seattle Pilots; and his life after baseball with its own mix of successes and personal tragedies. No aspect of his life is left unexplored. By the end of the book, the reader feels a genuine emotional attachment to Sal Maglie and wife Kay, almost as if they were blood relatives. The reader cares for them and can feel Kay's agony as she yearns unsuccessfully to conceive a child. Her desperation was so deep and compelling that she actually thought other family members should give her one of their own children for her to raise. They can cry with Sal when he loses Kay to cancer in 1967, and then sees his adopted son, Sal, Jr. lead a life of utter dissipation and ultimately to early demise. There are not many baseball books with character development of quite this depth and magnitude.

Of course it was while pitching for the Giants as the ace of the staff in the early Fifties where Sal achieved his most enduring fame. In 1950, he somehow made the Giants pitching staff at the ripe age of 32 as an unremarkable reliever in whom Durocher showed little confidence. Sal started the season poorly - a trait that would become a recurring theme throughout his career - as did the Giants as a team. Sal fully expected a return trip to the minors and even contemplated retirement. He was so sure of the coming demotion that he and wife Kay lived in a hotel, refusing to tempt fate by leasing an apartment. But he managed to survive to the All-star game, and then Sal suddenly caught fire. He miraculously resurrected his career, and, as the season wore on, he became the Giants' most effective pitcher. The stage was set for his breakout year of 1951, where he would become the ace of the staff, going 23-6, pitching 298 innings, with an ERA of 2.93, and leading the Giants to their first pennant in 14 years.

To Dodger fans, "Sal the Barber" came to symbolize all that was hated about the Giants. His dominance of the Dodgers, especially in Ebbets Field, attained mythic proportions. With an intimidating mound presence that unnerved his Dodger opponents, and with a coolness under fire that his teammates came to expect, Sal Maglie was always ready to take the ball when it mattered the most - when the season was on the line - and more often than not, he emerged victoriously. Feuds with Furillo and Robinson were legendary. And yet, when later in his career he was traded to the hated Dodgers, the Brooklyn fans embraced him with a deep affection, acknowledging his greatness as an uncompromising competitor. Resurrecting his career again, he became a dominant pitcher for the Dodgers as they won the 1956 pennant. He pitched a no-hitter in the season's final week, and won the first game of the World Series. He was masterful in a losing effort in Game Five, a day in which he was completely overshadowed by Don Larsen's perfect game.

Testa's description of Maglie's role in the epic '51 pennant drive, his antagonistic, combustible relationship with Durocher, and the three-game playoff which culminated in Bobby Thomson's dramatic homerun, is classic. Maglie pitched eight strong innings in the final, climatic game, and as the dramatic ninth inning unfolded, he was already on his way to the club house shower anticipating a Giant loss. As he plodded naked toward the shower, he encountered none other than Giants' owner Horace Stoneham who chose this unlikely setting to tell Sal how much he had meant to the team. While morosing over the Giants' impending loss of the pennant to the hated Dodgers, they suddenly heard an ear-shattering roar that shook the Giants' club house to its rafters. Startled, they stopped in mid conversation and stared blankly at each other. What's happening??...Could it really be??...Suddenly the realization overcame their collective consciousness...THE GIANTS HAVE WON THE PENNANT! What a scene!...What a year!...What great writing!

What's the final verdict on Sal Maglie? That he was a great pitcher in his time, one of the fiercest competitors that game has ever seen, there can be no doubt. Yet he possessed the rare ability to leave his battles on the field, never carrying grudges after the final out was made. Of his famous feuds with Carl Furillo and Jackie Robinson, we learn that they were basically one way: they hated him. To Maglie, the feuds were never personal and the hatreds were never reciprocated. When traded to the Dodger later in his career, he befriended both Robinson and Furillo. The "head-hunter" image was cultivated mainly for its intimidation value. Sal "beaned" only two batters his entire career, and he was well below the league average year after year for hit batsmen.

Off the field, we learn that Sal was a kind, warmhearted, generous, unpretentious man, devoted to his family in the best old-world Italian tradition. He loved children and his many fans, never tired of signing autographs, and whose fame never seemed to swell his head. To his extended family, he always remained the same beloved "Uncle Sal." In one of the book's great quotes, he was described by Art Pennington, the Negro League player and teammate from the Mexican League as "the most unprejudiced white man I ever met." Quite a characterization for the son of Italian immigrants in the 1940's. In pre-Jackie Robinson baseball, at a time when racial divisions were at their peak, he had no problems playing for a black manager - the great Martin Dihigo - while in Cuba. And yet he succumbed to some of crudest vices that pervaded baseball, including adultery at a time his wife was dying of cancer; and he was such a distant father to his adopted second son Joey that the son incredibly claims to have no recollection of his father before the age of nine. During his career he drank heavily, but only with ballplayers and old friends, and there are no reports of him ever approaching alcoholism. He spewed the crudest profanities, but always directed at his enemies inside the white lines. In later years he became a prolific gambler, but dropped the habit when it started to affect his family's financial stability.

A great pitcher? Yes, most definitely. A flawed human being? Again, an emphatic "yes," and in "Sal Maglie: Baseball's Demon Barber" all sides of the man are on graphic display. This book will obviously have its widest appeal in New York where the rivalries among its three great teams - and Sal Maglie's pivotal role in those rivalries - has never been quite forgotten. But it is a book for all serious students of the game and is one that I highly recommend. Judith Testa has turned out a tour de force...and baseball biography may never be the same again.

Judith Testa's book on Sal Maglie is the best book I have read about a baseball player. It is refreshing to read a sports book that is well-written and that reached deep into the players life without becoming boring. Testa handles Maglie's career and life skillfully - she always seems to include enough detail to make you feel like you were there, but not so much that you lose interest.

Sal Maglie was an interesting man and fascinating pitcher in the 1950s. Reading about some of his life was of great interest to me as a fan and collector of the old New York Giants. Learning about Sal's childhood, marriage, family and time in the Mexican League with Dolph Luque was fascinating. Reading about many of the summer games he pitched in was all new to me as you usually only read about the major games, such as his no hitter, his participation in the "Shot Heard Around the World" game, Larsen's no hitter and the Willie Mays catch off of Vic Wertz game in the 1954 World Series. The anecdotes that Judith was able to capture thru players still living that played with Maglie added a great deal to her writing. I also enjoyed reading about Maglies coaching days with the Red Sox and how he helped to educate some of the younger ballplayers about how to pitch inside and take control of the plate from the batter.

Judith is a fan of the game and the era, a talented writer who is not a baseball writer per se. I can only hope she chooses to write another baseball book!

Man oh man! What a great book. I am sure if Mr. Maglie were still with us he would approve. I have read so many great Biogrphies,especially on Baseball players, but none as well researched as this. I was never bored. I was however educated, delightfully so. I could almost hear a lovers voice telling this story, then later more so of a loving daughter. I have to rate this as probably #1 as a researched bio,and definitely in the top 10 all time entertaining baseball bios.Very well done Judith Testa.

Fascinating and fully substantiated biography of one of the most notable figures in the greatest and quintessential American sport of Baseball. Written in polished prose this book is on one hand a page turner and on the other hand an erudite work of art, complete with multipage bibliography and citations of interviews and published articles. You don't have to be a baseball fan or even a sports fan to appreciate this book. If you enjoy reading authentic books about the lives of prominent personages, this is the one for you.

I encourage all to buy and read this book.