The Unforgettable Season [Paperback]

G. H. Fleming (Author), Lawrence S. Ritter (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2006

One of Sports Illustrated’s top 100 sports books of all-time

The 1908 National League pennant race was without question the most exciting and dramatic battle of all time. Three teams, the Giants, the Cubs, and the Pirates, battled from start to finish, concluding the season with just one game separating them in the standings. The story of this race is like a Hall of Fame sprung to life, including John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance, Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown, and Honus Wagner. Yet the one name that truly stands out belongs to a young Giant rookie, Fred Merkle. His base-running blunder in a key game between the Giants and the Cubs cost the New Yorkers the pennant through an entirely unforeseeable set of circumstances that set off a near-riot in New York.

More than mere history, The Unforgettable Season uses a judicious selection of newspaper stories to recreate the unforgettable season through the eyes and florid language of sportswriters of the day. With no film, TV, or radio accounts of the game to cloud readers' minds with facts, the newspaper writers had free reign to invent and embellish the larger-than-life figures and events of 1908. It is their efforts that make this book often unintentionally hilarious and unforgettable.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“An ingenious and entertaining account.”—Sports Illustrated

(Sports Illustrated )

About the Author

G. H. Fleming is a professor emeritus of English literature and a full-time freelance writer. Lawrence Ritter (1922–2004) was a professor of finance at New York University and the author of The Glory of Their Times: The Story of Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It.

Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books; 1 edition (March 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803269226
• ISBN-13: 978-0803269224
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.8 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #411,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Chance, Merkle, and Mathewson in the Greatest Pennant Race March 6, 2004

By Michael Hetherington

Format:Paperback

Read about the 1908 season from the perspective of a newpaper reader in the early 20th century. A facinating book, of interest to the historian as well as the baseball fan. The newspaper accounts of Merkle's disasterous decision that cost the NY Giants the pennent are priceless.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dramatic Pennant Race Capped By Merkle's Miscue January 2, 2008

By Borowy26 VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Could there have been such a time? The Chicago Cubs were the defending National League and World Champions of Baseball and were fighting to win their third straight pennant in 1908. The Cubs faced determined opposition from both the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates in a horse race that was going to be decided at the wire. What makes this account fascinating is that G. H. Fleming carefully edited actual newspaper accounts from a variety of contemporary sources to give the reader a feeling of what it was like to follow baseball in 1908. The grandstands were wooden, if you could not afford a ticket, you could climb a tree or find a knothole in the fence from which to watch. Ham sandwiches were as likely to be sold at games as hot dogs. The Cubs played their games on the West Side of Chicago and their uniforms and baggage were delivered to train stations by horse drawn wagons. The marquee players on all of the teams in the book have been immortalized in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, with the sole exception of Turkey Mike Donlin and Harry Steinfeldt. This story has more than its share of excitement, including near riots on the playing field and a suicide of a top baseball official. It has been a full century since the Chicago Cubs celebrated a World Series Championship. Read this book and you will be transported back to the time of their last title.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The very best February 27, 2009

By Joseph

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you've ever started anticipating the opening of the baseball season in mid-January, gone to a high school game because it was the only available venue, still remember the voice of the play-by-play announcer from your youth and, yes, had your mother/wife/girlfriend throw away your 'useless' baseball card collection, then this is the book for you! Absolutely the best baseball book ever written. A meticulously pieced together collection of newspaper articles chronicling the 1908 season and it's dramatic finish. Remarkably contemporary in its coverage of issues and scandals not too far afield from those still troubling the sport today. A great read.