They Tasted Glory: Among the Missing at the Baseball Hall of Fame [Paperback]

Wil A. Linkugel (Author), Edward J. Pappas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1998

The 17 players profiled here enjoyed brilliant careers-potentially worthy of the Hall of Fame-that were cut short by injury, illness or death. Some enjoyed several seasons of success only to see their playing days end before building the numbers worthy of Cooperstown; others enjoyed only a season or two at the top. The profiles concentrate on the players' accomplishments and speculate on how their careers might have developed if they had continued.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Poet John Greenleaf Whittier's saw about the saddest words being "It might have been" ring through every page of this bittersweet look at 17 young men on the fast track to Cooperstown, all derailed before their promise was fulfilled. Players like Herb Score and Tony Conigliaro were never the same after being hit in the head; Pete Reiser ran into a few too many outfield fences; J.R. Richard suffered a stroke; Thurman Munson was killed in a plane crash; Smoky Joe Wood tore up his shoulder and Mark Fidrych tore up his knee; Kirby Puckett, who will get his plaque in due course, lost his vision. "This is a book," explain Linkugel and Pappas, "about great expectations shattered by fate." The prose of these two college professors may lean toward the academic, but there's nothing academic about the stories they tell: self-contained little dramas filled with hellish curves and some very bad bounces. --Jeff Silverman

From Library Journal

As the market for baseball books has apparently diminished, major publishers issue fewer and fewer baseball titles each year, and those of us who want to see new baseball titles are dependent upon smaller publishers such as McFarland. This book is an excellent example of the type of book it publishes outside normal, mainstream publishing circles. Linkugel (communication studies, Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence) and Pappas (communication, Wayne State Univ.) gather together the histories of several major league baseball players?Tony Conigliaro, Mark Fidrych, Paul Dean, and others?whose early careers marked them as lasting stars but who then suffered career-ending or -shortening problems that caused this potential to go unfulfilled. Perhaps the most poignant injury-shortened careers were those of Pete Reiser and Herb Score. Both showed Hall of Fame potential their first few years, but debilitating injuries made them merely ordinary. Several of the stories are well known, but this book brings them all together nicely. Recommended for extensive baseball collections.?William O. Scheeren, Hempfield Area H.S. Lib., Greensburg, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub (1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786404841
• ISBN-13: 978-0786404841
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,237,539 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars INTERESTING, February 3, 2001

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This review is from: They Tasted Glory: Among the Missing at the Baseball Hall of Fame (Paperback)

THIS BOOK IS A VERY GOOD TELLING OF SOME GREAT PLAYERS WHO RAN INTO INJURY OR DESTINY. IT IS WELL TOLD AND FULL OF VALUABLE INFO. I RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE WHO IS NOT FAMILIAR WITH THESE GREAT PLAYERS OF BAD BREAKS. THE AUTHOR DOES A VERY STRONG JOB OF STORY TELLING AND FACTS. A VERY RECOMMENDED READ. WELL WORTH YOUR TIME.