We Played the Game: Memories of Baseball's Greatest Era [Hardcover]

Danny Peary (Author), Lawrence S. Ritter (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 2002

Here is a thrilling, nostalgia-filled and candid look inside the game of baseball-from the dugout to the field manager's office-by the men who made it all happen.

Covering the years from 1947 to 1964, more than sixty players-from Hall of Famers to utility players and bench-warmers-offer firsthand memories, opinions and gripes, and tell the real stories behind baseball's most colorful decades. Fans can relive all of the great moments on and off the field through the eyes of those closest to the action, including:

- Roger Maris's record sixty-first homer

- Ted Williams's final at bat (a home run)

- Eddie Waitkus being shot by a female fan (the premise for The Natural)

- Joe DiMaggio's desire to meet Marilyn Monroe-and many, many more.

From arguments with managers to encounters with groupies, from racial conflicts to salary negotiations, all of the key stories are here, including many not recorded elsewhere.

"What a joy-one of the best pure baseball books I've ever read," raved Larry King when this marvelous volume was first published in 1994.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Danny Peary has written many books on sports and cinema. He presently writes for former baseball star and current sports analyst Tim McCarver's TV show, and he has teamed up with McCarver on several books. Peary lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; 1 edition (August 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579122590
• ISBN-13: 978-1579122591
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.3 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #490,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As a boy I was passionate about sports, movies, television, and music, and now I make my living by writing about each of these topics. Pretty amazing. I was born in West Virginia, grew up in South Carolina and New Jersey, got a B.A. in History at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and an M.A. in Cinema at USC. I have been living in New York City since 1977 with my wife Suzanne (our married daughter Zoe and granddaughter Julianna live too far away in Maryland), publishing books and articles on movies and sports (mostly baseball). I watch an insane number of movies and politely root for the A's, Lakers, Giants, and UConn women in basketball. I am the writer-researcher on the long-running television interview show, "The Tim McCarver Show," and have done three books with Tim, who is a close friend. I also worked with the dear Ralph Kiner on his autobiography, "Baseball Forever." My twenty-first book, written with Tom Clavin, is my first biography, "Roger Maris: Baseball's Reluctant Hero" for Touchstone/Simon&Schuster. We have a facebook fan page for the book, for which we interviewed 130 people. I also contribute celebrity interviews on brink.com and am the New York correspondent for the Australian magazine, "FilmInk." I love to write, but there's nothing more exciting than creating a project or more satisfying than finishing it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cure for the winter blues, November 19, 2002

By 

Allen F. Richardson (Old Greenwich, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: We Played the Game: Memories of Baseball's Greatest Era (Hardcover)

This is the perfect baseball book for all seasons, but especially now with the World Series over, and spring training still months away. It also seems appropriate to me that this book is set during one of the "Golden Ages" of baseball between 1947 and 1964, a time when the only stats that mattered reflected exploits on the field, rather than tallies of bank accounts off the diamond, as we have heard so much about in the past few seasons.

So sit back, curl up in front of the fire, and dip in and out of this massive volume, which is edited and organized in a way that allows just such delights. Packed with stories about the game's greats, and not-so-greats, it offers wonderful insights into how the men who delighted in playing a boy's game actually felt, thought and acted, as told in their own words. There are baseball heroics here aplenty, but also some bitter truths and some all-too human behavior that just serves to make these men all the more real, and fascinating.

Editor and author Danny Peary obviously loves the game, and isn't tainted with the sort of "celebrity awe" that characterizes so much of today's sports' coverage, and its cynical flip-side. Of course, he does pay homage to the greats of this era, but he also rekindles a thousand memories for those of us old enough to remember some of the less celebrated, but nonetheless extraordinary characters who once inhabited the game. Hopefully, younger readers will also delight in meeting these men as well, who had wondrous names such as Vic Power, Minnie Minoso and Pumpsie Green. Need I say more?

5.0 out of 5 stars These Men Were There: Playing in the Big Leagues, March 25, 2010

By 

C. W. Emblom "Bill Emblom" (Ishpeming, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: We Played the Game: Memories of Baseball's Greatest Era (Hardcover)

This is an over-sized book over 600 pages long covering the baseball seasons from 1947 through 1964. I believe the best way to read it is to switch off with another book or books over a period of time. Among the things that made it especially appealing to me is the time period which covers my beginnings as a baseball fan in 1951. There is more to baseball's rich history than what we learn about the superstars, and this book covers numerous supernumeraries in addition to those well known by all baseball fans. Dick Schofield, Joe De Maestri, Bob Cain, Gus Zernial, Fred Hatfield, Chico Carrasquel, Bill Momboquette, and numerous others known to all baseball fans of this era grace the pages of this book. We learn how they felt about managers such as Paul Richards, Eddie Stanky, Mayo Smith, Danny Murtaugh, and others. Vic Power, Pumpsie Green, Minnie Minoso, Don Newcombe, and others relate their experiences in adjusting to America's prejudices. Being traded, adjusting to new teammates, relating to various managers, who were the drinkers, the family men, and who hung around with who on road trips are all experiences that make this a unique book that makes for fascinating reading.

As I previously mentioned I feel it is best to read this book while switching off to other reading. I read it during the evenings while in bed, and read something else during the day. I believe you are more likely to stick with this book while alternating with something else. In addition this book is the type you can put aside for a while and continue later without any difficulty. My only complaint is there isn't much from players from "my" Detroit Tigers. The years 1962 and 1964 have nothing at all.
However, if you grew up during this time period you will find this a fascinating book to read. If you didn't, read and find out what you missed. Enjoy!

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must For Every Baseball Library, April 8, 2008

By 

Jeffrey C. Bullock - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: We Played the Game: Memories of Baseball's Greatest Era (Hardcover)

Stars, everyday players, and scrubs share their memories of major league baseball from 1946 to 1964. This is a book that I've had for I don't know how long now and when a copy falls apart, I get a new one - this hardcover version for $15.00 is a bargain but shhhhh, don't tell Amazon. Stars like Brooks Robinson and everyday players like Gene Woodling and unknowns like Eddie Joost and one season players like Ed Bouchee and scrubs like Johnny Berardino discuss opponents and also their own experiences in the major leagues. Every true baseball fan should have this easy-to-read book in their library and those who don't really aren't true baseball fans.