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A Yankee Century: A Celebration Of The First Hundred Years Of Baseball's

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424 pages; ....

By Dan Mackie
Valley News Staff Writer
I shoulda been a Yankee fan.

Well, that's what I learned from reading A Yankee Century: A Celebration of the First Hundred Years of Baseball's Greatest Team, by Harvey Frommer. He's a teacher in the Liberal Studies program at Dartmouth College "and a longtime Yankee fan,'' according to the book jacket.

He's also major league prolific, the author of more than 30 sports books and a number of popular oral histories.

Yankee Century is a book for the fan, the true believer, for 12-year-olds tucked in at night in Yankee pinstriped pajamas (and for 40-year-olds tucked in at night in Yankee pinstriped pajamas, for that matter).

The Yankees, according to this telling, have been an assemblage of characters (Casey Stengel, Lefty Gomez, Yogi Berra) and demigods, (The Babe, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle). If the Dallas Cowboys are America's Team, then this was Heaven's Team. Greatness followed the players around like an adoring shadow.

Sadly, it's sort of true. In the last century, the Yankees have collected pennants and World Series victories as if they were routine stuff. The Yankees were the Big Dog, Microsoft, Joe Louis, General Motors. Other teams have risen up and taken their shots at greatness, but no other major league team has been as consistently good.

Time for an admission: I'm a Red Sox fan. History has not been kind: The Sox are the Titanic, the Yankees the iceberg. I read this book out of professional obligation. I've had my nose rubbed in the greatness of the Yankees all my life.

The Red Sox last won the World Series in 1918. The Yankees have since won 26 times. They've been feasting, while Red Sox fans have been left with bitter crumbs. But enough about the Red Sox, baseball's longest-running Shakespearean tragedy. ("My kingdom for a first baseman. ... Out, damn Bucky Dent! ... What fools these managers be!")

A Yankee Century takes the reader through New York's glory, and a couple of dry spells. It's mostly uncritical, the way sportswriting used to be, before reality and cynicism intruded. That's kind of refreshing in a way. If we wanted to think about labor strife and corporate shenanigans, we'd read the Wall Street Journal, not box scores. Alas, that's too simplistic, but baseball seemingly was meant to be a simple pastime.

Yankee Century offers all the highlights, funny quotes, trivia (Iron man Lou Gehrig pinch-hit for Pee-Wee Wanninger, not Wally Pipp, to start his historic streak), lists and quizzes a true Yankee fan might want.

Other fans wrestle with the question of whether all this Yankee success has been good for the game. Much of it has been due to smarts and talent, but much has also been due to the Yankees' dominant revenue stream. If you can't beat 'em, outspend 'em.

Yankee fans, of course, do not worry much about this. The last century was theirs and presumably the new one won't be bad, either

In the northeast, the winter of 2003-2004 will be remembered as one of the snowiest, iciest, coldest and dreariest in recent memory. A YANKEE CENTURY was the perfect cure for those miserable days. Filled with the baseball history that took place on the sun-drenched field of Yankee Stadium, Harvey Frommer has provided us Yankee [and most baseball] fans with a warm nostalgia and a good feeling for the springs and summers to come.

With equal parts statistics and anecdote, the book is a well-balanced exploration into the most successful sports franchise in history. Peppered with wonderful photos (some that I had never seen before), this 400+ page book moves swiftly. The writing is respectful without becoming sentimental. And Paul O'Neill, who I will always remember as our favorite water-cooler kicking hothead, proves to be a sensitive and articulate commentator. Congratulations to both writers.

A YANKEE CENTURY is a great exploration into the Bronx Bombers, and by extension, to the history of 20th century baseball itself.

New York Yankees are the most popular, successful and enduring franchise in any sport. With all the amazing history that they have, can it be summed up in one book? The answer is no but this book does a great job of giving you a lot of their history in one book.

The beauty of this book is the little things, the attention that Harvey Frommer gave each page and each section. He listed so many facts in this book that any baseball fan would find this a great read.

The book has great quotes, timelines, short stories, player bios, full breakdowns of great records like the Joe DiMaggio hitting streak and when Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's record (the breakdown of Ruth's 60 is in the book too!). The quotes are great too and there is a lot of information in this book that has never been seen before like Mickey Mantle's Hall of Fame speech!

The nickname section is priceless and all of them are explained in good detail. The pictures are well above average too as you will see a younger Casey Stengel, Thurman Munson, Ruth, Mantle, Maris, and Mel Allen. That's right even the great announcers that have worked for the Yankees over the years get their moment in the sun too.

Expect a lot of Billy Martin mentions and Yogi-isms in this Yankee treasure. There are also mentions of movies and really anything that has happened to the Bronx Bombers like Yankee Firsts and Lasts. And this book even has every manager to ever put on the pinstripes.

This book will cost you just over twenty dollars, but for the money you get a ton of baseball knowledge so it is well worth it.Buy A Yankee Century Now

We bought this and "New York Yankees: an Illustrared History,"for a Yankee fan. He keeps them on a table next to his favorite chair and each time we visit, there are more little bookmarks and notes. He had told us how much he was enjoying them, but the sight of that well used books showed us that we chose a perfect gift.

As a life-long fan of The New York Yankees (40 years), this book is a must have for a Yankee fan, or any baseball fan to get real insights to all aspects of the team. Covered in the book is not only the great teams and moments of the Bombers, but also their low points and details of the worst Yankee teams ( such as 1912, 1966, 1990) . This book is not so much a "rah-rah" team book (there is already an ample supply of those!) but a "warts and all" book - highlight and lowlights - quotes from Yankee players, managers, owners, as well as opposing players and umpires. Great reading for all that purchase this book!

New York Yankees are the most popular, successful and enduring franchise in any sport. With all the amazing history that they have, can it be summed up in one book? The answer is no but this book does a great job of giving you a lot of their history in one book.
The beauty of this book is the little things, the attention that Harvey Frommer gave each page and each section. He listed so many facts in this book that any baseball fan would find this a great read.
The book has great quotes, timelines, short stories, player bios, full breakdowns of great records like the Joe DiMaggio hitting streak and when Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's record (the breakdown of Ruth's 60 is in the book too!). The quotes are great too and there is a lot of information in this book that has never been seen before like Mickey Mantle's Hall of Fame speech!
The nickname section is priceless and all of them are explained in good detail. The pictures are well above average too as you will see a younger Casey Stengel, Thurman Munson, Ruth, Mantle, Maris, and Mel Allen. That's right even the great announcers that have worked for the Yankees over the years get their moment in the sun too.
Expect a lot of Billy Martin mentions and Yogi-isms in this Yankee treasure. There are also mentions of movies and really anything that has happened to the Bronx Bombers like Yankee Firsts and Lasts. And this book even has every manager to ever put on the pinstripes.
This book will cost you just over twenty dollars, but for the money you get a ton of baseball knowledge so it is well worth it.

BOOK REVIEW: A YANKEE CENTURY
By Tony McClean
BLACK ATHLETE SPORTS NETWORK

BRISTOL, CONN---Earlier this year, you may have read a book review I wrote on the historic relationship between Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson. That book was penned by noted baseball writer and historian Harvey Frommer.

Prof. Frommer has since come out with another historic baseball book, this time about the sport's most celebrated franchise.

Frommer, who authored "The New York Yankee Encloypedia", has now penned "A Yankee Century: A Celebration of the First 100 Years of Baseball's Greatest Team".

Not only does Frommer give an oral history of the Pinstripes, but there are several rare photos of Yankee greats past and present.

From Babe Ruth to Derek Jeter, Lou Gehrig to Reggie Jackson, and all those in between, "A Yankee Century" is keepsake dream for fans of the Bronx Bombers and a nightmare for Yankee haters all over.

Even though this review is being written by a lifelong Met fan, I found this to be a very entertaining read.

One of the things that was enjoyable about the book is how Frommer has separate "Yankee Stories" on the well-known and lesser known ex-Yankees.

A humble Chris Chambliss talks about coming over from the lowly Cleveland Indians in a 1975 and then winning the pennant with a dramatic homer in the 1976 ALCS against the Royals.

Frommer also writes about the plight of Elston Howard, the first Black to play for the Yankees. His struggles on and off the field are chronicled along with a review of his very understated career as a player and coach.

The breathtaking and sometimes tumulous career of Reggie Jackson in pinstripes is also well chronicled. "Mr. October" had one of the greatest moments in Yankee history when he hit three homers in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series.

At the time, it gave the Yanks their first World Series title in 13 seasons and he would help them go back to the next season.

Among some of the other African American players that are featured in Prof. Frommer's book are Jeter, current third base coach and ex-captain Willie Randolph, Bernie Williams, and Hall of Famer Dave Winfield.

The book also includes a comprehensive trivia quiz, quotes, anecdotes, and other entertaining features for all baseball fans, Yankee or otherwise.

If you know a true Yankee fan, it's a great addition to their library.

If you know a true Yankee hater, this will be a best way to start an arguement.

SPORTSBIZ
A 400 page plus New York Yankees extravaganza!!
If you're a Yankee fan, you've got to pick it up. It has everything - - lists, quotes, profiles, sketches, great game, teams, personalities. A true celebration of the Yankees. Very interesting.

If you are a Yankee Fan like myself you probably have a lot of Yankees related books in your collection. Chances are that Harvey Frommer wrote more than one of them. Mr. Frommer, a life long Yankees fan wrote for Yankees Magazine for sixteen years. He also wrote more than thirty Sports books including The New York Yankee Encyclopedia and New York City Baseball. Recnetly he commemorated the Yankees 100th Season with his latest "A Yankee Century. Given 5 Stars by BehindtheBombers.com

This book is the perfect companion for the encyclopedia. It is written so that you can bounce from one topic to the next. It starts you out by looking at a chronological look at the Yankees first 100 years. It takes your from the birth of the Bambino to the dedication of Reggie Jackson's plaque in Monument Park.

What is your favorite moment in Yankees History? Chapter 2 looks at them all and the perfect way to trigger your Yankee memories, both good and bad. The book continues with a Who's Who that cover just about everyone you could think of and a few you couldn't. Then a new twist is added when Harvey Frommer looks back at some of the great and not so great Yankee teams of the century.

Babe Ruth was known as the Sultan of Swat and Mickey Mantle was know as the Commerce Comet. But who what the Brooklyn Schoolboy? Bruiser? Or Dial a Deal? Well all those answers can be found in this book.

Although the Bombers were the first team to wear uniform numbers the next section, "By The Numbers" is more than that. For instance what does the number 4 mean to the Yankees? The most balks in a game by Vic Raschi on May 3, 1950. It is also Casey's streak of managing losing All Star games (1950 to 1953). And of course it is Lou Gehrig's uniform number.

There is a section on Yankee trivia entitled 100 Question Yankee Quiz. This quiz separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls. It covers the ridiculous to the sublime. See just how good a fan you are.

What Yankee Book would be complete without a section where you can find lists, charts, Yankee Firsts, Yankee Lasts, Yankee Longests and much much more.

With an introduction by Yankee favorite Paul O'Neill what more can you ask for. This definitive compilation captures the Yankee tradition in words, stats and photographs. It is the Yankees at your fingertips. It is light reading or something you won't want to put down. A perfect gift for the Yankee fan but buy two you wont want to give it away.

"If you love baseball, if you love the New York Yankees, you will love this book."