Eddie Mathews and the National Pastime (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Bob Buege (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Anyone who followed baseball during the 1950s will remember Hall of Fame third baseman Eddie Mathews, who played on two World Series teams (1957 and 1958) for the Milwaukee Braves and spent 16 years in the National League before being traded to the Detroit Tigers. Beginning with his days in Class D ball in 1949, Mathews follows his career and to a lesser extent his personal life in this appealing autobiography. Although the book isn't written in a sophisticated style ("the whole subject of player salaries today makes me want to puke"), Mathews' laid-back tone seems a perfect match with his down-to-earth personality. As someone who played with Hank Aaron (the two still hold baseball's record for most homers as teammates), roomed with Bob Uecker ("like rooming with the Marx Brothers"), and drank with Billy Martin ("if you backed him into the corner, he'd punch your lights out"), Mathews has plenty of stories to relay. Out of baseball now (he frankly admits his drinking cost him a number of coaching jobs), Mathews, like so many retired players, remembers his big-league days as the best years of his life. Sue-Ellen Beauregard

Product Details

• Hardcover: 347 pages
• Publisher: Douglas American Sports Publications (July 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882134419
• ISBN-13: 978-1882134410
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,192,790 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Frank and Entertaining Biography of a Great Homerun Hitter, September 26, 1999

By	L Forsythe([e-mail]) (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This thoroughly enjoyable book - a must for any Milwaukee Braves fan - recalls a simpler time when baseball was pure fun and its heroes a bit more like you and I.

A solid-fielding third baseman and one of baseball's fiercest sluggers with his bat or fists, Mathews writes matter-of-factly, but with a wealth of baseball details and colorful anecdotes, about his extraordinary career as a player, coach, manager, and scout.

Inducted into The Hall of Fame in 1978, he hit 512 career homers, more than any other third baseman in history until Mike Schmidt. In the book Mathews reveals that after a year in which he smashed 47 homers and hit .302 with135 rbi's, Braves management offered him a $3,000 raise - to $17,000 per year!

He also describes Milwaukee's 1957 World Championship year, including the heroics of Bob "Hurricane" Hazel, the ultimate kid-who-came-outta-nowhere story.

With Hank Aaron Mathews formed the most powerful one-two punch in major league history, their 863 combined homeruns as teammates still a record. He speaks of his friendship and respect for Aaron and remembers the game's wild and wooly "golden age" - a time of beanball wars, brawling on and off the field, hard-drinking, and good times.

He comes across as a modest, down-to-earth former athlete, looking back fondly, and with only a few regrets, to his fun-filled days in the big leagues.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT READING, December 30, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

A VERY INTERESTING ACCOUNT OF A VERY UNDERRATED PLAYER IN EDDIE MATHEWS. EDDIE PLAYED IN THE SHADOW OF HANK AARON, SO HE DIDN'T GET THE TRUE CREDIT HE CERTAINLY DESERVES. HE DOES A GREAT JOB OF DESCRIBING LIFE IN THE 50'S TO THE 60'S WITH THE BRAVES. THE STORY IS SIMPLE, FACTFUL, AND HONEST. EDDIE'S CANDID APPROACH IS VERY SUCCESSFUL AND REFRESHING. HIS EXERPTS ABOUT BOB UECKER ARE HILARIOUS. HIS ADMISSION WITH ALCOHOL IS VERY OPEN BUT DISTURBING. I LOVE THIS BOOK. A MUST READ.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars UNFORGETTABLE, May 13, 2001

By	Joseph F. Higgins (JACKSONVILLE, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm only 44 years old, yet fondest memories when growing up on the northwest side of Milwaukee were going to Braves games at County Stadium their last two years (1964-65) prior to moving south to Atlanta. Eddie Mathews was the idol of every eight or nine-year old in Milwaukee who had any interest in the game of baseball. I knew back then he was a hit with the fans (while not necessarialy so with the press), and this book reinforced my memories. Two sports memories that flash in mind daily involve Eddie Mathews. The first involving a game I attended at County Stadium in 1965 with the score tied in the ninth inning and two runners on with two out and Mathews stepping up to the plate. There as an eight-year old, I said to myself he is going to win this with a three-run homer. One pitch later, he did just that! The other involved his last game ever when he played third base in the 4th game of the 1968 World Series and went 1 for 3 against Bob Gibson (almost 2 for 3 had he been five more feet to the left of the right field foul pole when he knocked a Gibson fast ball over the right field roof of Tiger Stadium). This book is beautiful -- an absolute must for those having vivid memories of the Milwaukee Braves as I have. Word of caution: the book is highly addictive and the reader will find it to be nearly impossible to put it down. A true sports classic written on a classy, frank, and honest human being. Eddie Mathews with his book is indeed "UNFORGETTABLE"!