Sports Biblio Digest, 2.10.19: Winter-Spring 2019 Sports Books
News, Views and Reviews About Sports Books, History and Culture
Also in This Issue: Remembering Frank Robinson; Adolph Rupp; Baseball Architecture; Ernie Banks; 1969 Mets; Harry Caray; Soccer Tribes; Rugby Union History; Meb Keflezighi; Sports Shoes; The Sabermetrics of Golf; Fighting Impulses; Canada’s Hockey TV Wars
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Usually I reserve sports passings for last on this newsletter. But I want to reverse that order this week, and not just because of the winter-spring new sports books listings I’ve planned.
The extraordinary life, and not just baseball career, of Frank Robinson, has been recounted so well by so many since his death this week at the age of 83.
Robinson was the first black manager in baseball, was Most Valuable Player in both leagues, American League Manager of the Year, won the 1966 Triple Crown, earned a Gold Glove Award and played on two World Series-winning clubs with the Baltimore Orioles.
That's just a starting point to the tributes linked below, which are followed by some of the most anticipated sports books published in the U.S. through April.
Thomas Boswell, The Washington Post: The proudest, orneriest, most competitive man in baseball;
Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic: One of the game’s all-time greats who was driven by pride;
Joe Posnanski: Frank Robinson through the eyes of a 7-year-old;
John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle: Joe Morgan recalls Giants days, legendary career;
Maxwell Kates, SABR: Detailed career profile;
Craig Muder, Baseball Hall of Fame: A legacy on the field and in the dugout;
George Weigel, National Review: Ferocity, Courage, and Grace;
William Thompson, Baltimore Sun: Frank Robinson’s lasting legacy;
Terry Pluto, Cleveland Plain Dealer: His trials with the Cleveland Indians;
Archive of the Montreal Gazette: Frank Robinson did it his way;
Lynn Worthy, The Kansas City Star: Jackie Robinson’s daughter reflects on the legacy of Frank Robinson;
Jeff Mays, Halo’s Heaven: The great Frank Robinson and the California Angels;
Yahoo! Sports: Dennis Eckersley silences Bill James over Frank Robinson tweet.
Notable Winter-Spring 2019 Sports Book Releases
26 Marathons: What I’ve Learned About Faith, Identity, Running and Life from Each Marathon I’ve Run, by Meb Keflezighi (Rodale Press, March)—The African-born, naturalized American Olympian pens a memoir not long after his retirement from distance running.
108 Stitches: Loose Threads, Ripping Yarns, and the Darndest Characters from My Time in the Game, by Ron Darling (St. Martin’s Press, April)—The retired pitcher, now a TV color commentator, pulls together entertaining anecdotes from the history of the game.
Adolph Rupp and the Rise of Kentucky Basketball, by James Duane Bolin (University of Kentucky Press, February)—An in-depth biography of “The Baron,” who won four NCAA titles while creating one of college basketball’s earliest, and most enduring, dynasties.
American Priest: The Ambitious Life and Conflicted Legacy of Notre Dame’s Father Ted Hesburgh, by Wilson Miscamble (Image Books, March)—A biography of the longtime president of the best-known Catholic university in the United States includes his stewardship of the school’s football program and his influence shaping college athletics.
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City, by Paul Goldberger (Knopf, May)—The Pulitzer Prize-winning former architecture critic for The New York Times examines the history of baseball stadiums as they reflect their cities, including urban parks, transportation and community life.
Bare Knuckle: Boxers, Mobsters, Gypsies, and the Epic Battle to Revive America’s First Sport, by Stayton Bonner (MacMillan, March)—A look at the current-day underworld of illegal fighting, much of it controlled by organized crime rings.
Black Boots and Football Pinks: 50 Lost Wonders of the Beautiful Game, by Daniel Gray (Bloomsbury Sport, January)—A nostalgic look at bygone matter and memories of soccer in England, “the gritty stardust which made football sparkle.” These essays cover streakers, muddy goalmouths, paper tickets and the pink-tinged evening newspapers that loaded up on game coverage and features.
Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump, by Rick Reilly (Hachette, April)—The former Sports Illustrated and ESPN writer describes how the U.S. President’s ways on the golf links as emblematic of how he does everything else.
The Cost of These Dreams: Sports Stories and Other Serious Business, by Wright Thompson (Penguin, April)—The ESPN writer’s first collection includes stories about Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Bear Bryant, the Saints and Hurricane Katrina and football at Ole Miss.
Going to the Match: The Passion for Football, by Duncan Hamilton (Hodder & Stoughton, March)—The noted British sports writer and author takes his title from a 1928 painting to explore the present-day experience of attending soccer matches, from the English Premier League to grassroots amateur circuits, and blends in observations about art, literature and politics to explain the game’s culture.
The Great American Sports Page: A Century of Classic Columns from Ring Lardner to Sally Jenkins, by John Schulian (Library of America, April)—Some of the most iconic pieces of nearly 50 masters of American sportswriting are collected here: W.C. Heinz, Jimmy Cannon, Red Smith, Dick Young, Jim Murray, Shirley Povich, Jerry Izenberg and many more.
Hockey Fight in Canada: The Big Media Face-Off Over the NHL, by David Shoalts (Douglas & McIntyre, March)—No on-ice brawling is examined here, but rather the behind-the-scenes corporate media battles over the rights to televise Canada’s most beloved sports program.
The Hole Truth: Determining the Greatest Players in Golf Using Sabermetrics, by Bill Felber (University of Nebraska, January)—The author crunches numbers across eras and genders, looking at data from the careers of Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Babe Zaharias and nearly 200 top pros.
The Illustrated History of Rugby Union, by Richard Bath (Carlton, January)—Detailing the code from its inception in the early 1820s to its contemporary manifestation in the ongoing Six Nations Cup and Rugby World Cup competitions. Published in association with the World Rugby Museum.
Inside the Empire: The True Power Behind the New York Yankees, by Bob Klapisch and Paul Solotaroff (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, March)—A behind-the-scenes look at the storied baseball franchise’s work to get back into World Series-contending status under the son of George Steinbrenner and young manager Aaron Boone, featuring a powerful lineup led by Aaron Judge.
Last Seasons in Havana: The Castro Revolution and the End of Professional Baseball in Cuba, by Cesar Brioso (University of Nebraska, March)—The days of baseball in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and how quickly the island game’s golden age dwindled under a totalitarian regime that enforced an amateur, state-sponsored model.
LeBron, Inc.: The Making of a Billion-Dollar Athlete, by Brian Windhorst (Grand Central, April)—The NBA superstar’s talents as a businessman are just as impressive as what he does on the court, as recounted by a longtime league scribe who first chronicled James as an Ohio schoolboy.
The Legend of Harry Caray: Baseball’s Greatest Salesman, by Don Zminda (Rowman & Littlefield, April)—The Hall of Fame baseball announcer’s influence on his profession is detailed, including his son and grandson following him into the booth, and how he embodied the celebrity status of the play-by-play personality.
Let’s Play Two: The Life and Times of Ernie Banks, by Doug Wilson (Rowman & Littlefield, February)—The first of two biographies with the same title to be published about the Chicago Cubs great. Mr. Cub exuded passion and connected with fans, but was a much more complex figure who endured a heavy burden trying to lift his ballclub into baseball’s elite.
Let’s Play Two: The Legend of Mr. Cub, the Life of Ernie Banks, by Ron Rapoport (Hachette, March)—The former Chicago and Los Angeles sportswriter and NPR commentator talked to Banks and many others to weave a portrait of a proud star whose warm persona often belied the pain of loneliness, racism and abusive treatment by manager Leo Durocher.
The Miracle of 1969: How the New York Mets Went from Lovable Losers to World Series Champions, by Rich Coutinho (Sports Publishing, March)—The 50th anniversary season includes this memoirish treatment by the author, who was a 9-year-old boy swept up in the exploits of his favorite team at a time of great social upheaval in America.
The National Team: The Inside Story of the Women Who Dreamed Big, Defied the Odds and Changed Soccer, by Caitlin Murray (Abrams Press, April)—A full history that traces the humble roots of a program that will seek its fourth Women’s World Cup title this summer, and inspired the growth of women's soccer in many parts of the world.
Shea Stadium Remembered: The Jets, the Mets and Beatlemania, by Matthew Silverman (Lyons Press, January)—Both teams playing in the Flushing stadium had glory years in 1969, but the first big hit there was a 1965 concert by a certain musical foursome from Liverpool that truly had the place rocking.
Simply the Best: A Biography of Ronnie O’Sullivan, by Clive Everton (Pitch Publishing, January)—The snooker legend won the world title five times, and as the sport’s notable color commentator writes here, he later had to ride out bouts of depression at the height of his fame.
The Soccer Tribe, by Desmond Morris (Rizzoli, March)—A reissue of a 1970s cult book written by an academic-turned-club owner who explores the rituals of the game in 44 accessible essays that have more than stood the test of four-plus decades of dramatic change.
The Sound and the Glory: How the Seattle Sounders Showed Major League Soccer How to Win Over America, by Matt Pentz (ECW Press, March)—How a former North American Soccer League hotbed in the Pacific Northwest helped usher in a wave of fan mania that is spreading in small parks and NFL stadiums all around Major League Soccer.
Sports Crazy: How Sports Are Sabotaging American Schools, by Steven Overman (University Press of Mississippi, February)—Not the first critical assessment of the effects of athletics on the K-12 system, and this one includes a fresh look at how the author believes the educational mission as well as young athletes (especially in football) are being damaged.
The Sports Shoe: A History from Field to Fashion, by Thomas Turner (Bloomsbury Visual Arts, February)—The footwear of elite and everyday athletes, from the Victorian tennis courts to the souped-up brands of Nike’s performance lines are examined by a British cultural historian, with an eye on aesthetics and popular culture.
Strike Four: The Evolution of Baseball, by Richard Hershberger (Rowman & Littlefield, March)—A baseball historian traces the sport’s development through rules changes and other innovations, a timely focus given Major League Baseball’s current efforts to “speed up” the game and appeal to a new generation of fans.
Sunday in Hell: Behind the Lens of the Greatest Cycling Film of All Time, by William Fotheringham (Penguin, March)—At the 1976 Paris-Roubaix Classic, Eddie Merkx, Roger De Vlaeminck, Freddie Maertens and Francesco Moser embarked on a memorable trek across northern France. Trailing right behind them was Danish film director Jørgen Leth. Fotheringham, a venerable cycling author, explains how the documentary became a one-day classic in its own right.
They Said It Couldn’t Be Done: The ‘69 Mets, New York City, and the Most Astounding Season in Baseball History, by Wayne Coffey (Crown Archetype, March)—The former sportswriter for the New York Daily News recounts the unexpected exploits of what had been one of the most futile franchises in baseball history, capped by its mastery of the mighty Baltimore Orioles in the World Series.
This Much Country, by Kristin Knight Pace (Grand Central, March)—The memoir of a woman who overcame divorce and other personal travails to race in the Iditarod and discover the power of personal transformation.
Turning the Black Sox White: The Misunderstood Legacy of Charles A. Comiskey, by Tim Hornbaker and Rob Hoie (Sports Publishing, February)—A paperback reissue of the 2014 original edition to mark the centenary of the infamous thrown World Series, claiming that the parsimonious White Sox owner wasn’t the reason for the fix.
Sport and the New Zealanders: A History, by Greg Ryan and Geoff Watson (Auckland University Press, January)—A journey across the many codes of the nation’s favorite games, including rugby, netball and water sports, by two academics with previous sports books to their credits.
Why We Fight: One Man’s Search for Meaning Inside the Ring, by Josh Rosenblatt (Ecco, January)—A writer who got pugilistic in his early 30s admittedly surprises himself with his fierce desire to prove himself physically in the world of Mixed Martial Arts, and to explain what drives others like him.
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The Sports Biblio Digest is an e-mail newsletter delivered each Sunday. You can subscribe here and search the archives.
This is Digest issue No. 155, published Feb. 10, 2019.
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