A Day in the Bleachers

After Willie's unbelievable catch, I was born over a decade later. As a result, I never visited the Polo Grounds. Mr. Hano painted an awesome picture for me. It was awesome to read about baseball in that era. I work part-time a local radio station, close to Yankee Stadium. After I read the book, I was able to contact Arnold. I wanted to interview him. I thought he would be too busy for me. He returned my call promptly! A week later, he agreed to do an interview. I was thrilled, I didn't want to go to sleep that night! I never performed an official interview before. This would be with an old-time baseball fan in NYC! One friday afternoon, we discussed the book in detail. Yes, we talked about Willie's catch, however, he emphasized to me he wrote the book as a fan. We discussed minute details such as: conversations with his wife the night before, bleacher fans in the Polo Grounds, Giant reserve player Joey Amalfitano taking batting practice swings that day, Dusty Rhodes pitch-hit HR to win the game, the Indian players during batting practice, intricacies of the Polo Grounds, the state of the game today, and his memories growing up with 3 ballclubs in the same city. Speaking of living in the moment, Arnold was a pleasure to speak with. This is not just another baseball book written in the 50's! A+ for Arnold!

Did you ever wonder what it was like going to a game at the Polo Grounds? This is an inning by inning description of Game 1 of the 1954 series that covers getting to the park, who was sitting nearby, and of course the game itself. It is told from the view of a fan who knows and loves the game, but avoids windy philosophy and theory. It is especially grand to read in the depths of winter when baseball is either a memory or anticipated. I can't recommend it too highly.

This book captures what it is to be a fan better than anything else I've ever read. I often read this book in the Spring, to cleanse my mental palate of a long dreary Winter of football, basketball, the off-season noise of player contracts, and all else that is life without baseball actually on the field and in the stands. This book always does the trick. I once lost my copy (probably loaned it to someone who never returned it) and had to live without it for years until I found another used copy. Those were hard times. Now it's readily available and I can give it as a gift. Glory, glory, glory! I know, this doesn't actually tell you about the book, but I'm too thrilled to bother with all that now. Just get it. I've never lent my copy to anyone without them coming back singing its praises...except for that mystery s.o.b who apparently liked it too much to return it.

ARNOLD DOES A GREAT JOB DESCRIBING GAME 1 OF THE 1954 WORLD SERIES PLAYED IN THE POLO GROUNDS. READING THIS BOOK I CAN PICTURE VERY CLEARLY, THE EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE THAT DAY. FROM THE TIME HE LEFT HIS HOUSE TO THE GAME ENDING HOMERUN, I WAS TOTALLY CAUGHT UP THIS DETAILED ACCOUNT OF "THE CATCH". HIS DESCRIPTION OF THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM, THE GAME ACTION, AND HIS THOUGHTS ARE PUT TOGETHER IN THIS GREAT READ. A MUST READ FOR ALL GIANT FANS AND BASEBALL HISTORIANS.

This is the only baseball book that I have read in every decade of my life, from the first. I'm 54, and I first read this book in 1959, with awe and rapture. It captures the flavor and the intensity of the experience of baseball before television as no other pages do and, as it happens, it tells the story of one of the transcendent moments of real baseball history. When Willie Mays was given an honorary degree at Yale this year, they specifically cited "the catch" fifty years ago as his most distinct single moment of on-field performance, for all that he was never less than a captivating performer. Hano's book is one to read and reread, with ever-renewed pleasure.