Baseball Extra

This is the perfect book for a baseball fan (or a historian with an interest in baseball) to have if he's stranded on a deserted island.I've looked at all the headlines in this book and skimmed some of the stories, but I still haven't read an appreciable portion of the book as a whole.The detail is so great, and the print on the older newspapers is so small that one really would have to have the luxury of time to read the whole thing.Essentially, the book is a collection of baseball-theme newspaper headlines from 1857 to 1999. One can appreciate just how far back in time this book takes him when he sees a 1918 Boston Post headline that reads, *Red Sox Are Again World's Champions.*The RED SOX? Baseball's world champions? AGAIN??????Now THAT'S ancient history.But this just isn't a baseball book, and those who can tolerate the baseball but whose historical interests lie elsewhere will take interest in the other slices of Americana that often lie side-by-side with the baseball stories.The Red Sox story above is actually overshadowed by a headline about 13,000,000 additional draft registrants being called up, even as victory over the Kaiser is within reach.Right next to the Milwaukee Daily News headline from October 14, 1908 declaring *Cubs Again Champions of the World* (another example of ancient history) is a political cartoon lampooning President Teddy Roosevelt.The 1921 acquittal of the Chicago *Black Sox* players of conspiring to throw the 1919 World Series accompanies another story about the death of singer Enrico Caruso.A 1948 headline in the Washington Afro American announcing forty-something Satchel Paige's belated call-up to the major leagues also includes an editorial criticizing Harry Truman's civil rights policies and announcing the assassination of a Haitian editor of a pro-government newspaper.*Going away?* the ad in the lower left-hand corner asks. *Be sure that the Afro goes with you.*Ads for tobacco (*Rabbitt Maranville says, *Blackstone is the best smoke on the big league circuit*), chewing gum (*it's good and it's good for you,* the Wrigley's Spearmint Gum ad advises), and health-enhancing elixirs also predominate.A 1951 story in the Kansas City Star about the boyish Mickey Mantle's standing as heir apparent to the great DiMaggio also proudly announces Satin School Jackets (regularly selling for $7.95) on sale for $4.98. 1951 model Dodges are available at Midwest Motors for only $1666.17.Moon Mullins and other retro comic strip characters also dot these pages. *Whadd'ya mean he's beginning to get to you?* an irate boxing manager demands of his fighter in the middle of an empty arena. *He's been and gone!* Now THAT'S another animated boxing manager who also isn't going to be saying *we* anytime soon.There's even a measure of eeriness about some of these headlines. Everyone knows that Joe DiMaggio's famous 56 game hitting strike took place in the pre-war environment that was the 1941 baseball season, so it's startling to see

This book is awesome... First of all, it's huge - about 18" x 12" and 400+ pages. Each page is copy of a newspaper, going back to 1857, with stories about significant events in baseball's history. Reading the non-baseball stories and advertisements is almost as good as the baseball stuff. I highly recommend this book!

I've bought this book, and I thinks it not so bad. If you're into baseball from 1860 to 1950 this one is for you, but the stories from the 60s to the 90s is not so well covered. It is many pages I would like to have, for example more on expansion teams, player's strike, my favourite team the St. Louis Browns and of course stories about unassisted triple plays. In the 80's section the most stories are about world series winners (but not all, both Pete Rose and the Pine-Tar case is there). I would recommend it for every old baseball fan, and of course fans who like to trace the history. Bam's last game is covered, so is The Ironman, and BoSox first win in the WS are also well covered. Ed Gaedel is also one story that I liked. But the author could have add more pages from the modern times of baseball. If you buy this book, be sure to have a magnifying glass, many of the articles are written in very small types

I just received this book for an early birthday present and have not been able to put it down! I have always been a fan of the way's baseball used to be,so I really got into this book.It almost felt like I was in the game! I would recomend this book to any one who loves baseball,or even a young boy just starting out. It really shows true appreciation of the sport.