The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It

The names Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner don't resonate as much as they used to. As the decades go by even the old-timers among us haven't been around long enough to remember them. They've pretty much become historical, iconic figures, like the stoic-looking George Washington on a dollar bill. It's a bit of a sad reminder of the inexorable march of time, but what a great relief to know that this treasure chest of a book is around to keep their memories alive. The author got the idea for it in 1961 when he read that Ty Cobb had died. Realizing that many of Cobb's contemporaries would soon suffer the same fate, he set out to meet as many of them as he could and record--literally with a tape recorder--their stories for posterity. Twenty six of them are recounted here. Some of these guys are hall-of-famers, some of them not even close, but all of them--every single one--had a load of interesting tidbits to share. Baseball was a different game back then. America was a different place. The first great thing about the book is that you get at least several takes on the great ballplayers. One of the fellows, for example, playing Detroit, talked about being a little nervous about Cobb, whom they had all heard would sharpen his spikes. A Detroit player, however, mentioned that Cobb never sharpened his spikes. Not that they didn't discourage the other team from thinking so. Walter Johnson had an arm like a bullwhip, but he was a nice enough guy and a friend of Sam Crawford. Late in the game, if his team was ahead by enough runs, he'd toss a meatball in to Crawford and let him belt it. He never did that for Cobb, though, who he hated. Cobb could never figure out why Crawford was able to hit him. Honus Wagner is recalled by many as the best of all of them, with great quickness, great hitting and great fielding. A couple of the fellows recall that you could usually count on bits of gravel to be flung at you along with the ball he had just scooped up. Tommy Leach described him as the best fielding third-baseman, shortstop, first-baseman and outfielder in the league--he played all of them--and since he won the batting title eight times between 1900 and 1911 you couldn't really argue that he wasn't the best hitter in the league, either. For some odd reason, there aren't that many memorable gems about the great Babe Ruth, although there are at least a few. Harry Hooper (a guy I'd never heard of and a hall-of-famer) remembers Ruth in the first year he came up with Boston as a, "big, overgrown, green pea." "Nineteen years old, poorly educated, only lightly brushed by the social veneer we call civilization, he was gradually transformed into the idol of American youth and the symbol of baseball the world over . . . If somebody had predicted that back on the Boston Red Sox in 1914, he would have been thrown into the lunatic asylum." Along with these detailed sketches, including a ton of characters I haven't even mentioned--German

This is one of the greatest books I've ever read and may well be the best non-fiction book I ever read. The book is actually a collection of reminiscences of old-time baseball players compiled by their interviewer, Lawrence Ritter. The original book was written in 1966 with additional chapters added for the revised 1984 version that I read. What comes across first and foremost in all the recollections is the joy and dedication of the long-retired players. At a time when labor strikes, hold-outs and escalating salaries are standard sports stories, this book takes Baseball nostalgia to a new level. It isn't just about the joy of the game, however. This book brings to light a lot of forgotten Baseball history. I fancied myself a bit of a Baseball historian but there were a number of major events in Baseball's early history that I had never heard of before. I think the most memorable was Fred Merkle's "bonehead" play that cost the Giants the pennant in 1907. That was a situation where he forgot to touch second base and thereby cost the Giants the winning run. It is told (and referred to often) with better embelishment than I just gave it but, then, that's the point of my praise; the whole book is a poetic look backwards at the game we sometimes take for granted these days. It's no accident that the best parts of the book are the earliest recollections. You can almost see the corrupting effects of popularity creep up on the game in the 1920's. The stories that these veterans tell and the details that they give make you feel like you've been there yourself. If you're a Baseball fan, you'll love this book. If you're not a Baseball fan, reading this book might just make you one.

I had the pleasure of first listening to the Cds during a car ride summer of 2001. We were heading for the AAABA National Baseball Tournament in Johnstown, PA. and was amazed that these existed and I did not know of them. I got myself a set and then came across the 1984 New and expanded book. I had met several of the gentlemen at different times at Old Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC. I remember going home in the late 50's and telling my Dad I had met an old ballplayer at the stadium who said he was "Big Poison". My Dad laughed and said, "Old Paul Waner, he wasn't very big but he could sure play Baseball." I now know the full story of Paul Waner and wish I did then. You are able to hear and read stories of the greatest players of their generation and players that are still known today. If you have a budding ballplayer or a budding baseball fan, do them a favor and get them this book as soon as possible. In a review on the back cover of my edition, Ted Williams summed it up for me as well when he said, "Warm, happy, exciting - what a great feeling I got as I read it. The day I finished it I started reading it all over again."

This is a book that is near and dear to the hearts of most baseball fans, frequently cropping up on lists of the best baseball books of all time. Inspired by the example of Alan Lomax, who recorded old blues singers down South in the 1930's, and motivated by the recent death of Ty Cobb, Lawrence S. Ritter, an economist and New York University professor by trade, spent several years (1961-66) tracking down and interviewing old ballplayers, recording their memories of the game for posterity before they too passed away. The book presents these sessions as extended monologues, alternately amusing, proud, defensive, and wistful recollections of their own careers, of the times they played in, and of the characters they knew. But now, as if the book weren't enough, the tape recordings of the actual interviews are available in audiobook form. Each is introduced by Ritter, who came to know many of the players quite well. And in his introduction, Ritter reveals that it was only years after the project that it occurred to him that one of the things driving him was the death of his own father. Recapturing the memories of the players his father had loved served as a final filial connection. The interviews include those with : "Wahoo" Sam Crawford, "Rube" Marquard, "Chief" Meyers, Hans Lobert, "Smokey" Joe Wood, Davy Jones, Ed Roush, and Fred Snodgrass. The stories they tell range from Hans Lobert racing a horse around the bases while barnstorming through Oxnard, California, to Fred Snodgrass defending his infamous muff; to a first hand account of the beaning death of Ray Chapman at the hands of Carl Mays; and finally a wonderful recital of Casey at the Bat by Chief Meyers. At the end of many of the interviews Ritter asked the old timers if they had any regrets, and not a single man did : of how few professions would this be true ?I can't recommend the book highly enough and even if you've read it several times, be sure to give the audio a listen. This is oral history at its very best and an invaluable resource for baseball fans. It does for all of us what Ritter only belatedly realized it was doing for him, it provides a vital connection to an earlier time, to the world of our fathers and grandfathers. It is truly wonderful. GRADE : A+