The Glory of Their Times

Ritter, Lawrence. S. The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It. New York: HarperPerennial 1984. Print

First Sentences:

This is a book about the early days of baseball.

It is a book about what it was like and how it felt to be a baseball player at the turn of the century and in the decades shortly thereafter. At least that was my intent when I began working on the book five years and 75,000 miles ago. But now that it has been completed, I am not so sure.

 

The narratives contained in this book are chronicles of men who chased a dream and =, at least for a time, caught up with it and lived it.


Description:

 

One of the many attractive features of Lawrence S. Ritter's The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It is reading the actual words of baseball players from the earliest days of professional ball at turn of the century. Each of these 26 narratives on individual players consists only of the words of the players. No analysis by the author, no footnotes, no embellishments. Just their conversational recollections of their entrance to baseball, their playing days, other opponents, and their later years.

 

Author Ritter traced down old-time players using team records, newspaper articles, families, and just plain doggedness to track down the men. Some are recognizable as Hall of Famers like Rube Marquard, Wahoo Sam Crawford, Smokey Joe Wood, Goose Goslin, and Hank Greenberg. Other seem vaguely familiar like Fred Snodgrass (who dropped a fly ball in the World Series that besmirched his name forever), and Babe Herman (whose son Don was my math teacher in high school). Then there are those I knew nothing about, such as Specs Toporcer (the first infielder to wear glasses) and Stanley Coveleski (who beat the New York Giants three times in one week in as a rookie to win the pennant for the Phillies).

 

Every interview is fascinating, bringing alive this sports-mad era, the colloquialisms of speech, and of course detailed stories from their playing days. The men generally downplay their own achievements, whether getting six hits in a row in a World Series (Goslin), throwing faster than Walter Johnson, according to Johnson (Wood), or having a fourth best all-time lifetime batting average of .349 (Lefty O'Doul).

 

They preferred to tell of their own childhood days on farms, in mines, and working at miscellaneous jobs before sneaking away to play on local teams. Contracts were low, conditions of fields, travel, and housing poor, but to a man they said they would pay to play the sport they loved, although they weren't above holding out for more money, especially if they could time their holdout to miss spring training.

 

They also talk about fellow players, usually with awed reverence for these players' achievements. Grover Cleveland Alexander coming in hung over to strike out a dangerous hitter in a key World Series situation. Jim Thorpe running faster than any man in baseball. Christie Mathewsonm, the kindly gentleman, throwing his unhittable screwball. and the hated/beloved manager John McGraw. It was interesting to hear stories regarding the same opponent or game from different interviewees.  

I just couldn't get enough of reading their memories. Ritter's style makes you feel you are sitting next to the player by a cosy fire, listening to him drift back in the years to his youth. His highlights, lowlights, lucky breaks, and longtime friendships all blend together to transport readers to an era of spit balls, 43-oz bats, and players who rarely struck out.

Highly recommended for anyone, especially those fascinated by oral histories and the bygone era of baseball.

Happy reading. 

Fred

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Now hear the memories from Satchel Paige, one of baseball's Negro League's best pitchers and truly genuine characters. Painstakingly researched and wonderfully told, this is a real insider's look at the Negro Leagues stars and lifestyles on and off the field. One of the best sports books ever!