John McGraw
Harry Snavely (Author photograph) New York: Viking, 1988. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. [10], 358 pages. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. Index. The dust jacket has some wear, soiling, and moisture staining. Minor staining to covers where DJ stained. Traces the life and career of the McGraw, who, for thirty years, managed the New York Giants and discusses his influence on professional baseball. Charles C. Alexander, Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus, Ohio University, has written 14 books, the last eight of which have dealt with American baseball history. Charles C. Alexander (1935- ) began his career as a baseball author with one big advantage: He’d already spent 20 years teaching, researching, and writing various aspects of 20th-century American history. So when Alexander turned his attentions to his beloved baseball — specifically, to a scholarly, comprehensive biography of Ty Cobb, ultimately published in 1984 — he was already well familiar with the many tools available to the historian. Alexander would follow up with biographies of John McGraw (1988), Rogers Hornsby (1996) and Tris Speaker (2007), inspiring a veritable flood of copiously researched baseball biographies written by authors who learned from Alexander that it was okay to take baseball seriously. In 2003, Alexander’s Breaking the Slump: Baseball in the Depression Era garnered the Seymour Medal, awarded by the SABR to “the best work of baseball history or biography published in the preceding year.” Alexander was Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at Ohio University. In 2011, Southern Methodist University Press will publish Alexander’s Turbulent Seasons: Baseball in 1890-1891. Derived from a Kirkus review: This thorough and energetic new biography dissects legendary N.Y. Giants manager John McGraw--who makes the likes of Billy Martin, Earl Weaver, and Dick Williams look like marshmallows. The feisty McGraw was born in a little upstate N.Y. village in 1873 and grew up eating, sleeping, and dreaming the hard-hitting, rough-hewn, eccentric baseball--rural baseball--of the pre-stadium 19th century. McGraw was not a naturally talented ballplayer, but his hustle and fierce desire made him a star third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles in the 1890's. But in 1902, at the age of 29, he became manager of the N.Y. Giants and really came into his own, staying on for 30 years, winning ten pennants, and bringing his brand of hitting, running, platooning baseball into the big-business, big-stadium 20th century. Alexander's narrative provides glimpses of baseball's fabled past barely imaginable in these days of Astroturf and Big Brother instant replays: McGraw limping back to the dugout after ferociously attacking an opposing player, his ""black wool stocking soaked with blood""; McGraw (never equaled as an umpire baiter) screaming at ump Bill Klem, ""I can lick any umpire in the league""; and McGraw on numerous occasions suspected of involvement in shady deals to fix games. And on occasion, Alexander concludes, the pointing fingers were right on. Yet before he died in 1934, McGraw had become one of the greatest managers of all time--Casey Stengel learned at his knee. Crisply observed, intensely researched--a potent antidote for fans tired of three-million-dollar baseball players and nickel ball. John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890s Baltimore Orioles teams, noted for their innovative, aggressive play. McGraw was born into poverty in Truxton, New York. He found an escape from his hometown and a bad family situation through baseball, beginning a quick rise through the minor leagues that led him to the Orioles at the age of 18. Under the tutelage of manager Ned Hanlon, the Orioles of the 1890s won three National League (NL) pennants; McGraw was one of the stalwarts of the team alongside Wee Willie Keeler, Hughie Jennings, and Wilbert Robinson. The Orioles perfected the hit and run play and popularized the Baltimore chop; they also sought to win by intimidating the opposing team and the umpire. The instability in MLB at the turn of the 20th century led to McGraw becoming manager of the Orioles at age 26 in 1899, and he was lauded for his leadership. The National League Orioles were dissolved after 1899, and McGraw spent one season with the St. Louis Cardinals before returning to Baltimore as player/manager of the new Orioles of the American League (AL). He quarreled with AL president Ban Johnson and jumped to the Giants in 1902, taking several Orioles players with him. Through his just-short of thirty years managing the Giants, McGraw exerted control on players and team, and saw great success, winning ten pennants (matched only by Casey Stengel, who played for and learned from him) and three World Series. His 2,763 victories as an MLB manager ranks third overall behind only Connie Mack and Tony La Russa; he holds the NL record with 31 seasons managed. Additionally, McGraw finished his managerial career 815 games over .500, more than any other manager in MLB history. This is 23 games more than Joe McCarthy, who is second with 792 games over .500. McGraw is widely held to be one of the greatest managers in baseball history. He retired, ill, in 1932 and died less than two years later after making a final appearance in 1933 as NL manager in the first All-Star Game. Condition: Good / Good.
Keywords: National League, Baseball, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, Charles Stoneham, Baltimore Orioles, Ty Cobb, New York Giants, Edward Hanlon, Ban Johnson, Kennesaw Mountain Landis
ISBN: 0670807303
[Book #89469]
Price: $45.00