For anyone growing up in Brooklyn, the Dodgers still remain a pertinent history of the Borough of Brooklyn and of baseball. I was born in 1970, 13 years after the Dodgers left, but I have visited the spot where Ebbets Field was, which is now comprised of high rise low income housing, but the black wall with "Ebbets Field" is still standing. Anyone you talk to who lived during the time period when the Dodgers played in Brooklyn will tell you how sad they were to see the Dodgers go and resented owner Walter O'Malley for moving the team to Los Angeles. Like indicated in the documentary "Baseball" by Ken Burns, a piece of Brooklyn Died when the Dodgers left.
So today, I review Bob McGee's "The Greatest Ballpark Ever: Ebbets Field and the Story of the Brooklyn Dodgers ." Published back in 2005.
Generations after its demise, Ebbets Field remains the single most colorful and enduring image of a baseball park, with a treasured niche in the game's legacy and the American imagination. In this lively story of sports, politics, and the talented, hilarious, and charming characters associated with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Bob McGee chronicles the ballpark's vibrant history from the drawing board to the wrecking ball, beginning with Charley Ebbets and the heralded opening in 1913, on through the eras that followed. McGee weaves a story about how Ebbets Field's architectural details, notable flaws, and striking facade brought Brooklyn and its team together in ways that allowed each to define the other. Drawing on original interviews and letters, as well as published and archival sources, The Greatest Ballpark Ever explores the struggle of Charley Ebbets to build Ebbets Field, the days of Wilbert Robinson's early pennant winners, the eras of the Daffiness Boys, Larry MacPhail, and Branch Rickey, the tumultuous field leadership of Leo the Lip, the fiery triumph of Jackie Robinson, the golden days of the Boys of Summer, and Walter O'Malley's ignominious departure. With humor and passion, The Greatest Ballpark Ever lets readers relive a day in the raucous ballpark with its quirky angles and its bent right-field wall, with the characters and events that have become part of the nation's folklore.
One amateur reviewer of the book said it best "As a 58 year old Brooklyn Dodger fanatic who still and always will hate O'Malley, Mr. McGee's book is my new bible. He gives you the entire history of Baseball in Brooklyn without being boring, without preaching facts and making me feel that I was still living on Eastern Parkway. This is one book that I read very slowly as I didn't want it to end. He brought back many great memories and also brought back the tears I shed when they left and even more when on that cold February day they tore down the Hallowed Walls of that place called Ebbets. He brought me back to the times when I snuck in to watch games, laid on my stomach on Bedford Avenue to sneak a peak at the only spot to look under the Center Field fence to watch a game. We saved our Borden's Elsie Dixie Cup tops to get Bleacher Seats and to turn in a Bedford Blast for a free admission to the bleachers. He even spelled Gladys Goodding's name correctly, something not done in some of the other Brooklyn Dodger books."
In conclusion, Bob McGee's book on Ebbets Field and the Dodgers is a true literary masterpiece. It is probably the definitive book on the Dodgers history and is the bible for all Brooklyn Dodger fans. Even as a Yankees fan, you can appreciate good writing and good storytelling about the Bronx Bombers old nemesis in the National League. This book is a must for you Baseball Book fans, and when you read it you can really get lost in the book as you are transported back in time to a place that is enshrined with some of Baseball's greatest memories.
http://bks1.books.google.com/books?id=Lh-MPwAACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&imgtk=AFLRE73resZ4oyohqjx9LCd0s1NJnEUDW-FXKS67ohEQq18VsokibOet89AJqAbx3pbsPSLw-FNougVN7BtwBndZrB_ZCIXrQ0oCh7SvTkPK0ASAc68NWT6g9_3jbWcVeSqP6_tjbxRg
So today, I review Bob McGee's "The Greatest Ballpark Ever: Ebbets Field and the Story of the Brooklyn Dodgers ." Published back in 2005.
Generations after its demise, Ebbets Field remains the single most colorful and enduring image of a baseball park, with a treasured niche in the game's legacy and the American imagination. In this lively story of sports, politics, and the talented, hilarious, and charming characters associated with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Bob McGee chronicles the ballpark's vibrant history from the drawing board to the wrecking ball, beginning with Charley Ebbets and the heralded opening in 1913, on through the eras that followed. McGee weaves a story about how Ebbets Field's architectural details, notable flaws, and striking facade brought Brooklyn and its team together in ways that allowed each to define the other. Drawing on original interviews and letters, as well as published and archival sources, The Greatest Ballpark Ever explores the struggle of Charley Ebbets to build Ebbets Field, the days of Wilbert Robinson's early pennant winners, the eras of the Daffiness Boys, Larry MacPhail, and Branch Rickey, the tumultuous field leadership of Leo the Lip, the fiery triumph of Jackie Robinson, the golden days of the Boys of Summer, and Walter O'Malley's ignominious departure. With humor and passion, The Greatest Ballpark Ever lets readers relive a day in the raucous ballpark with its quirky angles and its bent right-field wall, with the characters and events that have become part of the nation's folklore.
One amateur reviewer of the book said it best "As a 58 year old Brooklyn Dodger fanatic who still and always will hate O'Malley, Mr. McGee's book is my new bible. He gives you the entire history of Baseball in Brooklyn without being boring, without preaching facts and making me feel that I was still living on Eastern Parkway. This is one book that I read very slowly as I didn't want it to end. He brought back many great memories and also brought back the tears I shed when they left and even more when on that cold February day they tore down the Hallowed Walls of that place called Ebbets. He brought me back to the times when I snuck in to watch games, laid on my stomach on Bedford Avenue to sneak a peak at the only spot to look under the Center Field fence to watch a game. We saved our Borden's Elsie Dixie Cup tops to get Bleacher Seats and to turn in a Bedford Blast for a free admission to the bleachers. He even spelled Gladys Goodding's name correctly, something not done in some of the other Brooklyn Dodger books."
In conclusion, Bob McGee's book on Ebbets Field and the Dodgers is a true literary masterpiece. It is probably the definitive book on the Dodgers history and is the bible for all Brooklyn Dodger fans. Even as a Yankees fan, you can appreciate good writing and good storytelling about the Bronx Bombers old nemesis in the National League. This book is a must for you Baseball Book fans, and when you read it you can really get lost in the book as you are transported back in time to a place that is enshrined with some of Baseball's greatest memories.
http://bks1.books.google.com/books?id=Lh-MPwAACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&imgtk=AFLRE73resZ4oyohqjx9LCd0s1NJnEUDW-FXKS67ohEQq18VsokibOet89AJqAbx3pbsPSLw-FNougVN7BtwBndZrB_ZCIXrQ0oCh7SvTkPK0ASAc68NWT6g9_3jbWcVeSqP6_tjbxRg