Wins, Losses, and Empty Seats

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Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
ISBN 13 : 1496209869
Total Pages : 311 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (962 download)

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Book Synopsis Wins, Losses, and Empty Seats by : David George Surdam

Download or read book Wins, Losses, and Empty Seats written by David George Surdam and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2021-08-06 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Organized baseball has survived its share of difficult times, and never was the state of the game more imperiled than during the Great Depression. Or was it? Remarkably, during the economic upheavals of the Depression none of the sixteen Major League Baseball teams folded or moved. In this economist's look at the sport as a business between 1929 and 1941, David George Surdam argues that although it was a very tough decade for baseball, the downturn didn't happen immediately. The 1930 season, after the stock market crash, had record attendance. But by 1931 attendance began to fall rapidly, plummeting 40 percent by 1933. To adjust, teams reduced expenses by cutting coaches and hiring player-managers. While even the best players, such as Babe Ruth, were forced to take pay cuts, most players continued to earn the same pay in terms of purchasing power. Baseball remained a great way to make a living. Revenue sharing helped the teams in small markets but not necessarily at the expense of big-city teams. Off the field, owners devised innovative solutions to keep the game afloat, including the development of the Minor League farm system, night baseball, and the first radio broadcasts to diversify teams' income sources. Using research from primary documents, Surdam analyzes how the economic structure and operations side of Major League Baseball during the Depression took a beating but managed to endure, albeit changed by the societal forces of its time.

Baseball

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Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
ISBN 13 : 1496236068
Total Pages : 625 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (962 download)

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Book Synopsis Baseball by : Steven P. Gietschier

Download or read book Baseball written by Steven P. Gietschier and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2023-07 with total page 625 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Baseball: The Turbulent Midcentury Years explores the history of organized baseball during the middle of the twentieth century, examining the sport on and off the field and contextualizing its development as both sport and business within the broader contours of American history. Steven P. Gietschier begins with the Great Depression, looking at how those years of economic turmoil shaped the sport and how baseball responded. Gietschier covers a then-burgeoning group of owners, players, and key figures—among them Branch Rickey, Larry MacPhail, Hank Greenberg, Ford Frick, and several others—whose stories figure prominently in baseball’s past and some of whom are still prominent in its collective consciousness. Combining narrative and analysis, Gietschier tells the game’s history across more than three decades while simultaneously exploring its politics and economics, including, for example, how the game confronted and barely survived the United States’ entry into World War II; how owners controlled their labor supply—the players; and how the business of baseball interacted with the federal government. He reveals how baseball handled the return to peacetime and the defining postwar decade, including the integration of the game, the demise of the Negro Leagues, the emergence of television, and the first efforts to move franchises and expand into new markets. Gietschier considers much of the work done by biographers, scholars, and baseball researchers to inform a new and current history of baseball in one of its more important and transformational periods.

The 1933 New York Giants

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Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476624615
Total Pages : 238 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

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Book Synopsis The 1933 New York Giants by : Lou Hernández

Download or read book The 1933 New York Giants written by Lou Hernández and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2017-04-11 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bill Terry had some big shoes to fill in midseason 1932, when he took over managing the second division New York Giants for the iconic John McGraw. The next year, his first full season as player-manager, "Memphis Bill" guided the Polo Grounders to the pennant and a World Series victory over a strong Washington Senators team. This is the complete story of how Terry reshaped the club he inherited, molding them into world champions at the height of the Great Depression. The author provides a game-by-game season narrative, with detailed depictions of each Fall Classic contest. Biographical overviews of the Giants' primary players and an analysis of the first All-Star Game are included.

Babe Ruth and the Creation of the Celebrity Athlete

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Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 147666532X
Total Pages : 287 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

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Book Synopsis Babe Ruth and the Creation of the Celebrity Athlete by : Thomas Barthel

Download or read book Babe Ruth and the Creation of the Celebrity Athlete written by Thomas Barthel and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2018-07-30 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From his first year in the majors, George Herman "Babe" Ruth knew he could profit from celebrity. Babe Ruth Cigars in 1915 marked his first attempt to cash in. Traded to the Yankees in 1920, he soon signed with Christy Walsh, baseball's first publicity agent. Walsh realized that stories of great deeds in sports were a commodity, and in 1921 sold Ruth's ghostwritten byline to a newspaper syndicate for $15,000 ($187,000 today). Ruth hit home runs while Walsh's writers made him a hero, crafting his public image as a lovable scalawag. Were the stories true? It didn't matter--they sold. Many survive but have never been scrutinized until now. Drawing on primary sources, this book examines the stories, separating exaggerated facts from clear falsehoods. This book traces Ruth's ascendance as the first great media-created superstar and celebrity product endorser.

When the Babe Went Back to Boston

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Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476685029
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

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Book Synopsis When the Babe Went Back to Boston by : Bob LeMoine

Download or read book When the Babe Went Back to Boston written by Bob LeMoine and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2023-03-24 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Babe Ruth was 40 and flabby in 1935. His days as a strapping, fearsome home run hitter were behind him. Baseball had flourished into big business through Ruth's swing and swag and didn't need him anymore. His dream was to become a manager but the New York Yankees--a dynasty he helped build--were not interested. But someone wanted him. Judge Emil Fuchs, luckless president of the Boston Braves, had lost a fortune on his perpetually losing team. Desperate to save the club from collapse, he needed Babe Ruth--not the fading slugger but the most famous brand on the planet. This book chronicles the Ruth and Fuchs partnership during a perplexing 1935 season with the 38-115 Braves--truly one of the worst baseball teams in history--along with Ruth's final games, back in the city where he debuted.

The Age of Ruth and Landis

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Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
ISBN 13 : 1496205715
Total Pages : 358 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (962 download)

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Book Synopsis The Age of Ruth and Landis by : David George Surdam

Download or read book The Age of Ruth and Landis written by David George Surdam and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2018-01-01 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the 1919 World Series scandal simmered throughout the 1920 season, tight pennant races drove attendance to new peaks and presaged a decade of general prosperity for baseball. Babe Ruth shattered his own home-run record and, buoyed by a booming economy, professional sports enjoyed what sportswriters termed a "Golden Age of Sports." Throughout the tumultuous 1920s, Major League Baseball remained a mixture of competition and cooperation. Teams could improve by player trades, buying Minor League stars, or signing untried youths. Players and owners had their usual contentious relationship, with owners maintaining considerable control over their players. Owners adjusted the game so that the 1920s witnessed a surge in slugging and a diminution in base stealing, and they provided a better ballpark experience by both improving their stadiums and minimizing disruptions by rowdy fans. However, they hesitated to adapt to new technologies such as radio, electrical lighting, and air travel. The Major Leagues remained an enclave for white people, while African Americans toiled in the newly established Negro Leagues, where salaries and profits were skimpy. By analyzing the economic and financial aspects of Major League Baseball, The Age of Ruth and Landis shows how baseball during the 1920s experienced both strife and prosperity, innovation and conservatism. With figures such as the incomparable Babe Ruth, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Rogers Hornsby, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Tris Speaker, and Eddie Collins, the decade featured an exciting brand of livelier baseball, new stadiums, and overall stability.

The Colonel and Hug

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Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
ISBN 13 : 0803284136
Total Pages : 464 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis The Colonel and Hug by : Steve Steinberg

Download or read book The Colonel and Hug written by Steve Steinberg and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2015-05-01 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the team’s inception in 1903, the New York Yankees were a floundering group that played as second-class citizens to the New York Giants. With four winning seasons to date, the team was purchased in 1915 by Jacob Ruppert and his partner, Cap “Til” Huston. Three years later, when Ruppert hired Miller Huggins as manager, the unlikely partnership of the two figures began, one that set into motion the Yankees’ run as the dominant baseball franchise of the 1920s and the rest of the twentieth century, capturing six American League pennants with Huggins at the helm and four more during Ruppert’s lifetime. The Yankees’ success was driven by Ruppert’s executive style and enduring financial commitment, combined with Huggins’s philosophy of continual improvement and personnel development. While Ruppert and Huggins had more than a little help from one of baseball’s greats, Babe Ruth, their close relationship has been overlooked in the Yankees’ rise to dominance. Though both were small of stature, the two men nonetheless became giants of the game with unassailable mutual trust and loyalty. The Colonel and Hug tells the story of how these two men transformed the Yankees. It also tells the larger story about baseball primarily in the tumultuous period from 1918 to 1929—with the end of the Deadball Era and the rise of the Lively Ball Era, a gambling scandal, and the collapse of baseball’s governing structure—and the significant role the Yankees played in it all. While the hitting of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig won many games for New York, Ruppert and Huggins institutionalized winning for the Yankees.

Baseball Under the Lights

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Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476680159
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

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Book Synopsis Baseball Under the Lights by : Charlie Bevis

Download or read book Baseball Under the Lights written by Charlie Bevis and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2021-04-30 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Night games transformed the business of professional baseball, as the smaller, demographically narrower audiences able to attend daytime games gave way to larger, more diversified crowds of nighttime spectators. Many ball club owners were initially conflicted about artificial lighting and later actually resisted expanding the number of night games during the sport's struggle to balance ballpark attendance and television viewership in the 1950s. This first-ever comprehensive history of night baseball examines the factors, obstacles and trends that shaped this dramatic change in both the minor and major leagues between 1930 and 1990.

The Big Leagues Go to Washington

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Publisher : University of Illinois Press
ISBN 13 : 0252097122
Total Pages : 329 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (52 download)

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Book Synopsis The Big Leagues Go to Washington by : David George Surdam

Download or read book The Big Leagues Go to Washington written by David George Surdam and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2015-04-15 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between 1951 and 1989, Congress held a series of hearings to investigate the antitrust aspects of professional sports leagues. Among the concerns: ownership control of players, restrictions on new franchises, territorial protection, and other cartel-like behaviors. In The Big Leagues Go to Washington, David Surdam chronicles the key issues that arose during the hearings and the ways opposing sides used economic data and theory to define what was right, what was feasible, and what was advantageous to one party or another. As Surdam shows, the hearings affected matters as fundamental to the modern game as broadcasting rights, player drafts and unions, league mergers, and the dominance of the New York Yankees. He also charts how lawmakers from the West and South pressed for the relocation of ailing franchises to their states and the ways savvy owners dodged congressional interference when they could and adapted to it when necessary.

Century of the Leisured Masses

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190211563
Total Pages : 325 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis Century of the Leisured Masses by : David George Surdam

Download or read book Century of the Leisured Masses written by David George Surdam and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American living standards improved considerably between 1900 and 2000. While most observers focus on gains in per-capita income as a measure of economic well-being, economists have used other measures of well-being: height, weight, and longevity. The increased amount of leisure time per week and across people's lifetimes, however, has been an unsung aspect of the improved standard of living in America. In Century of the Leisured Masses, David George Surdam explores the growing presence of leisure activities in Americans' lives and how this development came out throughout the twentieth century. Most Americans have gone from working fifty-five or more hours per week to working fewer than forty, although many Americans at the top rungs of the economic ladder continue to work long hours. Not only do more Americans have more time to devote to other activities, they are able to enjoy higher-quality leisure. New forms of leisure have given Americans more choices, better quality, and greater convenience. For instance, in addition to producing music themselves, they can now listen to the most talented musicians when and where they want. Television began as black and white on small screens; within fifty years, Americans had a cast of dozens of channels to choose from. They could also purchase favorite shows and movies to watch at their convenience. Even Americans with low incomes enjoyed television and other new forms of leisure. This growth of leisure resulted from a combination of growing productivity, better health, and technology. American workers became more productive and chose to spend their improved productivity and higher wages by consuming more, taking more time off, and enjoying better working conditions. By century's end, relatively few Americans were engaged in arduous, dangerous, and stultifying occupations. The reign of tyranny on the shop floor, in retail shops, and in offices was mitigated; many Americans could even enjoy leisure activities during work hours. Failure to consider the gains in leisure time and leisure consumption understates the gains in American living standards. With Century of the Leisured Masses, Surdam has comprehensively documented and examined the developments in this important marker of well-being throughout the past century.

Arky

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Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476640718
Total Pages : 265 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

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Book Synopsis Arky by : Frank Garland

Download or read book Arky written by Frank Garland and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2020-07-23 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bursting onto the scene as a 20-year-old rookie, Arky Vaughan quickly established himself as the next great Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop. In 1935 his .385 batting average eclipsed even that of the immortal Honus Wagner, who was a steadying influence for Vaughan during his 10 seasons with the Pirates. Vaughan never hit under .300 with Pittsburgh and his versatility later made him an asset to the Brooklyn Dodgers. One of the quietest men in baseball, the nine-time All-Star eschewed the limelight but received plenty of attention for his on-field performance, for his one-man mutiny against Brooklyn manager Leo Durocher, and for walking away from the game to take care of his family and his beloved ranch during World War II. Drawing on dozens of articles, personal writings, recorded interviews and his daughter's unpublished biography, this book covers the life and career of an often overlooked Hall of Famer who died in a tragic boating accident at age 40.

The Rise of the National Basketball Association

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Publisher : University of Illinois Press
ISBN 13 : 0252037138
Total Pages : 267 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (52 download)

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Book Synopsis The Rise of the National Basketball Association by : David George Surdam

Download or read book The Rise of the National Basketball Association written by David George Surdam and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2012-10-23 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today's National Basketball Association commands millions of spectators worldwide, and its many franchises are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But the league wasn't always so successful or glamorous: in the 1940s and 1950s, the NBA and its predecessor, the Basketball Association of America, were scrambling to attract fans. Teams frequently played in dingy gymnasiums, players traveled as best they could, and their paychecks could bounce higher than a basketball. How did the NBA evolve from an obscure organization facing financial losses to a successful fledgling sports enterprise by 1960? Drawing on information from numerous archives, newspaper and periodical articles, and Congressional hearings, The Rise of the National Basketball Association chronicles the league's growing pains from 1946 to 1961. David George Surdam describes how a handful of ambitious ice hockey arena owners created the league as a way to increase the use of their facilities, growing the organization by fits and starts. Rigorously analyzing financial data and league records, Surdam points to the innovations that helped the NBA thrive: regular experiments with rules changes to make the game more attractive to fans, and the emergence of televised sports coverage as a way of capturing a larger audience. Notably, the NBA integrated in 1950, opening the game to players who would dominate the game by the end of the 1950sdecade: Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, and Oscar Robertson. Long a game that players loved to play, basketball became a professional sport well supported by community leaders, business vendors, and an ever-growing number of fans.

Run to Glory and Profits

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Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
ISBN 13 : 1496209702
Total Pages : 326 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (962 download)

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Book Synopsis Run to Glory and Profits by : David George Surdam

Download or read book Run to Glory and Profits written by David George Surdam and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2020-04-01 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The National Football League has long reigned as America's favorite professional sports league. In its early days, however, it was anything but a dominant sports industry, barely surviving World War II. Its rise began after the war, and the 1950s was a pivotal decade for the league. Run to Glory and Profits tells the economic story of how in one decade the NFL transformed from having a modest following in the Northeast to surpassing baseball as this country's most popular sport. To break from the margins of the sports landscape, pro football brought innovation, action, skill, and episodic suspense on "any given Sunday." These factors in turn drove attendance and rising revenues. Team owners were quick to embrace television as a new medium to put the league in front of a national audience. Based on primary documents, David George Surdam provides an economic analysis in telling the business story behind the NFL's rise to popularity. Did the league's vaunted competitive balance in the decade result from its more generous revenue sharing and its reverse-order draft? How did the league combat rival leagues, such as the All-America Football Conference and the American Football League? Although strife between owners and players developed quickly, pro-football fans stayed loyal because the product itself remained so good.

The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2011-2012

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Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 0786472952
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (864 download)

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Book Synopsis The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2011-2012 by : William M. Simons

Download or read book The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2011-2012 written by William M. Simons and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2013-01-17 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 2011-2012 volume in the Cooperstown Symposium series is a collection of new scholarly essays that use baseball to examine topics whose import extends beyond the ballpark. The essays represent 16 of the leading presentations from the two most recent proceedings of the annual Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, held on June 1-4, 2011, and May 30-June 1, 2012. The essays are divided into six parts. "Baseball History, Myth, and the American Past" considers the distinction between reality and remembrance. "Decade of Transition: The 1960s in Baseball and America" explores a critical passage in the evolution of the nation and the game. "Baseball Economics: Owners, Profits, and the Public" provides perspectives on sports as business. "Out of the Bleachers: Women Umpiring and Playing" links the game to those who participate and care about it despite the expectations of atavistic gender roles. "Casting the Game: Stage and Screen" examines theatrical and cinematic treatments of baseball. Part 6, "Game of Numbers: Statistical Baseball," examines the sport and its artifacts quantitatively.

Breaking Babe Ruth

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Publisher : University of Missouri Press
ISBN 13 : 0826274099
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (262 download)

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Book Synopsis Breaking Babe Ruth by : Edmund F. Wehrle

Download or read book Breaking Babe Ruth written by Edmund F. Wehrle and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 2018-05-31 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rather than as a Falstaffian figure of limited intellect, Edmund Wehrle reveals Babe Ruth as an ambitious, independent operator, one not afraid to challenge baseball’s draconian labor system. To the baseball establishment, Ruth’s immense popularity represented opportunity, but his rebelliousness and potential to overturn the status quo presented a threat. After a decades-long campaign waged by baseball to contain and discredit him, the Babe, frustrated and struggling with injuries and illness, grew more acquiescent, but the image of Ruth that baseball perpetuated still informs how many people remember Babe Ruth to this day. This new perspective, approaching Ruth more seriously and placing his life in fuller context, is long overdue.

Total Sportscasting

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Publisher : CRC Press
ISBN 13 : 1317906764
Total Pages : 318 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (179 download)

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Book Synopsis Total Sportscasting by : Marc Zumoff

Download or read book Total Sportscasting written by Marc Zumoff and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2014-06-20 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether you want to be in front of the camera, on the microphone, or behind the scenes, Total Sportscasting gives you the skills you’ll need to become successful in this dynamic industry. This book covers everything from performance and production techniques to all aspects of sportscasting, good broadcast writing techniques, and how best to forge lasting relationships with team personnel. It also delves into the unique issues facing women sportscasters. And when it comes to breaking into the business, Total Sportscasting devotes entire chapters to career development and demo reel production. For important perspective, we’ve also included chapters on the history of sportscasting and attempts to glimpse into its future. Total Sportscasting is packed with a variety of features for both learning and instructing: Complete coverage of every aspect of the sportscast, helping you prepare for any platform—TV, radio, and the web Interviews with successful sports journalists, producers, and directors who give you an inside look into the real-world practices of the industry A companion website, which provides additional resources for both instructors and students, including video and audio examples and links to additional resources: www.totalsportscasting.com

Jazz Age Giant

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Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
ISBN 13 : 1496235584
Total Pages : 293 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (962 download)

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Book Synopsis Jazz Age Giant by : Robert F. Garratt

Download or read book Jazz Age Giant written by Robert F. Garratt and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2023-04 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early 1920s, when the New York Yankees' first dynasty was taking shape, they were outplayed by their local rival, the New York Giants. Led by manager John McGraw the Giants won four consecutive National League pennants and two World Series, both against the rival Yankees. Remarkably, the Giants succeeded despite a dysfunctional and unmanageable front office. And at the center of the turmoil was one of baseball's more improbable figures: club president Charles A. Stoneham, who had purchased the Giants for $1 million in 1919, the largest amount ever paid for an American sports team. Short, stout, and jowly, Charlie Stoneham embodied a Jazz Age stereotype--a business and sporting man by day, he led another life by night. He threw lavish parties, lived extravagantly, and was often chronicled in the city tabloids. Little is known about how he came to be one of the most successful investment brokers in what were known as "bucket shops," a highly speculative and controversial branch of Wall Street. One thing about Stoneham is clear, however: at the close of World War I he was a wealthy man, with a net worth of more than $10 million. This wealth made it possible for him to purchase majority control of the Giants, one of the most successful franchises in Major League Baseball. Stoneham, an owner of racehorses, a friend to local politicians and Tammany Hall, a socialite and a man well placed in New York business and political circles, was also implicated in a number of business scandals and criminal activities. The Giants' principal owner had to contend with federal indictments, civil lawsuits, hostile fellow magnates, and troubles with booze, gambling, and women. But during his sixteen-year tenure as club president, the Giants achieved more success than the club had seen under any prior regime. In Jazz Age Giant Robert Garratt brings to life Stoneham's defining years leading the Giants in the Roaring Twenties. With its layers of mystery and notoriety, Stoneham's life epitomizes the high life and the changing mores of American culture during the 1920s, and the importance of sport, especially baseball, during the pivotal decade.