“Tearin’ Up the Pea Patch”

Arguably the greatest ball club in National League history, the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers recorded some staggering statistics. They led the league in virtually every offensive category while fielding some of the finest defensive players of the era. But the team’s extraordinary success on the field is only part of their story. Jackie Robinson was in his seventh year since breaking the color barrier, but ugly racist incidents were yet to abate and several marred the ’53 season. The most intense rivalry in sports climaxed with a September brawl as Dodger Carl Furillo floored Giants manager Leo Durocher. First baseman Gil Hodges weathered a horrendous slump with the support of the team’s devoted fans. This book tells the exciting story of the ’53 Brooklyn Dodgers, highlighting a season and a team.

The late Andrew Paul Mele had retired from the Brooklyn Public Library. The author of six books and several short stories, his articles appeared in the Staten Island Advance and the Italian Tribune. He lived in Staten Island.

Andrew Paul Mele

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 224
Bibliographic Info: 20 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2015
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9620-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1926-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments  v
Preface: The Gold in the Golden Age  1
One. There Used to Be a Ball Club  5
Two. Brooklyn: The Time and the Place  20
Three. A Dubious Spring  36
Four. April  51
Five. May  68
Six. June  83
Seven. July  98
Eight. August  113
Nine. September  128
Ten. October  146
Eleven. Success and the Road to Perdition  164
Twelve. Redux: Brooklyn Without the Dodgers  178
Appendix: Player Records: Brooklyn Dodgers 1953  199
Chapter Notes  201
Bibliography  209
Index  211

• “Another fine insightful and entertaining book by Brooklyn Dodgers historian Andrew Paul Mele. This book will carry you back to the years when the Brooklyn Dodgers were on top of the world.”—Donald Honig, novelist and baseball historian
• “We who played on the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers feel it was the best of the Brooklyn teams. Even though we didn’t win the World Series, the individual numbers throughout the lineup are among the all-time best. Andy Mele’s research and writing proves my point.”—Carl Erskine, Brooklyn Dodgers 1948–1957