Dazzy Vance

Charles “Dazzy” Vance became known as the strike out king after leading the National League in strikeouts seven years in a row. Dazzy mesmerized opposing hitters with a blazing fastball, off-the-tabletop curve, a high leg kick and a sleeve on the undershirt of his pitching arm with slits cut into it that would flutter and distract batters as he delivered the pitch. This famed baseball pitcher was in the minor leagues for 10 years and didn’t make it to the majors to stay until he was 31. He retired at age 44 just missing his goal of winning 200 games. He finished with 197 victories. In 1955, he became the first Brooklyn Dodgers player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
This biography covers the life of Vance, including the Major League Hall of Fame career and his personal life off the diamond. Also included is a list of Dazzy’s lifetime statistics, from 1915 through 1935, containing his 1934 World Series Game. Conversations held with family, friends, sports writers and teammates are quoted throughout this biography.

John C. Skipper, a political reporter for the Mason City (Iowa) Globe Gazette, has written numerous books on politics and baseball, including a history of the The Iowa Caucuses and acclaimed biographies of Grover Cleveland Alexander, Dazzy Vance and Charlie Gehringer.

John C. Skipper
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 218
Bibliographic Info: 17 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2007
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2985-1
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8179-8
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

1. The Old Jeepers Creepers      5

2. “Ain’t it a dazzy?”      13

3. “I was just trying to think—but I give up”      28

4. “Here’s where I came in”      40

5. “You couldn’t hit him on a Monday”      51

6. “The best pitch is the unexpected pitch”      64

7. “Three men on base. Which base?”      82

8. “Ain’t it awful?”      94

9. “I, for one, can’t slow-ball ’em”      105

10. No More Daffiness (Well, Almost)      121

11. “He was what you call superstitious”      137

12. “They do the unexpected and the unexplainable”      142

13. Days of Diminishing Dazzle      150

14. The Quest for 200      159

15. “I never liked spring training anyway”      172

Appendix: Dazzy Vance Statistics      187

Chapter Notes      189

Bibliography      199

Index      203

“conversations with Vance’s family and friends, along with sports writers and teammates, enrich the biography…excellent”—Sports Collectors Digest.