Schnozz
The Baseball Life of Ernie Lombardi
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About the Book
One of the most popular players in Cincinnati Reds history, Ernie “Schnozz” Lombardi played 1931–1947 as an eight-time All-Star catcher. A big man with huge hands, a cannon for an arm and a namesake nose, he held two National League batting titles and a career average of .306. Yet he was so famously slow a runner that the infielders took to the outfield, where they could still throw him out. Fastballs not thrown hard enough were caught barehanded and fired back to the mound.
One unfortunate play in the 1939 World Series dogged Lombardi for the rest of his life and kept him from the Hall of Fame until long after his death. This first full-length biography gives a complete account of this outstanding player.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
David L. Fleitz
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 221
Bibliographic Info: 26 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8921-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5050-0
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
1. The Early Years 3
2. Brooklyn 13
3. Cincinnati 23
4. “The Giant Italian Catcher” 33
5. The Crosley Era 40
6. Night Baseball 49
7. An All-Star Year 57
8. Back to Last Place 66
9. MVP 77
10. Pennant 89
11. Tragedy and Triumph 101
12. Letdown 115
13. Boston 124
14. New York 135
15. The War Years 143
16. Backup 152
17. Back to the Minors 162
18. Aftermath 170
19. Later Years 176
20. The Hall of Fame 188
Appendix: Ernie Lombardi’s Statistics 197
Chapter Notes 199
Bibliography 207
Index 209
