Teenager on First, Geezer at Bat, 4-F on Deck

The Second World War was in the bottom of the ninth inning in Germany and Japan, but back at home the bases were loaded with baseball players, many of them new to the big leagues. While the game’s stars traded their stockings and gloves for khaki and rifles, America’s leaders believed baseball would boost morale at home.
Teams filled out their rosters with retired stars such as Jimmie Foxx and Babe Herman; with players like Pete Gray and Dick Sipek, whose disabilities had kept them out of the majors; and with teenagers like 17-year-olds Putsy Caballero and Tommy Brown. But while the level of major league talent had reached its nadir, war-weary fans packed the ballparks, eagerly following pennant races as intense as any that preceded the war.

Writer and researcher James D. Szalontai is the author of books about pitcher Sal Maglie, and baseball and World War II. He is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research and lives in North Port, Florida.

James D. Szalontai
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 334
Bibliographic Info: 16 photos, statistical appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2009
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3794-8
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5335-1
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1
Introduction      5

1. The 1945 Season Approaches      23
2. Jolly Cholly and His Over-the-Hill Gang Win the Pennant      31
3. The Defending World Champions      41
4. Controversy in Brooklyn      53
5. The Bucs Stop Here      61
6. The Giants Race to the Top of the Senior Circuit      67
7. The Braves Load Up and Fall Down      81
8. The Doleful Deacon and the Colorless Reds      91
9. Look Away: Ben Chapman and the Faltering Phils      102
10. The National League Campaign      113
11. Hammerin’ Hank and the World Champion Tigers      150
12. War Heroes, Knuckleballers, and a Spy      172
13. The Spirit of St. Louis      190
14. Marse Joe and the Bronx Bombers      202
15. The Boy Manager and the Holdout      213
16. Jimmy Dykes and the Pale Hose      223
17. Catfish, Boo, and Mr. Yawkey      234
18. Connie Mack, Bobo, and the No-Hit Wonder      242
19. The American League Campaign      253
20. The World Series      289
21. Return to Normalcy      293

Appendix A. The National League Teams      295
Appendix B. The American League Teams      301
Chapter Notes      307
Bibliography      315
Index      319

“a valuable addition for any baseball fan’s library, particularly those interested in golden-age baseball…unique”—Nine.