Here is the baseball history of three brothers. George was the eldest of the trio and the local hero. He played, managed and scouted in professional baseball for 50 years. Rick was the cerebral baseball brother. He devoted 60 years to the game in such capacities as college player, eight-time major league all-star, coach, scout and major league executive. Wes was the natural. He was as talented as anyone who ever set foot on a baseball diamond and as good as any pitcher who ever threw a ball. This work chronicles the Ferrell family history with a major emphasis on George, Rick, and Wes; all the baseball doings; and includes numerous photographs. An appendix offers a year-by-year statistical look at the baseball careers of all seven Ferrell brothers including date of birth, height, weight, league, team, position, and averages, among other data.

Dick Thompson was a SABR member and a registered nurse for the Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2004, he received SABR’s highest honor, the Bob Davids Award, which recognized his outstanding research achievements and service to the society. He lived in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

Dick Thompson

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 316
Bibliographic Info: 68 photos, tables, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2005
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2006-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii
Preface      1

1 The Flesh and Blood Frank Merriwell      5
2 Guilford County      17
3 The Free Agent      32
4 1929–The Prodigy      38
5 1930–The Best Pitcher in Baseball      51
6 1931–Baseball’s Greatest Hitting Pitcher      73
7 1932–Peck’s Bad Boy      96
8 1933–First All-Stars      114
9 1934–Brother Battery in Boston      133
10 1935–The Best Player in Baseball      151
11 1936–The Blow-up in Boston      177
12 1937–On to Washington      206
13 1938–On a Wing and a Prayer      227
14 The Knuckleball Catcher      240
15 The Executive      261

Epilogue      273
Appendix      277
Chapter Notes      289
Bibliography      295
Index      299

“exceptional…should be in every baseball scholar’s library”—The SABR Bulletin; “well documented…the many photographs…are a highlight of the volume”—North Carolina Libraries; “Dick Thompson hits a home run”—Our State.