Memories and Dreams celebrates the iconic moments, heroes, and trends that define baseball for its millions of fans This compendium of baseball writing covers it all--recollections of Hall of Famers and narratives from top baseball writers; stories on the rich iconography and history of the game across the full diversity of players, teams, and leagues; and reflections on the way America's Pastime has shaped our culture. Selected from the Baseball Hall of Fame's member magazine, Memories and Dreams brings to life the best of baseball.
In a rare memoir about the Negro Leagues and its celebrated players, Frazier "Slow" Robinson offers an inspiring and often entertaining view of the black baseball diamond through a catcher's mask. In 1939, at the age of 29—after playing professional baseball for twelve years—Frazier Robinson caught the legendary Satchel Paige in barnstorming games from New Orleans to Walla Walla. Robinson played several more seasons in the Negro Leagues before finishing his career in Canada. While his career was a solid one, it was less spectacular than that of his friend and Hall-of-Famer, Satchel Paige, and so more typical of the experience of most Negro Leaguers. Richly embroidered with the threads of black society and of life as a black athlete in a racially divided nation, Robinson recounts his long career with the skill and ease of a natural storyteller. He covers, in remarkable detail, the personal perspective of the men, the teams, and the times that shaped this uniquely American subculture. From playing catcher for obscure industrial teams to barnstorming with Satchel Paige, he chronologically traces his nationwide path through the 1920s, '30s, '40s, and early '50s. The Foreword by John "Buck" O'Neil and Introduction by Gerald Early place Robinson squarely in the world of sports, African American culture, and American history.
With a voice as Canadian as winter, David Adams Richards reflects on the place of hockey in the Canadian soul. The lyrical narrative of Hockey Dreams flows from Richards' boyhood games on the Miramichi to heated debates with university professors who dare to back the wrong team. It examines the globalization of hockey, and how Canadians react to the threat of foreigners beating us at our game. Part memoir, part essay on national identity, part hockey history, Hockey Dreams is a meditation by one of Canada's finest writers on the essence of the game that helps define our nation.
Baseball has joined America and Japan, even in times of strife, for over 150 years. After the "opening" of Japan by Commodore Perry, Sayuri Guthrie-Shimizu explains, baseball was introduced there by American employees of the Japanese government tasked with bringing Western knowledge and technology to the country, and Japanese students in the United States soon became avid players. In the early twentieth century, visiting Japanese warships fielded teams that played against American teams, and a Negro League team arranged tours to Japan. By the 1930s, professional baseball was organized in Japan where it continued to be played during and after World War II; it was even played in Japanese American internment camps in the United States during the war. From early on, Guthrie-Shimizu argues, baseball carried American values to Japan, and by the mid-twentieth century, the sport had become emblematic of Japan's modernization and of America's growing influence in the Pacific world. Guthrie-Shimizu contends that baseball provides unique insight into U.S.-Japanese relations during times of war and peace and, in fact, is central to understanding postwar reconciliation. In telling this often surprising history, Transpacific Field of Dreams shines a light on globalization's unlikely, and at times accidental, participants.
The novel that inspired Field of Dreams: “A lyrical, seductive, and altogether winning concoction.” —The New York Times Book Review One of Sports Illustrated’s 100 Greatest Sports Books “If you build it, he will come.” When Ray Kinsella hears these mysterious words spoken in the voice of an Iowa baseball announcer, he is inspired to carve a baseball diamond in his cornfield. It is a tribute to his hero, the legendary Shoeless Joe Jackson, whose reputation was forever tarnished by the scandalous 1919 World Series. What follows is a timeless story that is “not so much about baseball as it is about dreams, magic, life, and what is quintessentially American” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). “A triumph of hope.” —The Boston Globe “A moonlit novel about baseball, dreams, family, the land, and literature.” —Sports Illustrated
Our story continues with The Brothers and The Sporty Boys enlisted in the Royal Canadian Army with Major Waltz as their commander. It’s WWII. The lads are itching for action. Waltz warns them to be careful what they wish for as the Dieppe Raid - Grid’s dream that never really starts - is about to become Mike’s nightmare. Follow Waltz and his Squad as they take part in The Italy Campaigns, and cross paths with Leopold Schultz. Watch Hank’s face redden with continuing reports from The Grid of the ongoing slaughter of Jews - the very reason he enlisted to begin with. His rage peaks as Waltz and the Squad participate in the liberation of towns and villages across Holland, Belgium and Germany. And then the horrors of The Holocaust - the true horrors - are revealed to Waltz and The Sporty Boys on April 15th 1945 with the liberation of Bergen-Belson concentration camp. Hank, the bully-tamer’s resolve is cast. Meanwhile Mike is back in Montreal enduring the effects of being unable to forget while his Brother plows through his list of ‘runaway’ Nazis. Rosie nurtures her broken husband while Evelyn waits for hers to come home - for good. But Israel is fighting for recognition as an independent Jewish State.
The Ultimate Baseball Trivia Book In this third title published by National Baseball Hall of Fame Books, test your knowledge of baseball trivia against the experts–the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The history of baseball is etched in its trivia. No American sport is chronicled through its trivia and statistics more than baseball. Now, the National Baseball Hall of Fame presents the ultimate baseball trivia book, So You Think You Know Baseball. Hit it out of the park at your MLB trivia night or in an after-dinner baseball quiz with your family. Selected by the historians and curators at the Baseball Hall of Fame, over 100 years of rich baseball history is packed into this virtual reference guide of facts, figures, and fascinating tidbits about our national pastime. In So You Think You Know Baseball, find 450 challenging baseball trivia questions organized into nine themed chapters covering a wide range of baseball history: • Baseball Firsts – famous firsts for almost every aspect of baseball history • First Year Phenoms – rookie sensations and first year wonders • Legendary Sluggers – Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth & more • Historic Hurlers – celebrated pitchers and their remarkable accomplishments on the mound • Record Breakers – notable players and teams who left their mark in the record books • Hall of Famers – baseball’s all-time greats enshrined in Cooperstown • Baseball in Pop Culture – discover the many ways baseball has influenced American culture • The Postseason – highlighting the celebrated moments in World Series history • Baseball Potpourri – unique facts about America’s Pastime Also don’t miss two other titles published by National Baseball Hall of Fame Books, Picturing America’s Pastime and Memories from the Microphone.
