We Would Have Played for Nothing: Baseball Stars of the 1950s and 1960s Talk About the Game They...

We Would Have Played for Nothing: Baseball Stars of the 1950s and 1960s Talk About the Game They Loved ... | Fay Vincent | The Real Old School

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We Would Have Play...

	We Would Have Played for Nothing: Baseball Stars of the 1950s and 1960s Talk About the Game They Loved ... Fay Vincent Simon & Schuster, 2008 - 336 pages average customer review:based on 10 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "A MUST READ FOR "OLD-SCHOOL" BASEBALL PURISTS!"

This is a marvelously "put-together" baseball book containing the inner thoughts, dreams and actual accomplishments of eleven former Major League players from the (19)50's and 60's. The reason I say "put-together" rather than written is because this book was created by transcribing videotaped interviews into a manuscript. The author "tried to faithfully record the comments of the interviewees, correcting minor grammatical mistakes and occasional errors caused by the inevitable lapses of memory after several decades." The end result is a "STUNNING" recreation of when "BASEBALL WAS STILL A GAME!" Due to the fact that actual interviews have been transcribed, the reader benefits from this unique protocol and feels as if each player is sharing his personal stories directly with you.

The eleven players highlighted in this book include Hall Of Famers Duke Snider, Robin Roberts, Whitey Ford, Harmon Killebrew, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Billy Williams, 1957 World Series MVP Lou Burdette, two time World Champion and thrower of two no-hitters, Carl Erskine, twenty game winner and an eternal historical figure for throwing the pitch that resulted in "The Shot Heard Round The World", Ralph Branca, and "baseball lifer" Bill Rigney. Every one of these elite storytellers takes you back to where their dreams began and how honored they were to achieve their boyhood goals of playing in the Big Leagues. It's hard not to notice the modesty and unpretentious attitudes that these humble stars reveal, which is in sharp contrast to the attitudes and behavior of today's players.

There are so many "delicious" intimate details shared with the reader from the clubhouse and the playing field from the glorious years gone by, when baseball truly was "THE NATIONAL PASTIME". It is apparent to the reader that these "yesterday's hero's" are reliving the same joy, sadness, competitiveness, and aching of their days gone by as emotionally as the reader, who is reliving their cherished childhood moments through their hero's. It's refreshing as almost every star points out with dignity teachers, coaches or parents who made a difference in their life even over half a century later. It is also invigorating to see the same fierce blood start to boil as old rivalries or "bad" calls are rehashed. I found one exceptionally telling historical subject that was discussed reverently by ten of the eleven players, and that was Jackie Robinson. The enormous respect that Jackie "EARNED" from all these players on and off the field had not diminished one iota! In fact to me the most powerful emotionally piercing moment in this book, was not about any of the monumental accomplishments of these players, but of the sad regret of one:

BILL RIGNEY SAID: "I thought one of the worst things I did or one of the things I didn't do--and I regretted it all my life--is that opening day in the Polo Grounds on the eighteenth of April in '47 when Jackie Robinson hit his first home run. I didn't walk over to him and say, "Hey, I'm Bill Rigney, I just want to shake your hand and wish you the best of luck because it's not going to be easy for you, but I wish you the best," and leave it at that. And I regretted it all my life that I didn't do it, because I knew I was too late, you know, after I got to know him. You know just reading about it, you knew how tough it was going to be for him. Why I didn't do that, I don't know, because he was standing right there. All I had to do was walk over and say, "I'm Bill Rigney. I'm the shortstop for the Giants; I just want to wish you good luck." Big deal. But I regret that."

The highest praise I can give this book is to compare it to the seminal book written in 1972 "THE BOYS OF SUMMER" by Roger Kahn looking back on the Brooklyn Dodgers of the `50's. This book is a "BOYS OF SUMMER" with eleven players some of whom were Dodgers. I couldn't recommend this book any higher for a true "OLD-SCHOOL" baseball fan!

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The Real Old School

I am very excited to discover this book of living oral history about a great era in the evolution of baseball, a time when there was exceptional talent on the field, and still a level of craftsmanship and relative purity to the sport. I just wanted to comment on the review that compares this book to The Boys of Summer as a classic benchmark of baseball writing. I would not dispute that comparison, but I think it is a little more to the point to compare this book (and its companion volume on the 30s and 40s) to the one that really pioneered the technique of compiling oral history from the older players--and that is The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence Ritter. This book, which I believe was published in about 1966, was the first I know of to use this technique and with wondrous results. Ritter hit the road with a tape recorder, and found some two dozen or so players from the turn of the century through the 30s and got them jawing about the game. These were players like Goose Goslin, Sam Crawford, Paul Waner, Lefty O'Doul, Rube Marquard, and Chief Meyers (perhaps the man who originally broke the color line in baseball) among others. There were amazing stories and pictures of these speakers, and all the greats from that era--Cobb, Ruth, Gehrig, McGraw, Wagner, Mathewson, Johnson, et. al. I still have my original first edition, and while I read Boys of Summer when it came out, I read through Glory of Their Times over and over and over again. It was that good. As a boy, I wrote to Ritter about how much I loved the book, and he took the time to send me a lengthy and warm handwritten reply about his joyful experience of putting the book together. Now that is class!! Ritter later put out an extended edition with several additional interviews, but it was hard to improve perfection. So, while we are lauding great baseball books, I just wanted to make mention of the one that started it all as far as the baseball oral history thing, and encourage others to discover this marvelous book, Glory of Their Times, to which I would give about 10 stars. I am hoping that the Fay Vincent books will be even half as good, hence the 5 stars here.

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A wonderful oral history book

Well done! Even though some of the interviews seem embellished, what the heck? I love the Killebrew and Robinson interviews. It's not often that readers get such detailed sharing from older ballplayers. This book and another new baseball book, "Working at the Ballpark" by Tom Jones, make a great combination of the current ballplayers and those of the past. I appreciate how both books retain the real voices of those interviewed, including bad grammar, slang, and even a little swearing. Great reads!

Solid reading for baseball fans.

This is another solid effort by the former baseball commissioner, Fay Vincent, who gave us "The Only Game in Town" and "The Last Commissioner" and who continues to love the great game of baseball.
Baseball fans, especially long-timers, will enjoy reading the first-hand commentary (on their experiences and on the state of baseball today)of such big-name stars as Robin Roberts, Harmon Killebrew, Frank and Brooks Robinson, and Billy Williams, among others. Also included is Bill Rigney, a lesser light as a player but an acknowledged "star" as manager. This volume is an easier read than its predecessor as the interviewer has polished his subjects' actual words just a bit. I'm hoping another volume--especially one that offers the insights/feelings/reactions of some of the less-heralded players of previous generations--is forthcoming.

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Not much new

If you are a fan of baseball in the 1950s and 1960s, it's doubtful you'll learn much new from Fay Vincent's "We Would Have Played the Game for Nothing." Vincent rounds up many of the usual suspects from this era to interview for his oral history series.

The players include three Brooklyn Dodgers--Carl Erskine, Ralph Branca and Duke Snider--plus Robin Roberts, Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Billy Williams, Whitey Ford, Lew Burdette and Bill Rigney. The presence of three Dodgers is two too many since they tend to recount the same events. Most of the players interviewed by Vincent, with the exception of Rigney, have received plenty of previous exposure.

Vincent doesn't seem to have done much homework for the interviews. It seems as if he asked very general questions like "What were your most memorable moments?" "Who were the toughest players you played against?" Many of the anecdotes have appeared before. Vincent doesn't dig beyond the surface.

Interestingly, Jackie Robinson has a strong presence in the book. Just about every player mentioned him in one context or another. It's clear he commanded respect and admiration from who played with him, against him, or those influenced by him.

The title for Vincent's book is somewhat overstated. Sure, the players loved the game, but they wouldn't have played for nothing. They knew they were underpaid and the owners were taking advantage of them.

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reviews: 1, page 2

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