Of all the teams in the annals of baseball, only a select few can lay claim to historic significance. One of those teams is the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers, the first racially integrated Major League team of the twentieth century. The addition of Jackie Robinson to its roster changed not only baseball but also the nation. Yet Robinson was just one member of that memorable club, which included Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese, Pete Reiser, Duke Snider, Eddie Stanky, Arky Vaughan, and Dixie Walker. Also present was a quartet of baseball's most unforgettable characters: co-owners Branch Rickey and Walter O'Malley, suspended manager Leo Durocher, and radio announcer Red Barber.
This book is the first to offer biographies of everyone on that incomparable team as well as accounts of the moments and events that marked the Dodgers' 1947 season: Commissioner Happy Chandler suspending Durocher, Rickey luring his old friend Burt Shotton out of retirement to replace Durocher, and brilliant outfielder Reiser being sidelined after running into a fence. In spite of all this, the Dodgers went on to win the National League pennant over the heavily favored St. Louis Cardinals. And of course, there is the biggest story of the season, where history and biography coalesce: Jackie Robinson, who overcame widespread hostility to become Rookie of the Year—and to help the Dodgers set single-game attendance records in cities around the National League.
Table of Contents:
Foreword
Mark Langill
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Lyle Spatz
1. How the 1947 Team Was Built
Lyle Spatz
2. Spring Training in Havana
Irv Goldfarb
3. Jackie Robinson
Rick Swaine
4. Branch Rickey
Andy McCue
5. Leo Durocher
Jeffrey Marlett
6. Kirby Higbe
Ralph Berger
7. Bobby Bragan
David L. Fleitz and Maurice Bouchard
8. Dixie Walker
Lyle Spatz
9. Carl Furillo
John T. Saccoman
10. The Suspension of Leo Durocher
Jeffrey Marlett
11. Branch Rickey and the Mainstream Press
Joe Marren
12. Timeline, April 15April 30
Lyle Spatz
13. Ebbets Field, 1947
Bob McGee
14. Jackie Robinson's First Game
Lyle Spatz
15. Clyde Sukeforth
James L. Ray
16. Burt Shotton
Rob Edelman
17. Ray Blades
Russell Wolinsky
18. Spider Jorgensen
William H. Johnson
19. Hal Gregg
James L. Ray
20. Timeline, May 1May 20
Lyle Spatz
21. Hank Behrman
Rob Edelman
22. Rube Melton
Jack V. Morris
23. Jackie Robinson and the Jews
Rabbi Rebecca T. Alpert
24. Timeline, May 21June 15
Lyle Spatz
25. Gene Hermanski
Leonard Levin and Robert H. Schaefer
26. Hugh Casey
Russell Wolinsky
27. Rex Barney
Don Harrison
28. Tommy Brown
C. Paul Rogers III
29. Harry Taylor
Adam J. Ulrey
30. Timeline, June 16June 29
Lyle Spatz
31. Ed Chandler
James L. Ray
32. Marv Rackley
Rob Neyer
33. Gil Hodges
John T. Saccoman
34. George Dockins
Russell Wolinsky
35. Eddie Stanky
Alex Edelman
36. Timeline, June 30July 14
Lyle Spatz
37. Arky Vaughan
Ralph C. Moses
38. Duke Snider
Warren Jacobs
39. Ralph Branca
Paul Hirsch
40. Clyde King
James L. Ray
41. Jake Pitler
Stanley H. Bard
42. Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1947 All-Star Game
Lyle Spatz
43. Timeline, July 15July 31
Lyle Spatz
44. Pee Wee Reese
Rob Edelman
45. Bruce Edwards
Ralph Berger
46. The Protested Game of July 20, 1947
David W. Smith
47. Joe Hatten
Joseph Wancho
48. Timeline, August 1August 17
Lyle Spatz
49. Howie Schultz
Stew Thornley
50. Pete Reiser
Mark Stewart
51. Tommy Tatum
Dan Mullen
52. Timeline, August 18August 31
Lyle Spatz
53. Eddie Miksis
Peter M. Gordon
54. Stan Rojek
Edward W. Veit
55. Dan Bankhead
Rory Costello
56. Timeline, September 1September 19
Lyle Spatz
57. Phil Haugstad
Bob Buege
58. Don Lund
Jerry Nechal
59. Vic Lombardi
Lawrence Baldassaro
60. Jack Banta
Jimmy Keenan
61. Johnny Van Cuyk
David Greisen
62. Timeline, September 20September 28
Lyle Spatz
63. Willie Ramsdell
John Harry Stahl
64. Dick Whitman
Ted D. Smith
65. Erv Palica
Mark Stewart
66. Ed Stevens
Jim Kreuz
67. Walter O'Malley
Andy McCue
68. John L. Smith
Andy McCue
69. Red Barber
Warren Corbett
70. Connie Desmond
Rob Edelman
71. Advertising and the Dodgers in 1947
Roberta J. Newman
72. The 1947 World Series
Tom Hawthorn
73. Al Gionfriddo
Rory Costello
74. Cookie Lavagetto
Mathew Sisson
75. Al Gionfriddo's Memorable Game Six Catch
Rory Costello
76. Lavagetto Ends Bevens's No-Hit Attempt
Joe Dittmar
77. Most Valuable Player Award
Lyle Spatz
78. Rookie of the Year Award
Lyle Spatz
79. Cy Young Award
Lyle Spatz
80. Dodgers Attendance in 1947
John Pastier
81. Ownership Issues in Brooklyn
Andy McCue
Epilogue
Lyle Spatz
Notes and References
Contributors
About the Author :
Lyle Spatz's many books include Dixie Walker: A Life in Baseball and (with coauthor Steve Steinberg) 1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York, winner of the Seymour Medal (Nebraska, 2010).
Review :
"The 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers were all heroes to me... 1947 started one of the most historic decades in baseball history. Lyle Spatz's book captures that time which set the stage for Brooklyn's world championship." Carl Erskine, pitcher who won 122 games for the Dodgers from 1948 to 1959. "What a marvellous concept for a book, and so brilliantly realized! Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey changed everything in 1947, but they did not do it alone. From Red Barber and Dixie Walker to Eddie Stanky and Clyde Sukeforth, stars and supernumeraries alike, all played a part in baseball's greatest drama." John Thorn, official historian for Major League Baseball.
