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The Old Ball Game Reviewed by Walter O'Hara Frank Deford, in "The Old Ball Game", turns his attention to America's pastime, namely the sport of Baseball, in a sensational book. Deford describes the United States at the turn of the 21st century and in the process portrays the lives of two luminaries who graced that period, namely John McGraw and Christy Mathewson in singular and graphic fashion. Deford seizes up the vivid personalities of these two giants of the game of Baseball and gives the reader a vivid picture of them, away from their fields of endeavor, and the world namely the 1890's that they trafficked in. Deford brings the reader on a remarkable journey, where we are exposed to the likes of Teddy Roosevelt, Gentleman Jim Corbett, Hughie Jennings, Joe Kelley, "Wee Willie" Keeler in a rich tapestry of humor, anecdotes and accomplishments. On this train of information and delight, the reader learns first hand about New York as it comes into prominence, literally bursting its buttons in that period known as the Gay Nineties. "The Old Ball Game", in season and out, for young and old where knowledge, history, witticism and humor abound in an embodiment of literary enjoyment, simply a must read. A warm and long salute to Frank Deford, a national treasure! About the Author: The author of 14 books, Frank Deford has worked in virtually every medium. His is a senior contributing writer at Sports Illustrated, where his byline first appeared in 1962. A weekly commentator for NPR's Morning Edition, he is also a regular correspondent on the HBO show Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. As a Journalist, Deford was most recently presented with the National Magazine Award for profiles, and has been elected to the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters. Voted by his peers as U.S. Sportswriter of the Year six times, he was also cited by the American Journalism Review as the nation's finest sportswriter and was twice voted Magazine Writer of the Year by the Washington Journalism Review. He has been presented with a Christopher Award and awards for distinguished service to journalism from the University of Missouri and Northeastern University. For his radio and TV work, Deford has won both an Emmy and a George Foster Peabody Award. Grove Press, Grove/Atlantic - ISBN-10: 0-8021-4247-8 ISBN-13: 978-0-8021-4247-4 |
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