The Bird The Life And Legacy Of Mark Fidrych

Author : Doug Wilson
Publisher : Macmillan
Page : 327 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2013-03-26
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781250021144

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The Bird by Doug Wilson Pdf

The first biography of the eccentric pitcher, rookie All-Star starter, 70s pop icon, and first athlete on the cover of Rolling Stone Mark Fidrych exploded onto the scene in the summer of 1976 with the Detroit Tigers, capturing the hearts of Americans from coast to coast. Lanky with a curly mop, a nickname born of his resemblance to Sesame Street's Big Bird would only hint at the large personality that was about to take baseball in a new direction. Known for wildly endearing antics such as throwing back balls that "had hits in them," manicuring the mound of any cleat marks, talking to himself (and the ball for that matter), and shaking hands with just about everyone from groundskeepers to cops after games, The Bird infused each game with the fun, All-American spirit of 1970s baseball. A two-time All-Star player, Fidrych won nineteen games, along with the Rookie of the Year Award, becoming one of the biggest individual drawing cards baseball has ever seen. Recreating the magic of an unforgettable era of baseball, The Bird shows how Fidrych was the player that brought a smile to your face, becoming a crossover pop culture icon and household name. Through meticulous research and interviews, Doug Wilson vividly recounts Fidrych's struggles and final shining moments in the Minors, the tragic injury that signaled the beginning of the end of his career, through to his sudden death in 2009. The Bird gives readers a long overdue look into the life of the refreshing rookie the likes of which baseball had never seen before, and has never seen since.

Author : Mark Fidrych,Tom Clark
Publisher : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Page : 264 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 1977
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : STANFORD:36105035467179

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No Big Deal by Mark Fidrych,Tom Clark Pdf

An interview with Mark Fidrych in which he discusses his life and his baseball career.

Author : Andy Andrews
Publisher : HarperChristian + ORM
Page : 62 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2013-06-19
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9781400324262

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Baseball, Boys, and Bad Words by Andy Andrews Pdf

Baseball, Boys, and Bad Words reveals the hilarity and magic of Little League baseball. Often called “the funniest tale ever told,” this story will have you laughing until you cry, while warming your soul, reminding you of childhood and a simpler time. In 1970, eleven-year-old Andy Andrews and a group of friends began a Little League season they would never forget. All the usual ingredients were there—well-worn gloves, freshly cut grass, and new uniforms. But the addition of a coach who was “new to the area” is what made this season truly unforgettable for young Andy. Baseball fans and both current and former Little Leaguers will love the funny story, the age-old baseball wisdom quoted from some of the game’s greatest players, and the vintage baseball photography.

Author : Joe Peta
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 230 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2013-03-07
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9781101609651

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Trading Bases by Joe Peta Pdf

An ex–Wall Street trader improved on Moneyball’s famed sabermetrics and beat the Vegas odds with his own betting methods. Here is the story of how Joe Peta turned fantasy baseball into a dream come true. Joe Peta turned his back on his Wall Street trading career to pursue an ingenious—and incredibly risky—dream. He would apply his risk-analysis skills to Major League Baseball, and treat the sport like the S&P 500. In Trading Bases, Peta takes us on his journey from the ballpark in San Francisco to the trading floors and baseball bars of New York and the sportsbooks of Las Vegas, telling the story of how he created a baseball “hedge fund” with an astounding 41 percent return in his first year. And he explains the unique methods he developed. Along the way, Peta provides insight into the Wall Street crisis he managed to escape: the fragility of the midnineties investment model; the disgraced former CEO of Lehman Brothers, who recruited Peta; and the high-adrenaline atmosphere where million-dollar sports-betting pools were common.

Author : Richard A. Johnson
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 321 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2016-06-09
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9781442261709

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The Knuckleball Club by Richard A. Johnson Pdf

The knuckleball—so difficult to hit but also difficult to control and catch—has been a part of major league baseball since the early 1900s and continues to be used to this day. This remarkable and unusual pitch is the instrument of a special breed of pitcher, a determined athlete possessing tremendous concentration, self confidence, and a willingness to weather all kinds of adversity. In The Knuckleball Club: The Extraordinary Men Who Mastered Baseball's Most Difficult Pitch, Richard A. Johnson provides an informal history of the wildest, weirdest, most mesmerizing pitch of all time. Beginning with an examination of the invention of the knuckleball, Johnson then briefly touches upon the science and psychology of the pitch before profiling the game’s great knuckleballers. Rich in anecdotes and interviews, this book shares the unique stories of Hoyt Wilhelm, Phil Niekro, Jim Bouton, Tom Candiotti, Tim Wakefield, R.A. Dickey, and many others. Also featured are the stories of the best knuckleball catchers, from Bob Uecker and Doug Mirabelli to Rick Ferrell and Paul Richards. While knuckleballers today are an anomaly, decades ago a surprisingly large number of major league pitchers used the knuckler. The Knuckleball Club is the first book to provide a comprehensive survey of the pitch and the players who used it, offering a deep understanding of how the knuckleball has fit into the fabric of the game over the past one hundred years. Anyone wanting to learn more about this unusual pitch, from baseball historians and fans to current and former players, will find this book an entertaining and enlightening read.

Author : Doug Wilson
Publisher : Macmillan
Page : 349 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2014-03-04
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781250033031

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Brooks: The Biography of Brooks Robinson by Doug Wilson Pdf

The first complete biography of the Baltimore Orioles' Hall of Fame baseman Brooks Robinson, the greatest defensive third baseman of all time. Finalist for the 2014 Casey Award! Selected by the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the 2014 author's series Brooks Robinson is one of baseball's most transcendent and revered players. He won a record sixteen straight Gold Gloves at third base, led one of the best teams of the era, and is often cited as the greatest fielder in baseball history. Credited with almost single-handedly winning the 1970 World Series, this MVP was immortalized in a Normal Rockwell painting. A wholesome player and role model, Brooks honored the game of baseball not only with his play but with his class and character off the field. Author of The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych, Doug Wilson returns to baseball's Golden Age to detail the birth of a new franchise through the man who came to symbolize it as one of baseball's most beloved players. Through numerous interviews with people from every part of the legendary player's life, Wilson reveals never-before-reported information to illuminate Brooks's remarkable skill and warm personality. Brooks takes readers back to an era when players fought for low-paying yearly contracts, spanning the turbulent 60s and 70s and into the dawning of the free agent era. He was elected to the MLB All-Century Team and as president of the MLB Players Alumni, Brooks continues to influence today's baseball players. In the climate of astronomic salaries, steroids, off-field troubles, and heroes who let down their fans, Brooks reminds baseball fans of the honor and glory at the heart of America's favorite pastime.

Author : Bill Deane
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 325 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2021-04-06
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9781476642413

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Baseball's Who's Who of What Ifs by Bill Deane Pdf

The greatest players in baseball history are honored in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Fans and sports journalists often lament about players who might have joined the immortal ranks, if only fate--circumstances, injury or even death--hadn't intervened. Presenting a "who's who of what-ifs," this book focuses on 40 well known non-inductees, such as Tony Conigliaro, Denny McLain and Jose Fernandez, along with many others all but lost to history, such as Ross Barnes, Charlie Ferguson and Hal Trosky. Also included are more than 100 "honorable mentions" covering all of pro baseball history, from the 1860s to the 2010s.

Author : Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)
Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
Page : 456 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2014-04-01
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9780803253452

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The Great Eight by Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Pdf

The 1975 Cincinnati Reds, also known as the “Big Red Machine,” are not just one of the most memorable teams in baseball history—they are unforgettable. While the Reds dominated the National League from 1972 to 1976, it was the ’75 team that surpassed them all, winning 108 games and beating the Boston Red Sox in a thrilling 7-game World Series. Led by Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson, the team’s roster included other legends such as Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Tony Pérez, Ken Griffey Sr., and Dave Concepción. The 1975 Reds were notably disciplined and clean-cut, which distinguished them from the increasingly individualistic players of the day. The Great Eight commemorates the people and events surrounding this outstanding baseball team with essays on team management and key aspects and highlights of the season, including Pete Rose’s famous position change. This volume gives Reds fans complete biographies of all the team’s players, relives the enthralling 1975 season, and celebrates a team that is consistently ranked as one of the best teams in baseball history.

Author : Dan Epstein
Publisher : Macmillan
Page : 420 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2014-04-29
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9781250034373

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Stars and Strikes by Dan Epstein Pdf

Dan Epstein scored a cult hit with Big Hair and Plastic Grass: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging '70s. Now he returns with Stars and Strikes, a riotous look at the most pivotal season of the decade. America, 1976: colorful, complex, and combustible. It was a year of Bicentennial celebrations and presidential primaries, of Olympic glory and busing riots, of "killer bees" hysteria and Pong fever. For both the nation and the national pastime, the year was revolutionary, indeed. On the diamond, Thurman Munson led the New York Yankees to their first World Series in a dozen years, but it was Joe Morgan and Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" who cemented a dynasty with their second consecutive World Championship. Sluggers Mike Schmidt and Dave Kingman dominated the headlines, while rookie sensation Mark "The Bird" Fidrych started the All-Star Game opposite Randy "Junkman" Jones. The season was defined by the outrageous antics of team owners Bill Veeck, Ted Turner, George Steinbrenner, and Charlie Finley, as well as by several memorable bench-clearing brawls, and a batting title race that became just as contentious as the presidential race. From Dorothy Hamill's "wedge" haircut to Kojak's chrome dome, American pop culture was never more giddily effervescent than in this year of Jimmy Carter, CB radios, AMC Pacers, The Bad News Bears, Rocky, Taxi Driver, the Ramones, KISS, Happy Days, Hotel California, and Frampton Comes Alive!--it all came alive in '76! Meanwhile, as the nation erupted in a red-white-and-blue explosion saluting its two- hundredth year of independence, Major League Baseball players waged a war for their own liberties by demanding free agency. From the road to the White House to the shorts-wearing White Sox, Stars and Strikes tracks the tumultuous year after which the sport--and the nation--would never be the same.

Author : Mark A Epstein
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2020-09-15
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9798662963436

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They Call Me Pathfinder by Mark A Epstein Pdf

Get inspiration for finding your path from one man's true story of life in the Deep South, a memoir lauded by Coretta Scott King's cousin, Christine Jackson, as "a book everyone should read!" Growing up, Mark Epstein had dreams of playing basketball, but his lack of motivation sidelined him. Inspired after he read true civil rights stories about Black Americans, Epstein's secret dream was born. Personal heartbreak drove him to a new life in Charleston, South Carolina, where he found his mission to improve the world through sports. In this inspiring memoir of an educator, Epstein shares the magic of befriending some of the greatest athletes in history as well as students and parents in the public school system. From desperate circumstances to a twenty-seven-year career in education and coaching, They Call Me Pathfinder is the story of how one lost soul from Massachusetts found his way to a life that became an American dream come true.

Author : Jane Leavy
Publisher : Harper Collins
Page : 339 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2009-10-13
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780061753503

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Sandy Koufax by Jane Leavy Pdf

“Leavy has hit it out of the park…A lot more than a biography. It’s a consideration of how we create our heroes, and how this hero’s self perception distinguishes him from nearly every other great athlete in living memory… a remarkably rich portrait.” — Time The New York Times bestseller about the baseball legend and famously reclusive Dodgers’ pitcher Sandy Koufax, from award-winning former Washington Post sportswriter Jane Leavy. Sandy Koufax reveals, for the first time, what drove the three-time Cy Young award winner to the pinnacle of baseball and then—just as quickly—into self-imposed exile.

Author : Tom Clark
Publisher : HarperCollins Publishers
Page : 330 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 1978
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : UCAL:B4951287

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The World of Damon Runyon by Tom Clark Pdf

Portraits of Runyon's friends and acquaintances are interspersed with the details of his private life and quotations from his writings to provide a revealing biography of the American journalist and author and a chronicle of his time.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 116 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2014-05
Category : Talking books
ISBN : PURD:32754083745079

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Talking Book Topics by Anonim Pdf

Author : Brian C. Wilson
Publisher : Wayne State University Press
Page : 332 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2018-08-06
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780814345313

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John E. Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age by Brian C. Wilson Pdf

John E. Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age follows the spiritual sojourn of John E. Fetzer, a Michigan business tycoon. Born in 1901 and living most of his life in Kalamazoo, Fetzer parlayed his first radio station into extensive holdings in broadcasting and other enterprises, leading to his sole ownership of the Detroit Tigers in 1961. By the time he died in 1991, Fetzer had been listed in Forbes magazine as one of the four hundred wealthiest people in America. And yet, business success was never enough for Fetzer—his deep spiritual yearnings led him from the Christianity of his youth to a restless exploration of metaphysical religions and movements ranging from Spiritualism, Theosophy, Freemasonry, UFOology, and parapsychology, all the way to the New Age as it blossomed in the 1980s. Author Brian C. Wilson demonstrates how Fetzer’s quest mirrored those of thousands of Americans who sought new ways of thinking and being in the ever-changing spiritual movements of the twentieth century. Over his lifetime, Fetzer's worldview continuously evolved, combining and recombining elements from dozens of traditions in a process he called "freedom of the spirit." Unlike most others who engaged in a similar process, Fetzer’s synthesis can be documented step by step using extensive archival materials, providing readers with a remarkably rich and detailed roadmap through metaphysical America. The book also documents how Fetzer’s wealth allowed him to institutionalize his spiritual vision into a thriving foundation—the Fetzer Institute—which was designed to carry his insights into the future in hopes that it would help catalyze a global spiritual transformation. John E. Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age offers a window into the rich and complex history of metaphysical religions in the Midwest and the United States at large. It will be read with interest by those wishing to learn more about this enigmatic Michigan figure, as well as those looking for an engaging introduction into America’s rapidly shifting spiritual landscape.

Author : Dan Epstein
Publisher : Macmillan
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 2010-05-19
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9781429920759

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Big Hair and Plastic Grass by Dan Epstein Pdf

The Bronx Is Burning meets Chuck Klosterman in Big Hair, a wild pop-culture history of baseball's most colorful and controversial decade. The Major Leagues witnessed more dramatic stories and changes in the ‘70s than in any other era. The American popular culture and counterculture collided head-on with the national pastime, rocking the once-conservative sport to its very foundations. Outspoken players embraced free agency, openly advocated drug use, and even swapped wives. Controversial owners such as Charlie Finley, Bill Veeck, and Ted Turner introduced Astroturf, prime-time World Series, garish polyester uniforms, and outlandish promotions such as Disco Demolition Night. Hank Aaron and Lou Brock set new heights in power and speed while Reggie Jackson and Carlton Fisk emerged as October heroes and All-Star characters like Mark "The Bird" Fidrych became pop icons. For the millions of fans who grew up during this time, and especially those who cared just as much about Oscar Gamble's afro as they did about his average, Dan Epstein's Big Hair serves up a delicious, Technicolor trip down memory lane.