New York City Baseball—The Last Golden Age: 1947-1957

New York City Baseball—The Last Golden Age: 1947-1957, by Harvey Frommer (Macmillan, 219 pp., $11.95).

The statistics are impressive. “Except for 1948, each of those 11 years from 1947 to 1957 saw a New York City baseball team competing in the World Series. The New York Yankees won nine pennants and seven World Series—five of them in a row. The Dodgers won six pennants and one world championship. Three times they finished second. In 1950 and 1951, they were dramatically beaten by a home run in the last game they played, denying them pennants. The Giants won two National League championships and one World Series. Thirteen Most Valuable Player awards, ten earned-run titles, eight Rookie of the Year honors, seven home-run titles, five no-hitters, and four batting championships were collectively recorded by the players on those New York City teams.” Such a record is reason enough for yet another book honoring the city’s great teams. Harvey Frommer, whose previous credits include books on sailing and soccer, relates the history of each team, looks at the record, interviews survivors, and offers the best blow-by-blow description of the move west by the Dodgers and Giants to appear anywhere. The move brought down the curtain on the “Last Golden Age,” scotching interest in the game for millions of fans. Frommer squeezes more into this relatively slim volume dealing with three teams than many authors have put into entire books on single teams—no doubt thanks to his journalistic style. There is a good deal of the sportswriter’s polyester-plaid prose here, but in phrasemaking, not padding. A fine post-mortem, which ought to be the last word on the subject.

JM

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Joe Mysak

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New York City Baseball—The Last Golden Age: 1947-1957, by Harvey Frommer (Macmillan, 219 pp., $11.95).

The statistics are impressive. “Except for 1948, each of those 11 years from 1947 to 1957 saw a New York City baseball team competing in the World Series. The New York Yankees won nine pennants and seven World Series—five of them in a row. The Dodgers won six pennants and one world championship. Three times they finished second. In 1950 and 1951, they were dramatically beaten by a home run in the last game they played, denying them pennants. The Giants won two National League championships and one World Series. Thirteen Most Valuable Player awards, ten earned-run titles, eight Rookie of the Year honors, seven home-run titles, five no-hitters, and four batting championships were collectively recorded by the players on those New York City teams.” Such a record is reason enough for yet another book honoring the city’s great teams. Harvey Frommer, whose previous credits include books on sailing and soccer, relates the history of each team, looks at the record, interviews survivors, and offers the best blow-by-blow description of the move west by the Dodgers and Giants to appear anywhere. The move brought down the curtain on the “Last Golden Age,” scotching interest in the game for millions of fans. Frommer squeezes more into this relatively slim volume dealing with three teams than many authors have put into entire books on single teams—no doubt thanks to his journalistic style. There is a good deal of the sportswriter’s polyester-plaid prose here, but in phrasemaking, not padding. A fine post-mortem, which ought to be the last word on the subject.