Title/Author:
“The Black Prince of
Baseball: Hal Chase and the Mythology of the Game” by Donald Dewey and Nicholas
Acocella
Tags:
Baseball, biography,
gambling, Yankees, Reds, White Sox, Cubs
Publish date:
May 1, 2016
Length:
436 pages
Rating:
4 ½ of 5 stars (excellent)
Review:
Throughout his career
in not only the major leagues, but also in semipro baseball and “outlaw”
leagues in California (including the early days of the Pacific Coast League),
Hal Chase was known alternately as one of the best fielding infielders in the
early 20th century or one of the most crooked players in the game as
it was the era of fixed games and shady deals on and off the field.
This extensively
researched and well-written biography by Donald Dewy and Nicholas Acocella is
an exhaustive look at the man and his accomplishment – both positive and
negative. While the common line is that Chase
was banned from the game because of his gambling, that was not the case as
Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis did not ban Chase as he did the eight players
from the Chicago White Sox for throwing the 1919 World Series. It is true he
never played again in the major leagues after 1920, but that was more because
teams didn’t want to take a chance on a 36-year-old infielder with a history of
injuries and a poor reputation.
That, in a nutshell,
is the case the authors are trying to prove with their research – that Chase,
while far from an innocent person in the era of gambling in baseball, was
merely one part of the entire operation that was a black eye on the game. Chase
was an excellent personification of the lifestyle of the well-to-do at that
time. His off-the-field exploits that included more gambling, shadier deals and
many women (despite being married twice) is also well documented in the book.
By giving this portrait of Chase, the authors also are allowing the reader to
not only learn about the man and the times, but to also draw his or her own
conclusion on how much Chase had to do with the gambling plaguing the game.
The book is not a
quick or easy read. The writing is very detailed, especially when the topic is
one of several grand jury trials in which Chase had to testify or was the
subject of others’ testimony. While they can be slow to read and digest, these
passages, along with the details of Chase’s interactions with others such as
White Sox owner Charles Comiskey make for very interesting reading. It was not easy to finish this book, but like
the fictional story that seemed to never end until it did, this one had that
same feeling. The reader will wonder
just how much more dirt can be dug up on Chase, but once it ends, it results in
a very satisfying book.
I wish to thank
University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for
an honest review.
Book Format Read:
Paperback
Buying links:
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