Review of "Race and Resistance in Boston"

This was a book that was outside of my usual comfort zone, and it was well worth the time to read.  It took careful reading to fully grasp the various messages being sent in the variety of essays, but it was certainly worth it.  Here is my review of "Race and Resistance in Boston." 

Title/Author:

“Race and Resistance in Boston: A Contested Sports History” edited by Robert Cvornyek and Douglas Stark 

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Trying to write a review of this book can be a challenge – just like describing the history of racial issues in Boston, especially in the world of sports.  This collection of essays is a very noble attempt to describe how various sports played a role in this discussion and how the full history can be best described as “complicated.”

Just the well-known facts can send a mixed signal to the average person – Boston teams were the first ones to draft a Black player in the NBA (Chuck Cooper, Celtics), to have a Black player appear in an NHL game (Willie O’Ree, Bruins) and the first Black coach to win an NBA title (Bill Russell, Celtics.)  Yet, the Red Sox were the last baseball team to integrate, they held a bogus “tryout” for three players in 1945, including Jackie Robinson, and the city as a whole held Black athletes to different standards.  Even legends like Russell felt that the city was less than welcoming toward them. 

This collection of essays tries to bring to light some of the lesser-known matters of the issues, challenges and successes experienced by these athletes. One excellent example is the rich history of semi-pro baseball in the Boston area by many Black teams. They not only played excellent games, some of which are described in great detail, they also faced many white or integrated teams and received praise for their play.  This was the best chapter for one of the main goals of the book – to shine the light on lesser-known athletes and their accomplishments.  That goes for their work toward civil rights and equality for all people as well as their athletic achievements.

The variety of sports covered in the book was also impressive – baseball, hockey, basketball, cricket, tennis and golf are just a few of the sports in which Boston-based Black athletes made contributions to both their sport and the fight for equality.  That was the biggest takeaway I had with this book – the sheer number of unknown athletes whose contributions have been lost in time.  It should also be noted that the subjects of equality for women, non-binary athletes and the LBGTQ+ community are also addressed in the book as well as racial issues.

The book is a more scholarly one in nature, has many notes and references and is one that a reader must read carefully to fully grasp the message being sent by the writer.  However, that time will be well spent after learning the amazing work done by these athletes.

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book.  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: Race and Resistance in Boston: A Contested Sports History: Cvornyek, Robert, Stark, Douglas, McCourty, Devin: 9781496232687: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "Life in Two Worlds"

Knowing I would be in my car for a few hours when I drove to New Hampshire, I decided to download a book for the trip.  This one has been on my TBR for a while, so figuring it was time to take it off that pile, I listened to it and finished over the weekend trip.  Here is my review of Ted Nolan's memoir. 

 

Title/Author:

“Life in Two Worlds: A Coach’s Journey from the Reserve to the NHL and Back” by Ted Nolan with Meg Masters, narrated by James Malloch

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:

In 1997, Ted Nolan was named the Jack Adams Award winner which goes to the Coach of the Year in the NHL.  He guided the Buffalo Sabres to a surprise division title and made it to the second round of that year’s playoffs.  But in the offseason, the team offered a contract that he (and everyone else) felt was an insult and he did not return to the team.  His story of his life in the NHL as both a player and a coach, as well as his life growing up in a First Nation reserve, is told in this great memoir narrated by James Malloch.

I usually prefer memoirs narrated by the author/subject, but in this case, Malloch gave a strong performance and while I knew this was not Nolan speaking, it certainly felt like it was Nolan describing not only the cruelty and racism (some subtle, some not so subtle) while playing or coaching hockey, but also of the pride he had in his heritage.  While this did include some well-known bad treatment of students at schools on reserves, this only strengthened his resolve to live his life the way his heritage taught him and to show that he and other indigenous people belonged in the world of hockey.

Nolan frequently mentions that it is important for those who have been affected by racism to tell their stories and it is just as important for those who haven’t been affected to listen. This was the biggest takeaway of the book for me, as he did this without the same type of stories that other activists share.  Instead, he blended this with his hockey career.  First with his playing days for the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (where he later coached after the NHL and was very happy with that job) and later the NHL Detroit Red Wings, then in his coaching career where he had two stints with the Sabres sandwiched around a stint with the New York Islanders, Nolan’s message never was far away. 

This was one of the better hockey memoirs that I have read or listened to, and I do recommend this for any hockey fan.  From outposts like Glens Falls, New York to the bright lights of cities like New York and Detroit, Ted Nolan (and his two sons who also played in the NHL) have brought pride and hockey schools to the First Nation in efforts to bring the game to underserved populations. 

Link: Amazon.com: Life in Two Worlds: A Coach's Journey from the Reserve to the NHL and Back (Audible Audio Edition): Ted Nolan, Meg Masters - contributor, James Malloch, Viking: Books

Review of “Jim Gilliam: The Forgotten Dodger”

 It wasn’t easy to convince me to review a book that starts off with a play from a very painful day for us Twins fans - game 7 of the 1965 World Series. But the author of this book told me put aside the painful reminder and take an objective look at the book. Boy, am I glad I did. Here is my review of “Jim Gilliam, The Forgotten Dodger.”

Title/Author:

“Jim Gilliam: The Forgotten Dodger” by Stephen Dittmore 

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: “The Play”. This is how a photo of Jim Gilliam’s catch of a Zoilo Versailles line drive to third base in the seventh game of the 1965 World Series was captioned and it’s a very appropriate moniker for the defining moment of Jim Gilliam’s long career with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers. This book by Stephen Dittmore captures the life and career of “Junior” and is a very good tribute to a much beloved player for this storied franchise. 

 “The Play” is not a spectacular snag of a ground ball with a miraculous throw to first base, like Brooks Robinson did in the 1970 World Series. It is not a no-look catch of a deep fly ball running full speed toward the wall like Willie Mays did in the 1954 World Series. It was simply Gilliam knowing what situation was in the game (Fifth inning, his team ahead 2-0 and his pitcher having trouble throughout the game so far) and what he needed to do to give his team its best chance to win. 

This is really a perfect illustration of not only Gilliam’s baseball career with the Dodgers but also a good analogy to the book and Dittmore’s  writing. There’s really nothing fancy or very different about this than other sports biographies but it’s well-written, well-researched and provides a lot of insight into Gilliam’s personal life as well as his baseball life.

A reader will not only learn that Gilliam played well in the Negro Leagues but had to wait his “turn” during the early days of the integration of Major League Baseball, but also his frustrations during his time with the Dodgers that even despite all-star game apoeances and solid play every season, he never really had a chance to settle in one position. Gilliam’s personal life and his two marriages as well as his competitive nature away from the diamond, like in bridge and golf.

The other aspect of the book I really enjoyed, mainly because it makes a reader stop and think, was Dittmore’s description of racism in organized baseball. While he does write about Gilliam’s encounters with this during his playing career, what sets this book apart from others on this topic is Dittmore’s description of the “Four Gates” of denial to Blacks of various positions in the game. The First Gate was broken by Jackie Robinso to allow Black players. The Second Gate was to break the unwritten quota system to allow only a small number of Black players in any one team. The third Gate was for Blacks to gain coaching positions (a natural for Gilliam who did become a Dodgers coach) and finally the Fourth Gate - managing a Major League team, accomplished by Frank Robinson in 1975.

There’s plenty to learn in the book not only about Jim Gilliam and the game of baseball, including some unique terms. If you have never heard of the phrase “snatch coconuts” and want to learn about ot and so much more about the life of Jim Gilliam, this book comes highly recommended. For the record, I never heard this term before reading the book and it refers to changing a player’s position.

I wish to thank Mr. Dittmore for providing a copy of the book.  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: https://www.augustpublications.com/products/jim-gilliam-the-forgotten-dodger 

Review of "A Giant among Giants"

As we near the end of January, it's time to start thinking about baseball - soon we will hear the four magical words every fan loves to hear during a cold and snowy winter - "pitchers and catchers report."   So, as I anticipate the start of another baseball year, time to catch up on some baseball reading.  Here is my review of a book on the Hall of Fame first baseman for the San Francisco Giants, Willie McCovey. 

Title/Author:

“A Giant among Giants: The Baseball Life of Willie McCovey” by Chris Haft

Rating: 

3 ½ of 5 stars (good)

Review:

Through the 1960’s, the San Francisco Giants had two of the most feared sluggers in the National League – Willie Mays and Willie McCovey.  While Mays was considered to be the better all-around player, McCovey certainly had a special place in the hearts of Giants fans.  His baseball story is captured in this book by Chris Haft.

The vast majority of pages are about McCovey’s time on the diamond, whether it was at Candlestick Park with the Giants or other teams either in the minor leagues or his three seasons with the San Diego Padres.  Very little time is spent discussion his personal life and at times, this would be good information to go alone with the baseball or his life after retirement – whether that involved baseball or not.  One example of where this might come into play is the very little amount of text about McCovey’s first marriage and daughter during his playing days.  When he was struggling, did that affect his life at home – or maybe it was the other way around and if there were troubles at home, was that affecting his performance?  Most other sport biographies include this type of personal information, and it was surprising to see so little of it in this book.

The baseball text, however, is good and a reader will likely learn something new about McCovey – even if that person felt they already knew a lot about him. One example would be one that I didn’t expect to read – that McCovey was more popular among Giants fans than Mays.  Considering that many non-baseball fans have heard of Willie Mays, but probably don’t know about McCovey, I found that surprising.  Haft does a good job of explaining how this came about.  Other interesting tidbits about McCovey revealed in the book is how McCovey got the nickname “Stretch” (his stretch at first base when taking throws from infielders) and the great reception he received from fans when he returned to the Giants after a three-year stint in San Diego.  Also, a reader will certainly learn even more about the most famous at-bat in McCovey’s career, which was an out.  There is an entire chapter dedicated to his famous line out to Yankee second baseman Bobby Richardson to end the 1962 World Series.

Overall, this book was decent for describing the baseball career of the first ballot Hall of Famer. One might stop short of calling it a “biography” due to the lack of much information outside of the diamond but for baseball fans, it will certainly help shake off the winter blues while awaiting the start of spring training.

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book.  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: A Giant among Giants: The Baseball Life of Willie McCovey: Haft, Chris: 9781496236241: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "Barbara Ann Scott"

I always will take a look at least the synopsis of a book on an athlete I never heard of before.  That was the case with this one on figure skating Olympic gold medalist Barbara Ann Scott and I am glad I picked it up as it was an informative and quick read.  Here is my review of this biography of her. 

Title/Author:

“Barbara Ann Scott: Queen of the Ice” by Ryan Stevens

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (Very good)

Review:

Barbara Ann Scott made sports history when she became the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic gold medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics.  This biography by Ryan Stevens not only tells the story of how she overcame some struggles to earn this honor, but also how after her victory she became a national hero and inspiration to many Canadians.

Scott’s family had some financial difficulty during her childhood and her father Clyde, while a good athlete in his time, he continued to participate as best he could after being wounded in World War II.  He and her mother Mary were supportive of Barbara Ann’s skating from her first figure tests at seven years old up to and including her amateur career.  Barbara Ann also was inspired by the legendary skater Sonja Henie whom she eventually met.

Something that should be noted about this book is a line that Stevens writes in the introduction.  He states that this book is intended for readers who are “figure skating people.”  If one is not familiar with the sport, they will not find any explanations or definitions. While I will not call myself an expert and can easily distinguish between different jumps, for example, I consider the book good for those with at least a moderate amount of knowledge and interest in the history of the sport.  It is an enjoyable and fairly quick precisely because of this lack of technical jargon.

Stevens, with his knowledge of the sport and through good research, also gives the reader a good picture of Barbara Ann’s life off the ice, both during her childhood and after she retired from skating after turning professional and performing in several ice shows. He doesn’t pry too much into her personal life with details. Instead, Stevens concentrates more on items like Barbara Ann’s popularity among the Canadian citizenry and the many other activities in which she participated.

As mentioned above, this book is not for readers who have little to no knowledge or interest in figure skating, but for those readers who enjoy the sport, even if just every four years during the Olympics, it is an enjoyable read in which they will learn about Canada’s first “Queen of the Ice." 

I wish to thank Mr. Stevens and Book Sirens for providing a copy of the book.  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: Amazon.com: Barbara Ann Scott: Queen of the Ice eBook : Stevens, Ryan: Kindle Store

Review of “Chasing the Great Gatsby”

No, the title of this book does not mean this will be a literary review. It’s not often a book on boxing, or any sport for that matter, will have a significant influence on a famous work of literature but this book makes one. Great book on a lightweight champion and a famous F. Scott Fitzgerald work. Here is my review:

Title/Author:

“Chasing the Great Gatsby: The Freddie Welsh Story” by Gene Pantalone

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: 

It’s not often any sport or athlete will have close connections with a literary masterpiece. This book by Gene Pantalone is not only a very good biography of lightweight boxing champion Freddie Welsh, but it also illustrates how Jay Gatsby, the protagonist in “The Great Gatsby”, could have been based on the life of Welsh. 

Pantalone shows circumstantial evidence that could prove Freddie was the inspiration of the Jay Gatsby character. This starts with a famous author who  both Welsh and F. Scott Fitzgerald could call a good friend, Ring Lardner. There are also many instances where events in Welsh’s life match those of Gatsby’s. There is one very prominent piece of evidence that would make a clear connection between Welsh and Gatsby, but this review will not give away that spoiler. If one does want to find this out before reading about the life of Welsh, Pantalone does reference readers to Chapter XVIII if they wish to find the connection right away. I decided not to do that and it turned out to be the correct decision. 

That is because Pantalone does a wonderful job of bringing the reader into Freddie Welsh’s world. From his upbringing in Wales (where his given name was Frederick Thomas) to his humble beginnings in boxing when he was a simple gym worker who was allowed to spar with customers, Welsh’s story was riveting. The excellent prose goes well beyond Welsh’s boxing career, although that was great, too. Having never heard of Welsh before reading this book, I appreciated learning more about the sport in that time in other weight classes. Welsh ended up doing quite well with defensive boxing his specialty and the jab as his best punch. but like many other pugilists, he tried make comebacks when he just was not able to recapture the past glory. There’s also interesting items about the sport that readers will learn, such as the involvement of Arnold Rothstein, the gambler most famous for fixing the 1919 World Series. This is the most notable of many interesting facts and anecdotes about the sport in that era.

Welsh’s life outside boxing is also told in writing that is just as good as that for bouts in the ring. Most notably, Welsh’s vision of a health “farm” where clients could come and get back to living healthy through exercise, diet and good living did come to fruition. In its heyday, many famous people entered its gates. Most notable of these was Jack Dempsey, who used Welsh’s health farm as his training site for his title bout against Georges Carpentier. But like his boxing career, the health farm eventually was no longer useful to clients and Welsh eventually lost it to the lenders when he could not afford the mortgage payments or find financial backing. 

With all of this fame and fortune and eventual loss of it all, it’s not a stretch to see the connection between Freddie Walsh and Jay Gatsby. Whether a reader enjoys literature, boxing or just some good writing this book is highly recommended.

I wish to thank Mr. Pantalone for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own. 

Link: 

https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Great-Gatsby-Freddie-Welshs/dp/1965192343/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr= 

Review of "Once More Around the Park"

One of my favorite authors of all time is Roger Angell.  No matter what he wrote about baseball, it was always a treat to read it - and re-read it.  That was the case for me with several of these essays in this book but that's okay - I never tire of reading any collection of his baseball writings. 

Title/Author:

“Once More Around the Park” by Roger Angell

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:

Avid readers of baseball books are familiar with Roger Angell’s work.  His prose on the game has entertained and informed thousands of readers through the years and while he may no longer be with us, his work is still a treat to read – even if it has been previously read.  This book, a collection of his work in other publications or books that covers approximately 40 years of the sport, is a treat to any baseball fan or reader.

Just like his other books like “Late Innings” or “Five Seasons: A Baseball Companion”, this collection covers a wide variety of topics about baseball and the stories range from humorous to “just the facts” to touching.  If I had to select just a couple of the chapters that I would pick out as the best, one would have to include “In the Country” where Angell took a letter he received from a wife of a pitcher trying to make it in the low minors into a touching love story – not just of the game but also of the couple.  Then the next chapter, “In the Fire”, brings the reader into the world of the catcher with insight into that unique position. There are so many more aspects that a catcher has to consider than what is usually available to the fans in stands or watching on TV.  Such as where to position themselves for a pitch, how to maneuver to make that throw to second base or communicating to fielders on where to position themselves, this chapter is written so well and has contributions from many star catchers from the late 1970s and early 1980s such as Carlton Fisk, Ted Simmons and Bob Boone.

I’ll use the catcher chapter to illustrate one more aspect of the book I really liked and that is while the material is about players and events from several decades ago, there are so many of Angell’s observations that could be applicable today.  The example I’ll use is for catchers who have been named the Most Valuable Player in their league.  He makes the point that only those catchers who have “startling offensive figures” win this award and he gives examples like Johnny Bench, Gabby Harnett and Ernie Lombardi. I noted that this is still true today, with the most recent MVP catcher, Joe Mauer, also putting up incredible hitting statistics in his MVP year but no mention of defense or any other aspect of his game.  I wrote the note in the book and I did that over 40 times for other items.  To me, that shows that even though the game may have changed a lot since Angell wrote his words, they are still applicable, true and wonderful to read even today.   

Link: Once More Around the Park: Angell, Roger: 9780345367372: Amazon.com: Books

First review of 2025 - "The White Ladder"

Starting off 2025 with a book I read over the holiday break on one of my favorite topics - mountaineering.  This was a look at some of the early pioneers of the sport and what they did to reach new heights.  Here is my review of "The White Ladder." 

Title/Author:

“The White Ladder: Triumph and Tragedy at the Dawn of Mountaineering” by Daniel Light

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

While Sir Edmund Hillary is the most well-known mountaineer from the first half of the 20^th century being the first person to scale Mt. Everest, there was a long trail of climbers who preceded him and took the same risks to climb heights unknown to man at that time.  Those climbers and their adventures are captured in this well-researched book by Daniel Light.

What separates this book from most other mountaineering books I have read is that instead of concentrating on one group or climber, this book profiles many different climbers and their quests to become the first climber to either summit a particular peak (and not always in the Himalayas) or at least attain an altitude that no person had ever reached before. I found this very interesting as these climbers did not have the equipment, clothing, gear and other necessities that today’s mountaineers have.  How they were able to attain these heights without items that modern climbers could not live without made for very interesting stories.

It was also noteworthy that like today, the climbing society is mostly male, but some determined women will make their mark and show they are worthy of being considered among the elite in the sport.  In this book, one woman’s story, Fanny Bullock Workman, was fascinating and while she may not have fit the image of women of that time, she certainly knew her way up a mountain as she and her husband made many expeditions.

The reader will learn a lot of interesting facts and personalities in the early days of the sport.  One great example that I learned was who the person was that invented crampons.  His name is Oscar Eckenstien (an elite climber of the era in his own right) and instead of settling for using nails inside his boots as was common at that time, he modified the design of climbing irons and used a 10-point bladed boot attachment to gain better footing on steep ice or snow.

While at times the book does delve into very technical language, any climbing enthusiast will enjoy reading this selection.  That includes those like me who have never strapped on crampons or climbing boots but love to read about the sport as well as those who enjoy climbing at any skill level.

I wish to thank W.W. Norton and Company for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley.  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: The White Ladder: Triumph and Tragedy at the Dawn of Mountaineering: Light, Daniel: 9781324066217: Amazon.com: Books