Monday, January 27, 2025

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 


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