After Oscar the horse began playing center field, the New York Goats, worst team in the major leagues, seemed certain to win the World Series, and then--Oscar was horse-naped.

Philadelphia's rich baseball heritage as seen through its baseball parks is vividly brought to life in this colorful and anecdotal book. Experienced sportswriter Rich Westcott once again dives into a labor of love, taking us back in time to an era when Philadelphia's ballparks were as famous and as much a part of the game as the teams that took the field. Philadelphia's baseball history goes beyond Shibe Park. Philadelphia's Old Ballparksis both a documentary and an oral history, providing detailed descriptions of all of the old professional parks and the many teams that played in them, including Baker Bowl, with its right field wall so close to home plate, it prompted sportswriter Red Smith to quip, "It might be exaggerating to say the outfield wall casts a shadow across the infield. But if the right fielder had eaten onions at lunch, the second baseman knew it." Shibe Park is also well-documented with its idiosyncracies, as are the others. The recollections of dozens of people--players, owners, vendors, ushers, grounds keepers, and fans combine to recreate the world that was held within those walls. Author note: Rich Westcotthas served as a writer and editor on the staffs of a variety of newspapers and magazines in the Philadelphia and Baltimore areas during his 35 years in publishing. He is the publisher and editor of Phillies Report.He is the author of six books, including The New Phillies Encyclopedia(Temple), with Frank Bilovsky; Phillies '93, An Incredible Season(Temple); Diamond Greats;and Masters of the Diamond.

This is the story of the last mounted American troops to see action in battle, when, in late 1941, six-hundred men and their horses held off the Japanese invasion of Luzon in the Philippines just long enough to allow General Douglas MacArthur's forces to withdraw to Bataan. The 26th continued to fight on horseback until late February 1942 when, tragically, they were ordered dismounted and their horses and mules transferred to the Quartermaster's center and slaughtered for food for the defenders. It is on record that the 26th troopers refused to accept meat rations from their animals, regardless of their own starvation. This stirring account of a little-known aspect of the Philippine campaign is military history at its best.

The playing and post-playing careers of all 1,560 players who appeared in a major league box score between 1950 and 1959--the "golden age," many say--are profiled in this exhaustive work. From Aaron to Zuverink: this treasure-trove of anecdotes, many gathered from personal interviews, is full of historical facts, controversy, and trivia. Readers will be reminded, that Milwaukee Braves pitcher Humberto Robinson was asked by a gambler to fix a game against the Phillies (he refused), Joe Adcock chased Giants pitcher Ruben Gomez around the field with a bat, Bob Turley reached the top of the corporate ladder after his playing days, Casey Wise became an orthodontist, Bobby Brown became a heart surgeon and president of the AL, and that Chuck Conners became an actor. All of this and much more can be found here.

Although Andrew "Rube" Foster (1879-1930) stands among the best African American pitchers of the 1900s, this baseball pioneer made his name as the founder and president of the Negro National League, the first all-black league to survive a full season. In addition to founding this groundbreaking black-owned and -operated business, Foster also founded and managed the Chicago American Giants, one of the most successful black baseball teams of the pre-integration era. This definitive biography combines period editorials and correspondence with insightful narrative to provide a comprehensive portrait of this innovative Hall of Famer. From the unstructured early days of black baseball, when Foster gained glory as a hard-throwing pitcher, through his struggles to establish the NNL and the Giants, to his tragic death from complications of syphilis, this work pays overdue tribute to an authentic American baseball icon.

Nine-year-old Neil McDonald has always wanted to write a book. Every time he tries, though, it comes out `like the Hardy Boys or something'. But when a maverick substitute teacher challenges him to record all the events and thoughts of a single day, the doors of creativity swing open. It helps that the day in question is, in Neil's words, `pretty weird'. The time is the fall of 1971; the setting is lsquo;North America's northernmost Metropolis'. The cast includes Neil, his best friend Keith and his gnome-like baba, a budding Black Power advocate, the heavy-smoking son of anti-war activists, and a very small boy wielding a very large axe in a public park. Neil thinks his day will climax with the broadcast of the first night game in World Series history, but what he's in for is something much deeper, a surprise that will teach him much about the world and his place in it. In the end, Neil has his book. And it's nothing at all like the Hardy Boys.

Former Deputy District Attorney David McCann, tempted by more wealth and power than he'd ever imagined, is embroiled in a politically-charged, high-stakes deal: to legalize Las Vegas-style gambling at a Los Angeles racetrack. In with him are rogue cops, corrupt politicians, and a cashiered Army officer turned enforcer. Against him are his own double-crossing partner, Philip Gantz, the Chinese mafia, and a kill-hungry, amateur hit-man. Corruption and blackmail at first seem justified, but when David falls in love with Gantz's girlfriend, he is forced to confront the moral price of his conduct, and to decide between the life he has dreamed of and the love he has found.

"Biography of baseball player and actor Mike Donlin, who played for the New York Giants from 1899 to 1914 and was one of the best hitters of the Deadball Era. A playboy and showman, he later went into Vaudeville and appeared in more than one hundred films"--

“Two legendary figures assume humanity…Poignant, humorous, and convincing.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY To the public, it was a match made in heaven. In private, it was nine months of hell. This is the riveting story of what went wrong with one of the world’s most dazzling romances. His dark jealousy…her need for love. His temper…her affairs. His pride…her ambition. A searing drama of powerfully clashing egos. A tense tragedy of taut emotions and driving passions. And, finally, a bittersweet monument to the devoted friendship that endured despite it all. Praise for Roger Kahn: "As a kid, I loved sports first and writing second, and loved everything Roger Kahn wrote. As an adult, I love writing first and sports second, and love Roger Kahn even more." —Pulitzer Prize winner, David Maraniss "He can epitomize a player with a single swing of the pen." —TIME magazine "Roger Kahn is the best baseball writer in the business." —Stephen Jay Gould, New York Review of Books "Kahn has the almost unfair gift of easy, graceful writing." —BOSTON HERALD

Melvin Thomas Ott was smaller than most home run sluggers, at 5'9", 170 pounds, but he could sure hit 'em as far as the big boys. Over a 22-year playing career with the New York Giants, Ott slapped 511 homers, then a National League record. At the tender age of 20, he erupted on the scene with career highs of 42 home runs and 152 RBIs. He went on to win or share six home run titles, appear in 11 All-Star Games and play in three World Series. It was a foregone conclusion when Ott was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951. This is the first-ever biography of baseball's renowned "nice guy." Every aspect of his remarkable baseball career is covered, from his jump to the big leagues at age 17 to his tragic death at age 49. Ott's managerial and broadcasting careers are also discussed.