Books for the Baseball Fan in Your Life

Name: The Cincinnati Reds: 1950-1985
Brand: Jack Klumpe
SKU: 9780738533124
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

For true lovers of America’s favorite pastime, baseball season never ends. So give your fan a diamond they are sure to love – tales of iconic ballparks past and present (like Shea and Fenway), or stories of their favorite major-league team (like the Reds, or the Dodgers – in either LA or Brooklyn). Our 200+ books on baseball in America touch every corner of the sport, including minor leagues like the Blue Ridge League in the East or the Cactus League in the West—where fans saw Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Willy Mays play before their big-league careers. These books will be a long deep fly to the center of any baseball fan’s heart.

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The Cincinnati Reds: 1950-1985

Hidden History of Cleveland Sports

Crosley Field

The Cincinnati Reds: 1900-1950

Akron-Canton Baseball Heritage

The Cleveland Indians

Riverfront Stadium

Baseball in Toledo

Baseball in Chillicothe

Marietta College Baseball

Baseball in Cincinnati

Baseball in the Mahoning Valley

Baseball in Columbus

Jacobs Field

The Cincinnati Reds: 1950-1985

9780738533124

$24.99

Imagine crouching 15 feet from home plate during a Cincinnati Reds baseball game with a camera at eye level. A major league player like Ted Kluszewski comes barreling towards the plate as you flash the bulb while the catcher makes the tag. That was one of Jack Klumpe's experiences for over a quarter century (1950-1985) covering Reds baseball for the Cincinnati Post. Jack followed the Reds from spring training to the World Series, from Crosley Field to Riverfront Stadium. He witnessed-and captured-some of the greatest players and events in franchise history, and nearly every day of every summer of his career, Jack shared his view with the fans.

Hidden History of Cleveland Sports

9781467146128

$23.99

Explore the hidden gems of Cleveland sports

Cleveland sports history goes well beyond The Shot, The Fumble, The Drive and so many other ignoble moments. Many of the city's most illustrious sports tales are long-forgotten chapters of tribulations and tragedy, of fleeting fame and enduring milestones. There are forgotten firsts, such as football's first pass and the invention of baseball's slider having ties to Cleveland. There are overshadowed tragedies like a fatal crash involving an Indians pitcher occurring the same year two of the team's hurlers were killed in a high-profile boating accident. And then there are the near misses--like George Steinbrenner coming within seconds of owning the Indians and a famous musician who almost became a Cleveland Brown.

From basketball to boxing, hockey to Heisman, journalist Marc Bona chronicles more than a century of unremembered tales.

Crosley Field

9780738533872

$24.99

Redland Field opened in 1912 and hosted its first World Series seven years later. It was renamed Crosley Field in 1934 and the club made history that year by becoming the first major league team to use an airplane to travel (from Cincinnati to Chicago). The first night game in major league history was played in Crosley Field on May 24, 1935, and it was three days later that Babe Ruth played under the shadows of the light towers on his last road trip as an active player. Crosley Field was the site of the 1938 All-Star Game and the 1939 and 1940 World Series. In the late 1950s, Reds' stars Ted Kluszewski, Gus Bell, Wally Post, Jim Greengrass and Smokey Burgess all played at Crosley Field. The Reds won 93 games in 1961, when Crosley Field saw its last World Series. The Reds played their final game in Crosley Field on June 24, 1970, before a near capacity 28,027 paying fans, and finished their pennant-winning season in Riverfront Stadium as the old ballpark faded into history.

The Cincinnati Reds: 1900-1950

9780738534244

$24.99

In the first half of the twentieth century, the Cincinnati Reds--though only rarely dominant on the field--exerted considerable influence over the world of organized baseball. The creation of the World Series, baseball's first "de facto" commissioner, nighttime baseball beneath the lights, radio broadcasts, and modern groundskeeping--all innovations in major league baseball that can be attributed to the Cincinnati Reds. The 1919 Reds played in one of the most infamous sporting events ever, winning the World Series over the scandal-ridden Chicago "Black Sox." They returned to the Fall Classic in 1939 and 1940 without controversy, winning the championship in "40. This is the era of The Palace of the Fans and Crosley Field, of a 15-year-old pitcher turned Cincinnati legend, and of Hall of Famers Ed Roush, Eppa Rixey, and Ernie Lombardi.

Akron-Canton Baseball Heritage

9780738551135

$24.99

Baseball has a strong presence in the Akron-Canton area dating back to its formative years in the late 1880s with such teams as the Akron Acorns (1887), the Akron Akrons (1890), and the Canton Nadjys (1889). In the 1920s, manufacturing companies such as Goodyear and Firestone fielded baseball teams that battled for local bragging rights and opportunities for players to make the big leagues. Along with these industrial leagues, professional baseball found its way to the Akron-Canton area with minor-league teams including the Akron Yankees (1935-1941), the Canton-Akron Indians (1989-1996), and the Akron Aeros (1997-). In addition to teams affiliated with major-league ball clubs, this area gave birth to independent teams such as the Canton Crocodiles (1997-2001), the Canton Coyotes (2002), and others. Besides professional baseball gracing local fields, nearby universities have storied baseball programs of their own. These schools have turned out such major-league greats as Eugene Michael, Thurman Munson, and 1980 Cy Young winner Steve Stone. Akron-Canton Baseball Heritage offers a unique look into the history of baseball in the region with historic and present-day photographs.

The Cleveland Indians

9780738523255

$24.99

Never been seen photographs are revealed in this fascinating history of the Cleveland Indians from American League to present.

The Cleveland Indians came into existence along with the American League in 1901, and their rich and fascinating history has been well documented in photographs. Many prints from the Cleveland Press archive, dating from 1920 until the newspaper's closure in 1982, are reproduced in this book, along with a brief history of the team's successes and failures in each decade. Most of these classic photographs, which include great Indians players like Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller and slugger Rocky Colavito, a fan favorite, have not been seen in print for decades. You will also see baseball legends Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Hank Greenberg, and Joe DiMaggio as they compete with the Tribe.

Riverfront Stadium

9780738523248

$24.99

Riverfront Stadium, which opened in 1970, hosted the greatest team in Cincinnati Reds baseball history. In fact, the Big Red Machine was one of the greatest teams in all of Major League baseball history. Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Pete Rose and company won two World Series championships, four National League pennants, and made six post-season appearances in a single decade. Riverfront Stadium: Home of the Big Red Machine captures all of the glory of the 1970s, as well as other legendary moments in the ballpark's 32-year history, with nearly 200 classic photographs and narrative that brings the author's knowledge of baseball and love for the game to every page.

Baseball in Toledo

9780738523279

$24.99

Professional baseball teams in Toledo, Ohio, were first known as the Mud Hens-for the local marsh birds-more than a century ago. About a dozen other team names have been used over the course of 106 seasons dating back to the first in 1883. The city has been represented in minor leagues of various levels, the Negro leagues, and the major leagues as well. For most of the last 100 years, Toledo teams have played at the highest minor league classification. Many associated with Toledo baseball have gone on to successful major league careers as players, managers, and umpires. Fifteen have been enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and others hold numerous major league records.

Baseball in Toledo traces the long and rich Toledo baseball history through pictures drawn from several major collections, along with detailed captions. Included is a summary of every Toledo season, and an all-time Toledo roster that lists all the players ever to wear a Toledo uniform.

Baseball in Chillicothe

9780738533568

$24.99

The Chillicothe Paints play baseball the way it was meant to be played--talented young men chasing their dreams to play pro ball before sell-out crowds in small town America. A charter member of the Frontier League, the team has thrilled local fans at historic V.A. Stadium for over a decade. It was from Chillicothe that the Frontier League sent its first alumnus, pitcher Brian Tollberg, in 2001, up to the big leagues. And major league legends from Reds Country--Johhny Bench, Pete Rose, Marty Brennaman--have become a regular part of promotional evenings at the V.A., attracting a packed house every time. All this local baseball excitement has deep roots in Chillicothe, dating back to the city's entry into the Ohio State Association in 1884.

Marietta College Baseball

9781609494643

$24.99

Nestled at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers in the first permanent settlement in the Northwest Territory resides one of the most dominant college baseball dynasties in the nation. The Marietta College Pioneers--known as the 'Etta Express for the way they've barreled over opponents for half a century--own a record five NCAA Division III National Championships, including 2011. Finally, the best-kept secret in college sports springs to life as author Gary Caruso digs into the personalities behind this incredible success story to reveal the compelling human drama that's made Marietta College baseball a treasure all readers are sure to enjoy.

Baseball in the Mahoning Valley

9781467151986

$23.99

Around the horn in the Mahoning Valley The history of baseball in Ohio's Mahoning Valley has been, to say the least, eventful. Murder, the Civil War, the hot dog, a presidential assassination and one of the deadliest known volcanic eruptions all shaped America's pastime in the Valley. African American baseball pioneer and Hall of Fame inductee Bud Fowler began his professional baseball career in the area, and the first ceremonial celebrity first pitch came from the arm of a prominent local. The area also contributed to Cleveland professional ballclubs like the enigmatic 1883 Blues and the 2016 Believeland Indians, which included numerous players from the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, a minor-league team with its own rich heritage. Digging up little-known facts about Fowler and sundry other colorful stories, local author and creator of Eastwood Field's Days Gone By exhibit PM Kovach celebrates the proud history of baseball in northeast Ohio.

Baseball in Columbus

9780738523026

$24.99

In the spring of 1865, the first spring after the end of the Civil War, three baseball clubs were founded in downtown Columbus. This local enthusiasm for the game reflected the national trend during the post-war era, when baseball, or "base ball" as it was called, was spreading rapidly throughout the United States. Baseball in Columbus begins with these earliest baseball pioneers and tells the story of the national pastime in the capital city right up to the present-day Columbus Clippers of the International League. Columbus first made the "big leagues" in 1883 with the Columbus Buckeyes of the American Association, and local fans have embraced the city's teams and players ever since. Several of baseball's greats once wore a Columbus uniform during their minor league careers, including Enos Slaughter, Joe Garagiola, Harvey Haddix, Willie Stargell, Derek Jeter, and Bernie Williams.

Jacobs Field

9781626195097

$21.99

The sports landscape changed in the spring of 1994 when the Cleveland Indiansmoved into their new stadium at the corner of Carnegieand Ontario.

No longer the joke of the league, The Jakemade the Cleveland Indiansthe jewel of baseball and helped revitalize a city and a fan base. For the first time ever, these interviews and stories from the players, managers and front office personnel give the inside scoop on what happened on the field, in the dugout and behind the scenes of this exciting time in Cleveland sports history.

Vince McKee is the author of Heroand Cleveland's Finest. Cleveland sports icon Joe Tait called Cleveland's Finest one of the best Cleveland sports books ever written. Get the best seat in the house for the most recent addition to the Tribe'scelebrated legacy.