Great new book by John Rosengren on the famous baseball brawl involving Hall of Fame Juan Marichal drafted by the NY Giants.

One Sunday afternoon in August 1965, on a day when baseball’s most storied rivals, the Giants and Dodgers, vied for the pennant, the national pastime reflected the tensions in society and nearly sullied two men forever. Juan Marichal, a Dominican anxious about his family’s safety during the civil war back home, and John Roseboro, a black man living in South Central L.A. shaken by the Watts riots a week earlier, attacked one another in a moment immortalized by an iconic photo: Marichal’s bat poised to strike Roseboro’s head.
The violent moment–uncharacteristic of either man–linked the two forever and haunted both. Much like John Feinstein’s The Punch, The Fight of Their Lives examines the incident in its context and aftermath, only in this story the two men eventually reconcile and become friends, making theirs an unforgettable tale of forgiveness and redemption.
The book also explores American culture and the racial prejudices against blacks and Latinos both men faced and surmounted. As two of the premiere ballplayers of their generation, they realized they had more to unite them than keep them apart.

Looks like a great new book by author Dan Fost. I spoke to him yesterday and he is real good guy. Hopefully he will speak to our group at some point this year. Book coming out next month. Here is the synopsis of the book

A beautiful illustrated celebration of all the players and moments that have brought success to the Giants baseball team on both coasts for the past 130 years.

From their origins as the New York Gothams in 1883 through numerous dynasties as the New York Giants and up to the most recent championship run in San Francisco, the Giants franchise has established a winning tradition that stretches back well over a century. Taking the reader through this incredible legacy, The Giants Baseball Experience provides fans with a unique season-by-season look at the team’s full history. Author and longtime Giants fanatic Dan Fost presents season profiles exploring the most memorable moments, the leading individual performances, the top off-field stories, and the key statistical accomplishments for each year. In addition, he includes feature articles highlighting the franchise’s prominent players and managers throughout the dynasty, the ballparks that the Giants have called home—including icons like the Polo Grounds and AT&T Park—and the fascinating characters, wacky stories, and distinctive traditions that have defined Giants baseball for so long. Illustrated with both vintage and contemporary photos and accompanied by a rich collection of rare memorabilia and a range of detailed stats, The Giants Baseball Experience provides the full understanding of what it means to be a true fan of the San Francisco Giants.

On Tuesday, February 25, members of the NYGPS were privileged to attend the 2014 Cactus League Luncheon at Mesa Riverview Cubs Park, the new spring training home of the Cubs. Most notably the luncheon included induction of the inaugural class of the newly formed Cacuts League Hall of Fame and of special interest to Giant fans Mr. Horace Stoneham was one of the inductees. Making the occasion extra special was the enthusiastic attendance of members of the Stoneham family including granddaughters Jaime and Kim Rupert and nephews Craig and Peter Stoneham. Jaime Rupert gave a very fine acceptance speech on behalf of her grandfather and, hopefully, the Cactus League HOF will be prelude to Horace Stoneham’s overdue induction into Cooperstown! She mentioned our group in the process and how we are keeping the NY Giants past alive.

And making the day even more enjoyable we spoke by phone with Monte Irvin on the occasion of his 95th birthday. Monte was a joy to speak with and, overall, is doing well. He shared with us that Bobby Thomson and Whitey Lockman were his best friends on the club and that he misses them to this day. How wonderful to speak with Monte, a true Giant in every way!”

Great article by Jerry Izenberg
http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/izenbergcol/index.ssf/2014/02/izenberg_happy_95th_birthday_m.html#incart_river

The last Eagle will be 95 years old this morning. Monte Irvin broke the New York Baseball Giants’ color line in 1949 and played in two World Series for them. He was the first African-American to work as an aide in the office of the Commissioner of Baseball. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
That’s for the résumé.
But for me, he will always remain a Newark Eagle.
They played for and against great ballplayers who were born too soon to play for the Dodgers or the Yankees or any of the baseball teams that called themselves the major leagues. They knew in baseball’s racist world the Dodgers and the Yankees and the others were all white men and they expected it to stay that way.
So Monte, the oldest and probably the last survivor of those days, and Larry Doby and Josh Gibson and so many great players whose names you never heard, followed the sun when their all-black league seasons ended. They followed it to Mexico and Venezuela, to Puerto Rico and Cuba, to any place where the sun was shining and a man was judged not by the color of his skin but the speed of his fastball.
Once, when I asked him about his nomad days with the Newark Eagles, the bus trips, the ridiculously low salary of $125 a month and later $150, the greatness of teammates like Doby and Ray Dandridge and Willie Wells and Leon Day that surrounded him, and the icons like Gibson and Satchel Paige and Buck Leonard who played against him, he smiled and then said:
‘‘I played in three countries. I played in two World Series. But I never found anything to match the joy and the laughter those years with the Eagles brought me. The city (Newark) and county (Essex) loved us. We’d go out to hear jazz or to dinner and our fans were always grabbing the check. We were young and the world was new to us. We had never traveled.
‘‘They were the happiest times of my life.
‘‘And we still had this game … this marvelous, beautiful, blessed game … and nobody and nothing could take that away from us, so we just went out and played it. Wherever and whenever we could.”
Played it?
Right.
Continue reading →

NYGPS Member Moe Resner spoke on NYGPS Member Sam Maxwell’s Bedford & Sullivan Podcast to discuss catching on film the last game the Giants played in the Polo Grounds as a New York team, a film he calls, “An End of an Era.” Moe recently had Willie Mays endorse his film and added Mays’ picture on the cover. To purchase the DVD contact Moe through me if you like. Here is the link:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bedfordandsullivanbrooklyn/2014/01/19/ep-39–moe-resner-filmmaker-of-end-of-an-era

Author and NYGPS Member John McLaughlin spoke on NYGPS Member Sam Maxwell’s Bedford & Sullivan Podcast to discuss the book he’s working on about the New York Giants’ departure from New York, a topic that has gotten less fanfare over the years than the Dodgers own exit from the town. as well as his own baseball foundation. A Great listen!!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bedfordandsullivanbrooklyn/2014/01/18/ep-38–author-john-mclaughlin

1954: THE YEAR WILLIE MAYS AND THE FIRST GENERATION OF BLACK SUPERSTARS CHANGED MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FOREVER
New book by Bill Madden due on Willie Mays’ birthday.

Jackie Robinson heroically broke the color barrier in 1947. But how—and, in practice, when—did the integration of the sport actually occur? Bill Madden shows that baseball’s famous “black experiment” did not truly succeed until the coming of age of Willie Mays and the emergence of some star players—Larry Doby, Hank Aaron, and Ernie Banks—in 1954. And as a relevant backdrop off the field, it was in May of that year that the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled, in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, that segregation be outlawed in America’s public schools.

Featuring original interviews with key players and weaving together the narrative of one of baseball’s greatest seasons with the racially charged events of that year, 1954 demonstrates how our national pastime—with the notable exception of the Yankees, who represented white supremacy in the game—was actually ahead of the curve in terms of the acceptance of black Americans, while the nation at large continued to struggle with tolerance.

Wednesday night, January 8, was our first meeting of the NYGPS for 2014. NY Post columnist Ken Davidoff gave his insights to his Hall of Fame ballot and the electees as well. Ken spent about an hour answering all the great questions asked by the group regarding steroids, AROD, Bonds, Clemens, Piazza, and his baseball insights in general. It was a great way to start talking and thinking about baseball on a frigid night in NYC. Ken took out some time on a day for us when he was probably getting many requests for his reaction to the Hall of Fame voting results. Many thanks go to Ken and his family for making this a night to remember. Of course we thank Jay Goldberg owner of the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse for always making the NYGPS feel at home!! Make sure to see all of the wonderful baseball items Jay sells at
http://www.bergino.com/
You can read Ken’s columns on line at
http://nypost.com/author/ken-davidoff/
Here is the podcast:
http://berginobaseballclubhouse.podbean.com/2014/01/10/new-york-giants-preservation-society-winter-2014-meeting-with-special-guest-ken-davidoff/

Our first meeting of 2014 will take place on Wednesday, January 8 at 6:30PM with NY Post Writer Ken Davidoff. Ken spent 11 years at Newsday before moving to the NY Post in 2012. He covers the Mets, Yankees, and all of baseball. He was the former President of the Baseball Writers Association of America (2010-2011). Ken also appears on Fox’s Sports Extra during the year and is frequently heard on WFAN with Richard Neer on Saturday mornings. Ken is a tremendously knowledgeable baseball man and just a great guy as well. If you don’t already read his column your are missing something.

Here is a link:
http://nypost.com/author/ken- davidoff/

The meeting will take place the day the 2014 Hall of Fame Members will be announced and Ken will be able to discuss the electees and non-electees as he has a vote. He will also be discussing hot stove news, spring training, history of the game, etc. His dad will be accompanying him and the elder Davidoff is and was a huge Willie Mays fan attending the SF Giants January 2013 Trophy presentation which we were specially invited to.

The meeting will take place at our “home base” the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse. Jay Goldberg always welcomes us with open arms. If you need that perfect baseball gift for the holidays, birthdays, etc., Jay is your guy and his store is the place. Here is his link:
http://www.bergino.com/
Continue reading →

After a brief hiatus, the Bedford & Sullivan podcast picks back up the research process with its 33rd episode!

The founder of the NY Giants Preservation Society, Gary Mintz, joins to discuss how the Society got started, some of the highlights so far for the group since its inception, and stories Gary’s late father told him regarding the Upper Manhattan ballclub.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bedfordandsullivanbrooklyn/2013/12/09/ep-33–ny-giants-preservation-society-founder-gary-mintz