The Big Six Chronicles

[Dude Paskert]

OK, I finally looked it up. "The Ultimate Baseball Book", edited by Okrent and Lewine, features a chapter about Mathewson titled "The Real Frank Merriwell", by Jonathan Yardley. In case you don't know, Frank was the college athlete hero of a great number of "Tip Top Weekly" magazines and the invention of a Burt Standish.
"The day of Matty's death the Washington Senators beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4 to 1, in the first game of the World Series. The winning pitcher was Walter Johnson. It is said that when he learned of Matty's death, Johnson turned pale and silent. The next day, all the players on both teams wore black armbands."
There is also a rather remarkable quote from Kenesaw Mountain Landis..."Why should God wish to take a thoroughbred like Matty so soon, and leave some others down here that could well be spared?"

Finally, a totally incredible broadside from the train Christy and his wife took on their honeymoon...the cheek is hard to believe!
'"Christy" Matthewson [sic]
New York's great base-
ball pitcher
And Newly Wedded Wife
ARE ON
THIS TRAIN
Make them feel at home
as there may be
"SOMETHING DOING."
Note:
He will be easily recog-
nized by his boyish
countenance and Apollo
like form . . . . . . '

I also like how it implies that Christy is the "Newly Wedded Wife".

[Tyrus4189Cobb]

Great find, DP. It is unfortunate that Matty and Johnson never faced off on the mound. I would like that to have happened right after Matty faces Ty Cobb in the 1908 World Series. Perhaps in a parallel universe, these things did happen. One can only pretend

[Victory Faust]

Wow...as a kid, I read "The Ultimate Baseball Book" so much, I literally wore out the binding!


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[Dude Paskert]

Wow...as a kid, I read "The Ultimate Baseball Book" so much, I literally wore out the binding!
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This is funny...my copy is completely separated from its cover. Luckily, the pages themselves are sewn together so they are still a solid unit.
I bought this book my first year of college and truly obsessed over it. I had started to get really into baseball history because I bought a copy of Ted's "The Science of Hitting" and was fascinated by his gallery of great hitters in the back. I had a copy of The Sporting News' summary of HOFer's stats and a few other history books that were pretty lame, and then I found TUBB. Stats are a tiny part of this book, it is really about stories, relationships, and the development of the game.
This is one of my all time favorite baseball books, along with the Historical Abstract, Cult Baseball Players, Blackball Stars, and a few others.

[Victory Faust]

My favorite is "The Glory of Their Times." No stats, all narrative!!


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[JR Hart]

I find it hard to believe that they would shoot real gas at trainees. That's just incredible, if true.

[Victory Faust]

I find it hard to believe that they would shoot real gas at trainees. That's just incredible, if true.

It's true.


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[Victory Faust]

The military still trains with live ammo


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[Dude Paskert]

My favorite is "The Glory of Their Times." No stats, all narrative!!
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I wanted to put that one on my short list, but I had a brain fart and couldn't remember the title!
Another one that I love that is a little bit oddball is "The Tao of Baseball", the sport as interpreted by a Zen master.

[JR Hart]

It's true.


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I was in the military. All of our gas mask training was with tear gas. If you failed, you cried but lived. I still find it preposterous that they would use deadly gas. Why kill your own? Live ammo training is controlled.

[Bucketfoot]

Ultimate Baseball Book still well worth reading too.

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