Gil Hodges : the Brooklyn bums, the miracle Mets, and the extraordinary life of a baseball legend

Gil Hodges The Brooklyn bums, the miracle Mets, and the extraordinary life of a baseball legend

Thomas Clavin

Book - 2012

"The son of an Indiana coal miner, Gil grew up playing baseball to forget the woes of the Great Depression. With the important lessons he learned in those years--to always be honest and never to resort to self-pity--he turned his love for baseball into an unforgettable career as the Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman who helped lead the team to six National League pennants, and later as the manager who turned the league underdogs into world champions--the 1969 Miracle Mets. Acclaimed authors Tom Clavin and Danny Peary tell Gil Hodges's incredible life story as never before, vividly tracing his baseball career with rare insight from family and friends, and also delving into his unsung tour of duty as a U.S. Marine. Never one to boast, ...he spoke little about his brave service in World War II, even with those close to him later in life. Along with Lou Gehrig and Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges is one of baseball's great role models. As a player who revolutionized the first-base position and drove in 1,274 runs, he may also be the greatest player not inducted into the Hall of Fame"--

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Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor 796.357092/Hodges Checked In
Subjects
Hodges, Gil, > 1924-1972.
Baseball players > Biography.
Published
New York : New American Library 2012.
Language
English
Main Author
Thomas Clavin (-)
Other Authors
Danny Peary, 1949- (-)
Physical Description
403 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (p. 381-384) and index.
ISBN
9780451235862
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Outshone by his more colorful Brooklyn/L.A. Dodgers teammates during his long playing career (1943-63) and by the quirky characters he managed during the Amazin' Mets' 1969 championship season, Gil Hodges might well have been the heart and soul of both teams, hitting for power and in the clutch, playing impeccable defense at first base, and quietly leading by example as both player and manager. If he was a great player, this fully researched account by Clavin and Peary, both accomplished sportswriters, also shows him to have been a great man, serving honorably as a marine in WWII's Pacific theater, landing on the right side of history in standing up for African American teammate Jackie Robinson, and treating both teammates and fans with absolute class. Oddly, this doesn't necessarily make for lively reading, but the authors give Hodges his full due, and rabid Dodgers and Mets fans and even other baseball fans will still seek this book out.--Moores, Alan Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Clavin and Peary (Roger Maris) add to the hagiography of the Brooklyn Dodgers from the perspective of star first baseman Gil Hodges. Hodges signed with the Dodgers in 1943, and then left for the Marine Corps to serve in the South Pacific. He returned to the Dodgers and become a fan and media favorite through the early 1960s. He ended his playing career with the Mets, and later managed them to the 1969 World Series title. The story is as much about the Dodgers success as it is about Hodges; the authors portray them as one and the same. Clavin and Peary, however, avoid wallowing in statistics or sugary accolades in a tale of the final years of the beloved Brooklyn team, the rise of baseball in the West, and the resurrection of the National League in New York, but end with an unabashed yet legitimate plea for his Hall of Fame election. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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