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Title details for Electric October by Kevin Cook - Wait list

Electric October

Seven World Series Games, Six Lives, Five Minutes of Fame That Lasted Forever

by Kevin Cook
Joe Barrett
Audiobook
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The 1947 World Series was "the most exciting ever" in the words of Joe DiMaggio, with a decade's worth of drama packed into seven games between the mighty New York Yankees and underdog Brooklyn Dodgers. It was Jackie Robinson's first Series, a postwar spectacle featuring Frank Sinatra, Ernest Hemingway, and President Harry Truman in supporting roles. It was also the first televised World Series—sportswriters called it "Electric October."
But for all the star power on display, the outcome hinged on role players: Bill Bevens, a journeyman who knocked on the door of pitching immortality; Al Gionfriddo and Cookie Lavagetto, bench players at the center of the Series' iconic moments; Snuffy Stirnweiss, a wartime batting champion who never got any respect; and managers Bucky Harris and Burt Shotton, each an unlikely choice to run his team.
Kevin Cook brings the '47 Series to life, introducing us to men whose past offered no hint they were destined for extraordinary things. For some, the Series was a memory to hold onto. For others, it would haunt them to the end of their days. And for us, Cook offers new insights—at once heartbreaking and uplifting—into what fame and glory truly mean.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 15, 2017

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781541426405
      • File size: 261201 KB
      • Duration: 09:04:10

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      This delightful slice of baseball history follows the lives of six lesser-known players and managers before, during, and after the 1947 World Series. Narrator Joe Barrett's voice is perfectly suited to recount the Golden Age of Baseball. His nimble delivery features a raspy timbre and a fast pace as he captures the spirits of the scrappy ballplayers--Bill Bevens, Al Gionfriddo, Bucky Harris, Cookie Lavagetto, Burt Shotton, and Snuffy Stirnweiss--who played key roles in the series. ELECTRIC OCTOBER is an absorbing story, but even if that weren't the case, listening to Barrett rattle off those vintage baseball names, plus others like Kiki Cuyler and Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish (really!), would alone be worth the price of admission. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from June 12, 2017
      The 1947 World Series between the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers was notable even if all the people involved weren’t at the time, writes Cook (Titanic Thompson), who profiles six people in this entertaining, well-researched history. It was the first televised World Series, making the games viewable to millions of baseball fans, leading sports writers at the time to refer to the month of the series as “electric October.” Yankee Bill Bevens, pitching in his fourth and final big-league season, was one out away from a no-hitter in game four before a little-used pinch hitter named Cookie Lavagetto came up to bat. Brooklyn’s speedy Al Gionfriddo showed up Joe DiMaggio with a spectacular game-saving catch. One of the Yankees’ best players was second baseman George “Snuffy” Stirnweiss, a man known for his steadiness and nerves. Managers Burt Shotton and Bucky Harris led their clubs to the World Series even though they hadn’t been their team owners’ first choices. In profiling the lives of these six overlooked men, Cook reveals the complicated reality of baseball’s golden era. For example, many players returned to day jobs when their baseball careers were over. Bevens went back to his family farm and took jobs driving trucks and selling home appliances at Sears after his career ended. Stirnweiss became a banker and died a decade after the series in a New Jersey train crash. 16-page b&w insert.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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