Download PDF Frick Baseball Third Commissioner John P Carvalho Books
Download As PDF : Frick Baseball Third Commissioner John P Carvalho Books
Ford Frick is best known as the baseball commissioner who put the "asterisk" next to Roger Maris's record. But his tenure as commissioner carried the game through pivotal changes--television, continued integration, West Coast expansion and labor unrest. During those 14 years, and 17 more as National League president, he witnessed baseball history from the perspective of a man who began as a sportswriter. This biography of Frick, whose tenure sparked lively debate about the commissioner's role, provides a detailed narrative of his career and the events and characters of mid-20th century baseball.
Download PDF Frick Baseball Third Commissioner John P Carvalho Books
"In 1961, when Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were threatening to break Babe Ruth’s single season record of 60 home runs, a former ghostwriter for Ruth declared that in order for a season record to be recognized, it had to be accomplished in 154 games, even though the season was extended to 162 games that season. When Maris hit his 61st home run in game 162, his accomplishment was recorded with an asterisk.
The man whose ruling brought about the unusual notation, Ford Frick, was the baseball commissioner and therefore had the power to make such a ruling. His time as commissioner and his accomplishments in journalism and baseball prior to becoming the third commissioner in baseball history is told in this well-written book by John P. Carvalho.
More than just a recap of Ford’s life, Carvalho writes in depth about the ruling and how the asterisk became the notation for Maris’s record. It is noted that this was not Frick’s idea to use that symbol, but instead an offhand remark by one of Frick’s most ardent supporters, sportswriter Dick Young from New York.
Frick was also a sportswriter before becoming president of the National League and then commissioner. One of his more well-known assignments was as a ghostwriter for Babe Ruth when Ruth would be “writing†columns for newspapers during his playing days. Critics of Ford’s ruling about single season records point to this job and would say that this was what drove his ruling – to make sure that Ruth would still hold the record. Carvalho does a good job of refuting that criticism and portrays Frick as a man who made decisions involving the game independently without too much influence from others.
Frick also oversaw many important milestones in the game as well, including keeping the game going during World War II, integration, teams moving to new locations (five franchises moved during his tenure) and expansion from 16 to 20 teams. Carvalho covers these issues fairly as he does portray Frick as a man who would usually defer to the wishes of committees created to address these issues. However, that led to more criticism with some calling him the “do-nothing†commissioner. Without sounding too complimentary, Carvalho addresses those concerns. Just like with the Maris/Ruth ruling, Frick’s work on those issues was done with much input from others but the ultimate decisions were his.
This book is recommended for readers who wish to learn about the history of the game during that era and the background to understand why so many teams moved during that time or what was going on in the administrative offices of both the National League and the commissioner’s office. It is a complete, thorough account of Frick’s time in baseball that should be on the bookshelf of readers who enjoy the sport."
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Frick Baseball Third Commissioner John P Carvalho Books Reviews :
Frick Baseball Third Commissioner John P Carvalho Books Reviews
- I rate this book five stars because I believe author John Carvalho has done a lot of research and paints a fair appraisal of Ford Frick in his role as sportswriter, National League president, and finally as Baseball's Third Commissioner. As far as my personal interest in the book I would rate it at four stars simply due to the number of problems Mr. Frick had to encounter.. I didn't find such subjects as realignment, radio and television contracts, along with numerous other mundane but necessary duties a commissioner must attend to as being interesting reading so on that basis I would rate the book to be four stars but that's not the author's fault. Frick began his baseball career as a sportswriter and had the giants of the typewriter as his role models namely Fred Lieb, Damon Runyon, Heywood Broun, Grantland Rice, and Ring Lardner among others. From there it was on to the President of the National League. Following the death of Commissioner Landis and the firing of Albert "Happy" Chandler Frick became baseball's third commissioner in July of 1951.
Perhaps Frick's greatest moment came as National League president when his strong words directed at the St. Louis Cardinals in their planned strike against their having to playagainst the Brooklyn Dodgers with Jackie Robinson in the lineup. However, as Commissioner Frick had the reputation of washing his hands of baseball problems as "a league matter." After the dictatorial powers given to Commissioner Landis and the game's owners unhappiness with Chandler, Frick was a man hired by the owners and considered to do their bidding and represent their best interests. There were numerous changes coming to baseball during the 1950s such as the transfer of franchises to different cities, expansion, and radio and
television contracts which Frick had to deal with.
I did find two errors in the book. Near the bottom of page 78 player Zeke Bonura is referred to as Zeke "Bondura." Also, near the top of page 235 the author states that Frick suggested the words on the statue of Stan Musial outside of Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis to say, "Here stands baseball's happy warrior; here stands baseball's perfect knight." Author Carvalho then says, "Those words now adorn
Musial's statue outside of Busch Stadium in St. Louis." One word is incorrect. The word "perfect" should replace "happy". See the accompanying photo.
As the ghost writer for Babe Ruth during his years as a sportswriter Ford Frick felt compelled to protect Ruth's record of 60 home runs during Roger Maris's attempt to surpass Ruth during the 1961 season which led to the controversial asterisk first mentioned by sportswriter Dick Young of the New York Daily News and became associated with Commissioner Ford Frick.
I found the book to be an interesting read since I became a baseball fan around the same time as Ford Frick became commissioner and remember many of the related problems discussed in the book. However, some problems mentioned above took away from some of my interest so I would say I "liked" the book rather than "loved" it. - In 1961, when Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were threatening to break Babe Ruth’s single season record of 60 home runs, a former ghostwriter for Ruth declared that in order for a season record to be recognized, it had to be accomplished in 154 games, even though the season was extended to 162 games that season. When Maris hit his 61st home run in game 162, his accomplishment was recorded with an asterisk.
The man whose ruling brought about the unusual notation, Ford Frick, was the baseball commissioner and therefore had the power to make such a ruling. His time as commissioner and his accomplishments in journalism and baseball prior to becoming the third commissioner in baseball history is told in this well-written book by John P. Carvalho.
More than just a recap of Ford’s life, Carvalho writes in depth about the ruling and how the asterisk became the notation for Maris’s record. It is noted that this was not Frick’s idea to use that symbol, but instead an offhand remark by one of Frick’s most ardent supporters, sportswriter Dick Young from New York.
Frick was also a sportswriter before becoming president of the National League and then commissioner. One of his more well-known assignments was as a ghostwriter for Babe Ruth when Ruth would be “writing†columns for newspapers during his playing days. Critics of Ford’s ruling about single season records point to this job and would say that this was what drove his ruling – to make sure that Ruth would still hold the record. Carvalho does a good job of refuting that criticism and portrays Frick as a man who made decisions involving the game independently without too much influence from others.
Frick also oversaw many important milestones in the game as well, including keeping the game going during World War II, integration, teams moving to new locations (five franchises moved during his tenure) and expansion from 16 to 20 teams. Carvalho covers these issues fairly as he does portray Frick as a man who would usually defer to the wishes of committees created to address these issues. However, that led to more criticism with some calling him the “do-nothing†commissioner. Without sounding too complimentary, Carvalho addresses those concerns. Just like with the Maris/Ruth ruling, Frick’s work on those issues was done with much input from others but the ultimate decisions were his.
This book is recommended for readers who wish to learn about the history of the game during that era and the background to understand why so many teams moved during that time or what was going on in the administrative offices of both the National League and the commissioner’s office. It is a complete, thorough account of Frick’s time in baseball that should be on the bookshelf of readers who enjoy the sport. - As a lifelong baseball fan, but someone with limited knowledge of Ford Frick, I was intrigued by this book but not sure what to expect. What I found was the fascinating story of a complex man, who had a profound impact on the game of baseball. Carvalho clearly did his research, and he creatively told the life story of Frick, interwoven with historically significant events like the Great Depression, World War II and the Roger Maris homerun record. While clearly an admirer of Frick, Carvalho does not attempt to portray him any more favorably than history would allow. He captures Frick's imperfections and mistakes made throughout his life and career, but clearly shows his impact on the game as a writer and as commissioners of the National League and MLB. Aside from Frick's bias toward Babe Ruth and his slighting of Maris' achievement, Frick seems to have been the right man at the right time for a number of events that shaped baseball in the mid-20th century. Carvalho's writing makes this an easy, entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable read. Anyone who considers themselves a student of the game, a baseball historian or a Ford Frick fan will definitely enjoy. This book would also make a great resource for students or anyone studying baseball's influencers or the history of American sports.
