18 Ways to Play a Better 18 Hopb

In the heady days after World War II, the nation was ready for excitement and heroes, and a city--New York--was eager for entertainment. Baseball provided the heroes, and the Yankees, the Giants, and the Dodgers--with their rivalries, their successes, their stars--provided the show. New York City Baseball recaptures the extraordinary decade of 1947-1957, when the three New York teams were the uncrowned kings of the city. In those ten years, Casey Stengel's Bronx Bombers went to the World Series seven times; "Joltin'" Joe DiMaggio stepped gracefully aside to make room for a young slugger named Mickey Mantle; Bobby Thomson hit "the shot heard 'round the world"; and the Brooklyn Dodgers achieved the impossible by beating the Yankees in the 1955 World Series. Over the decade, the teams averaged an astounding 90 wins against 63 losses a season, making it, according to The New York Times, "a helluva ten years." Including a new introduction to the 2013 edition and rare interviews with Monte Irvin, Rachel Robinson (Jackie's widow), Mel Allen, Duke Snider, Eddie Lopat, Phil Rizzuto, and many more, this book is a must-have for those who want to experience baseball's golden age.--Red Barber "The New York Times Book Review"