About book The Old Ball Game: How John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, And The New York Giants Created Modern Baseball (2006)
When you hear Deford's commentary on NPR's Morning Edition (or see it on HBO's Real Sports), his love of sports - especially the history of sports - is evident in his grandfatherly voice. He clearly knows his sports (he's been a Sports Illustrated writer since the Sixties), but what really makes Deford's stand out from all the other sports opinionists is his storytelling ability. While he doesn't ignore player stats and team records, Deford realizes that in the end his readers don't want a history book, they just want a good story. And that's what Deford gives them in The Old Ball Game.Game documents the rarely-mentioned pre-Ruthian era of baseball, before it became the Great American Past-time (and way before it stopped being the nation's favorite past-time). Although the two men at the center of the book are shown to be early innovators of the sport (one in the dugout, the other on the pitcher's mound), Deford keeps their stories on a personal level. You read about their accomplishments, but you also read about their lives off the field, their tight relationship with each other, and how they were treated by (and they treated) other players. The fact that their dedication to improving their team's chances resulted in professional baseball that actually looked professional and drew public attention (and respect) to their young sport, well, that just makes the story Deford's telling even more satisfying. A quick and fun read.
`The Old Ball Game' serves as a fine introduction to its subject, which is John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, the New York Giants, and to a much lesser extent their whole era of baseball. There is no new or groundbreaking material here for the fan that is already familiar with the subject, but for them it can still serve as a baseball valentine celebrating these heroes and their times. While the book stops far short of its sub title's claim - that McGraw, Mathewson, and the Giants created modern baseball, it does nicely illustrate their importance in the continuing evolution of the game.A note on Deford's writing style is necessary. I heard him speaking about this book on NPR, and his oratory was beautifully captivating. He writes in much the same way that he speaks, but what works for him in his spoken word stories is not as effective in print - sometime his language gets in the way of the story rather than moving it along. It was enough of a problem for me to dock a star from my review rating, but I still found the book enjoyable.If you are already knowledgeable on the subject of McGraw, his star pitcher, and his amazing team, you can take or leave this book depending on how you feel about baseball "valentines". If you are new to the subject, however, this is a fine place to start to whet your imagination and encourage you to learn more about these great stars and this fascinating era of baseball's history.
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Frank Deford is a fabulous writer. This story brings together the stories of John McGraw and Christy Mathewson and how they brought the popularity of baseball to the top of American culture. These two men were so different and yet such good friends. Christy Mathewson was the first sports hero of the 19th Century and embodies our ideal of the fair, American sportsman. His impact on America was so positive. McGraw was admired, but not loved. However, he also represented another ideal in that he was the independent, willful leader who was a winner. The way this story is told is so interesting and gives a great picture of who we were and what we thought as Americans in the early 19th Century. This book is terrific for anyone who likes early baseball or early 19th Century America.
—Monte Lamb
This book is like Ken Burns PBS series on Baseball. It is a time machine that takes you back to the berginning of the 20th century to look at life through the eyes of baseball in America. John McGraw and Christy Mathewson are no longer names in the Hall of Fame but they are real living people with all their faults as well as their greatness. Defort is right they did create modern baseball. This book also looks at the USA at the begining of the last century. Their life and deaths are so much different that life in this century. You must red this book. You don't have to love baseball but it helps'
—Dick Tatro
I'm not sure he proved his his premise that the NY Giants created modern baseball. Nevertheless, as an avid baseball fan, I devoured this story about how this unlikely pair of opposites became close friends and key players in the juggernaut that was the NY Giants in the early years of baseball. Mathewson, one of baseball's greatest pitchers ever, was the classic college man of his day -- a gentleman and a good sport, occasionally to his team's detriment. Muggsy McGraw was a true gamer, a cleats-flying, foul-mouthed, in-your-face competitor who would win games almost by sheer will. Deford, one of the all-time great sportswriters, does their stories justice.
—Dave
