Charlie Gehringer: A Biography of the Hall of Fame Tigers Second Baseman

by John C. Skipper

Overview

Charlie Gehringer was the best second baseman of his era. He is regarded by many as the best two-strike hitter of all time and his seemingly effortless fielding ability earned him the nickname of "The Mechanical Man." Sports writers groused that he was too quiet to be a star. Charlie replied that he didn't hit with his mouth. This work follows Gehringer's career from the day a scout spotted him on the sandlots of Michigan in 1923 to his induction into the Hall of Fame in 1949 and into his life after baseball.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786435746
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	09/22/2008
Pages:	209
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John C. Skipper, a political reporter for the Mason City (Iowa) Globe Gazette, has written numerous books on politics and baseball, including a history of the The Iowa Caucuses and acclaimed biographies of Grover Cleveland Alexander, Dazzy Vance and Charlie Gehringer.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction     

1. “You never really leave the game.”     
2. “If that guy is a ballplayer, then so am I.”     
3. “His potential excited me.”     
4. “You can’t talk your way into a batting championship.”     
5. “He leads the league in line drives right at somebody.”     
6. “What in the hell is he talking about?”     
7. “Every time I turn around, the guy’s on second base.”     
8. “May you live ten thousand years.”     
9. “The entire town was ga-ga.”     
10. “Too much time to think.”     
11. “The Michigan Mummy.”     
12. “The cry babies.”     
13. “I kept yelling ‘home, home, home.’”     
14. “If my chatter bothers you too much...”     
15. “He simplified where others dramatized.”     
16. “I didn’t know who was and who wasn’t.”     
17. “They won’t get me in that suit again.”     
18. “The Good Lord needed a second baseman.”     

Chapter Notes     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

essential”—Library Journal; “Gehringer’s career is well researched and documented in this quick, but thorough, study…. a nice, and well-told, change of pace.”—Journal of Sport History; “a workman’s biography fit for every bookshelf”—The Past in Review; “the proliferation of baseball biographies in recent years had passed Gehringer by, but John Skipper redresses this oversight capably”—Nine; “Gehringer’s career is well documented and researched in this quick, but thorough, study. It is a nice, and well-told, change of pace”—Journal of Sport History.

From the Publisher

"a workman's biography fit for every bookshelf"

The Past in Review

Gehringer's career is well researched and documented in this quick, but thorough, study.... a nice, and well-told, change of pace.

Journal of Sport History

essential

Library Journal