Shadows of Glory: Memorable and Offbeat World Series Stories

by Dave Brown, Jeff Rodimer, Mark Teixeira 2009 World Series champion (Foreword by)

Overview

For baseball lovers, nothing rivals the excitement and intensity of the World Series. In Shadows of Glory, Dave Brown and Jeff Rodimer recount 18 lesser-known but fascinating stories about the Fall Classic, that range from heartwarming and heartbreaking to amusing and outrageous. Get ready to read about:

• The unheralded pitcher who carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning
• The umpire who received death threats after making a bad call at first base
• The key role that shoe polish played in the outcomes of two different Series
• The player who left the stadium mid-game to drive his pregnant wife to the hospital

Shadows of Glory features memorable and offbeat stories about World Series spanning from 1918, when World War I, the Spanish Flu, and Babe Ruth intersected, to 2016 when the Chicago Cubs broke a century-long drought to capture the Series.

The history of the World Series is long, glorious, and nuanced, and baseball fans will be captivated by the stories brought back to life in Shadows of Glory.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493081295
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/02/2024
Pages:	314
Sales rank:	94,088
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Dave Brown is the author of six previous books, including Drinking Coffee with a Fork: The Story of Steve Carlton and the ’72 Phillies, which he co-authored with Steve Bucci. He lives in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Kim, and their three children.

Jeff Rodimer, now retired, is a lifelong, avid baseball fan. He attended his first major league game in 1966 and has had the good fortune to see games in more than thirty big league ballparks. He resides in New Jersey with his wife, Peggy, and their parrot, Rocky.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“The World Series has been baseball’s greatest event for more than 100 years. I was fortunate enough to play for three straight World Series winners with the Swingin’ Oakland A’s. This entertaining book recounts some of the fascinating but lesser well-known World Series stories, which baseball fans of all ages should find enjoyable.” Sal Bando Third Baseman and Captain 1972-1974 World Series Champion Oakland A’s

“I once played a game for the Texas Rangers while I was still on the roster of the New York Yankees, so I know all about crazy and unusual baseball stories. Shadows of Glory is full of these kinds of stories from the World Series like the time the owner of the A’s tried to throw one of his own players off the team in the middle of the ’73 Series after he made a couple of errors. I don’t think even George Steinbrenner would have tried that!” Mickey Rivers Centerfielder 1977 and 1978 World Series Champion New York Yankees

“Beating the Houston Astros in the National League playoffs and the Kansas City Royals in the World Series in 1980 was the high point of my major league career. If you’re an avid baseball fan, this is a must-read book – you will like reading this collection of interesting and unusual World Series stories.” Larry Bowa Shortstop, 1980 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies

“Playing in three World Series in the 1980s was a great honor. Shadows of Glory captures the excitement and intensity of what the Fall Classic is all about in a behind-the-scenes look at the games. A great read for any baseball fan!” Tom Herr Second Baseman, 1985 and 1987 St. Louis Cardinals World Series teams

“There are a million ways to consume baseball these days, either from your phone or your watch or more conventionally, your high-def TV. You might even enjoy a throwback day at the ballpark. And there’s always advanced analytics if none of the above lights your fuse. The real baseball fan, however, knows the medium is subordinate to the story – the human interaction that makes the sport so rich. That’s where Shadows of Glory excels. It explores baseball’s World Series history as never told before. Dave Brown and Jeff Rodimer have created a must-read account of what really happened on and off the field. It’s a celebration of baseball but most importantly, an education.” Bob Klapisch Baseball Columnist, Newark Star-Ledger Co-author, Inside the Empire: The True Power Behind the New York Yankees

“The best baseball stories are tales that draw back the curtain of history and take you places you never expected to go. That’s the inspiration behind this fun, creative book by Dave Brown and Jeff Rodimer, and I’m all in on this project. From Cliff Lee’s emergency subway ride to a Game 1 World Series start to a pitcher who got arrested hours before he took the mound in a World Series, these are amazing stories that need to be told. I’m so glad that Dave and Jeff agree!” Jayson Stark Senior baseball writer, The Athletic

“One of the amazing things about broadcasting major league baseball games is the chance you will see something for the first time. Dave Brown and Jeff Rodimer have written a fun book containing facts and anecdotes about some classic World Series memories. And for this lifelong baseball fan, they have managed to bring to light many new and less well- known stories of the Fall Classic. This is a must read for all baseball fans. But especially for those who savor new information.” Chris Wheeler Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster (1977-2013), Author of View from the Booth: Four Decades with the Phillies

Editorial Reviews

02/26/2024

Brown (Drinking Coffee with a Fork) and Rodimer recount in this inessential outing 18 obscure moments from World Series games. For example, the authors describe how the 1942 Negro World Series between the Kansas City Monarchs and Homestead Grays stalled after the Monarchs objected to the Grays’ use of players signed during the series. Unfortunately, the dispute itself is barely discussed, subsumed within a meandering account of the Negro leagues’ dwindling fortunes. Elsewhere, an examination of game seven of the 2016 World Series, in which the Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians to win their first championship since 1908, hinges on a pep talk delivered by Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward during a rain break and how it revived his teammates’ spirits, but the speech lasted “less than a minute” and the rest of the chapter is padded out with a monotonous play-by-play of the contest. Other stories feel too trivial to sustain interest, as when the authors provide a granular account of how Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee, who decided to travel to the 2009 World Series separately from his teammates, had to navigate New York City traffic and public transit to make it to Yankee Stadium in time for game one. Though the anecdotes occasionally amuse, they’re bogged down by a surfeit of background. Only die-hard baseball fans need apply. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Shadows of Glory is one of this year’s additions to the baseball library. It is a collection of 18 essays on the same number of World Series, chosen for their remarkable or unusual circumstances… Each essay has considerable context, tracing the road of the teams or individuals to the October spotlight… It is worthy of the attention of any baseball fan.”

New York Journal of Books

The World Series has been baseball’s greatest event for more than 100 years. I was fortunate enough to play for three straight World Series winners with the Swingin’ Oakland A’s. This entertaining book recounts some of the fascinating but lesser well-known World Series stories, which baseball fans of all ages should find enjoyable.

Sal Bando

One of the amazing things about broadcasting major league baseball games is the chance you will see something for the first time. Dave Brown and Jeff Rodimer have written a fun book containing facts and anecdotes about some classic World Series memories. And for this lifelong baseball fan, they have managed to bring to light many new and less well-known stories of the Fall Classic. This is a must read for all baseball fans. But especially for those who savor new information.

Chris Wheeler

The best baseball stories are tales that draw back the curtain of history and take you places you never expected to go. That’s the inspiration behind this fun, creative book by Dave Brown and Jeff Rodimer, and I’m all in on this project. From Cliff Lee’s emergency subway ride to a Game 1 World Series start to a pitcher who got arrested hours before he took the mound in a World Series, these are amazing stories that need to be told. I’m so glad that Dave and Jeff agree!

Jayson Stark

There are a million ways to consume baseball these days, either from your phone or your watch or more conventionally, your high-def TV. You might even enjoy a throwback day at the ballpark. And there’s always advanced analytics if none of the above lights your fuse. The real baseball fan, however, knows the medium is subordinate to the story – the human interaction that makes the sport so rich. That’s where Shadows of Glory excels. It delves deeper than the pixels and new-age numbers to explore baseball’s World Series history as never told before. Thanks to their old-school reporting and research, authors Dave Brown and Jeff Rodimer have created a must-read account of what really happened on and off the field, weaving through generations of anecdotes. It’s a celebration of baseball but most importantly, an education. You’ll have trouble putting this book down.

Bob Klapisch

Beating the Houston Astros in the National League playoffs and the Kansas City Royals in the World Series in 1980 was the high point of my major league career. If you’re an avid baseball fan, this is a must-read book – you will like reading this collection of interesting and unusual World Series stories.

Larry Bowa

No event in sports provides more great stories than baseball’s World Series. Going back to the first Series in 1903, an endless number of very special events and accomplishments have occurred. Shadows of Glory provides some wonderful accounts of the history and excitement produced by our national pastime. Having attended eight different World Series, I can truly say that this is a book which adds to the great memories that I’ve acquired.

Rich Westcott

Dave Brown and Jeff Rodimer tell the stories of some of the most fascinating and previously unexplored moments in World Series history. Shadows of Glory is a book for EVERY baseball fan, hard-core and casual alike. A wonderful read!

Greg Brown

Playing in three World Series in the 1980s was a great honor. Shadows of Glory captures the excitement and intensity of what the Fall Classic is all about in a behind-the-scenes look at the games. A great read for any baseball fan!

Tom Herr

I once played a game for the Texas Rangers while I was still on the roster of the New York Yankees so I know all about crazy and unusual baseball stories. Shadows of Glory is full of these kinds of stories from the World Series like the time the owner of the A’s tried to throw one of his own players off the team in the middle of the ’73 Series after he made a couple of errors. I don’t think even George Steinbrenner would have tried that!

Mickey Rivers

03/29/2024

Baseball fans look forward to MLB World Series games each year, and many will remember the most newsworthy events and history makers from those competitions. In this book, Brown (coauthor, Drinking Coffee with a Fork) and avid baseball fan Rodimer treat readers to 18 lesser-known stories from the World Series' 120 years of history. For example, readers are informed of the largely forgotten but heroic players who brought the New York Mets their first World Series championship in 1969, and those who earned the Cubs' World Series win in 2016 (the franchise's first since 1908). Brown and Rodimer also mention a pitcher who lost a game that had been a no-hitter right up until the last batter of the final inning. However, some of the moments and topics covered in the book are more well-known and could even be said to have changed Major League Baseball forever, such as Babe Ruth's trade from the Red Sox to the Yankees, the Negro League World Series' influence on the creation of MLB's current World Series format, and the significant impact that racism has had on the sport. VERDICT A baseball fan's delight that will add insight and meaning to readers' knowledge of the game. This engaging book may even bring the thrill of baseball to casual fans.—Steve Dixon

Library Journal