1947: When All Hell Broke Loose in Baseball

When Jackie Robinson was penciled into the lineup for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Americas national pastime and Americas future changed forever. How much is reflected in a remark Martin Luther King Jr. made to Don Newcombe: Youll never know what you and Jackie and Roy did to make it possible to do my job. Red Barber was perfectly situated to observe this drama. Broadcaster for the Dodgers, friend of Branch Rickeywho confided in him before and during the year of decisionand keen student of the game and the behavior of its players, Red held the microphone as the story unfolded with a cast of characters that included baseball immortals Duke Snyder, Leo Durocher, Pee Wee Reese, Peter Reiser, Larry McPhail, and Joe DiMaggio. Towering above them all are Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickeywho together made baseball and American history and whose courage and toughness Red Barber captures so beautifully in this book.

Publisher: The Perseus Books Group

Published: United States, 1 March 1984

Format: Paperback / softback, 382 pages

Other Information: illustrations

Dimensions: 20.9 x 13.8 x 2.3 centimeters (0.50 kg)

Writer: Red Barber

Table of ContentsBook One * Branch Rickey, Larry MacPhail and Leo Durocher * K.M. Landis and L.A. MacPhail * Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson * Before the Mirror * A Storm Is Coming from the Bronx * Thunder and Lightning * The Storm Breaks Book Two * The Cruelest Month * The Merry Month of May * Two Guys Named Joe * The Old Man in the Brooklyn Dugout * The Lowering of the Boom * Coup de GraceYankee Style * Landmarks * There Were Days and There Were Nights * Hey Red! * The Most Exciting World Series1947 * Aftershock

About the AuthorRed Barber was for millions the voice of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees he was later a baseball commentator for National Public Radio. His books include The Broadcasters , The Rhubarb Patch, The Walk and the Spirit, and with Robert W. Creamer, Rhubarb in the Catbird Seat.