Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} 1954 The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Baseball: the definitive autobiography of Ted Williams and 7 other noteworthy books. A number of intriguing subjects make it into this lineup of baseball books, from how the Brooklyn Dodgers ended up in Los Angeles to a replay of the most closely contested World Series ever to an 800-page examination of Ted Willams's life on and off the field. Here are excerpts from 8 noteworthy new books about baseball. 1. “1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever” By Ross Atkin. Bill Madden. Da Capo Press. “Growing up in the poor section of Mobile, Alabama, [Hank] Aaron picked cotton on a farm and delivered twenty-five-pound blocks of ice as a youth, jobs he later said possibly helped in greater strengthening his hands and wrists. At Central High School he was a two-sport star in baseball and football, and he turned down several football scholarships to pursue a career in baseball. He signed his first pro contract as a junior in high school with the Mobile Black Bears, an independent Negro League Team. Then, in November of 1951 he signed with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League. In twenty-six games for the Clowns he hit .366, with fiver homers, thirty-three RBI, and nine stolen bases. The major league scouts took notice, a half dozen of them following the Clowns for the first part of the season. Two of them, Dewey Griggs of the Braves and Alex Pompez of the Giants, implored their teams to offer him contracts. As Aaron related, ‘I had the Giants’ contract in my hand and was ready to sign it, but they wanted to give me an A-ball contract with a C-ball salary. Then the Braves came in with an offer starting me off in C ball but with a B-ball salary. So for the difference of $100 a month, I could’ve been teammates with Willie Mays. Imagine that. I often wonder if the Giants had both me and Willie in their outfield if they’d ever have been able to move to San Francisco in [1958].” About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”: “Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.” If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism. But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in. The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908. We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.” 1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever. Jackie Robinson heroically broke the color barrier in 1947. But how—and, in practice, when—did the integration of the sport actually occur? Bill Madden shows that baseball’s famous black experiment” did not truly succeed until the coming of age of Willie Mays and the emergence of some star players—Larry Doby, Hank Aaron, and Ernie Banks—in 1954. And as a relevant backdrop off the field, it was in May of that year that the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled, in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, that segregation be outlawed in America’s public schools. Featuring original interviews with key players and weaving together the narrative of one of baseball’s greatest seasons with the racially charged events of that year, 1954 demonstrates how our national pastime—with the notable exception of the Yankees, who represented white supremacy in the game—was actually ahead of the curve in terms of the acceptance of black Americans, while the nation at large continued to struggle with tolerance. ‘1954’ Promises a Look at Pioneering Black Athletes, but Instead Delivers a Baseball Pennant Chase. Americans, and maybe everyone else too, love happy endings. Especially when they’re attached to messy beginnings and middles. Conventional wisdom holds that all was right with major league baseball after Jackie Robinson desegregated it for good with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. His very presence shattered the “gentlemen’s agreement” that kept the big leagues lily-white for generations, and his electrifying performance shattered any notion that blacks couldn’t excel on that level. Midway through that season, the Cleveland Indians signed a black player, outfielder Larry Doby, and other teams would follow in the next few seasons. Since most accounts of Robinson’s story imply that the battles had been basically won by the end of his historic rookie season, it makes sense to look at how the desegregation of the major leagues actually played out. That’s the book promised by the lengthy subtitle of 1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever . But the book Bill Madden wrote is much less racially charged, telling instead the story of an interesting baseball season. By the end of it, race is almost a footnote. At the dawn of the 1954 season, five of the 16 big league teams had yet to add a black player to their rosters. One of them was the New York Yankees, which became the team under the most fire to do something about that (they would, a year later, with Elston Howard). The raw numbers weren’t much better, Madden reports: 27 blacks out of 448 big leaguers, just under six percent, on Opening Day rosters. Many of them wouldn’t amount to much, but a few of them did. In 1954 we meet three of them: the Milwaukee Braves’ Henry Aaron, the Chicago Cubs’ Ernie Banks, and the New York Giants’ Willie Mays. Mays joined the Giants in 1951, but spent the next two seasons fulfilling military duties, while Aaron and Banks were brand new to the big leagues. But instead of focusing on the players and their experiences (Where did they stay on road trips? Did their teammates accept them? What kinds of hostilities did they face? How did all this affect them as people?), Madden spends more time looking at their on-the-field contributions. In fact, he spends more time looking at the teams in general than considering their racial makeup, or the impact of integration on their fortunes. And thus does 1954 settle into the leisurely rhythm of a typical baseball season. Madden focuses on the five teams chasing pennants that year: the Dodgers, Giants and Braves in the , and the Yankees and Indians in the American League. It’s a fun tale for diehard baseball history fans to read, as Madden captures the ins-and-outs of a highly competitive season. But it’s really not much more than a season’s nuts-and- bolts chronicle, without anything specifically compelling enough to indicate why this particular one matters more than others, especially when it comes to the difference-making presence of black stars on the winning teams. The Giants and the Indians reached the World Series, with Mays’ legendary catch becoming the defining image (and this book’s cover photo) of New York’s four-game sweep. If Madden is saying that by 1954, black excellence in baseball was no longer shocking, that’s one thing to note – but he doesn’t really note it. He talks about the superstars on the contenders to some degree of detail (but you’ll want to refer to their biographies and autobiographies for their stories in depth), but not at all about what the subtitle implies. He does not consider the first wave of post-Robinson stars as a group, or what was germane to their experiences coming along once the barriers had been broken (taking this approach, he might have included the other black stars who came of age in the mid-‘50s, including Howard, Frank Robinson and dark-skinned Puerto Rican Roberto Clemente). That’s one of history’s typical blind spots. The pioneers get all the glory, but those who immediately followed had an only slightly different road to travel, and often encountered barriers of their own along the way, but got little of posterity’s credit for it. The post-Robinson stars did not have to put up with anywhere near as much pressure as Robinson, but that doesn’t mean all was hunky-dory with baseball by then. In fact, their emergence in 1954 didn’t change everything forever. It would be another five seasons before each big league team had desegregated its roster, when the Boston Red Sox added Pumpsie Green in 1959. Many spring training accommodations in Florida remained notoriously whites- only into the ‘60s, propelled into change more by local civil rights activists than by baseball itself. The major leagues wouldn’t see a black umpire until 1966, a black manager until 1975, and a black general manger until 1977. Perhaps the book’s ballgame-centric narrative is to be understood: Madden’s a longtime sportswriter, not a sociologist or race historian. While he makes entertaining hay from the various machinations of the 1954 season, 1954 stands as a missed opportunity to tell a larger, more instructive story. And a timely one too: after peaking in the early ‘70s, the percentage of African-Americans on Major League Baseball rosters is back down in the single digits. It’s been plummeting for years, for numerous reasons, and the efforts to reinvigorate black interest and participation in baseball are going to take a while, at best, to bear significant fruit. That stands in stark contrast to the bright future the emergence of all that remarkable black talent 60 years ago represented. 1954 National League. The 1954 season of the National League was the seventy-ninth season of the league. Contents. Season summary [ edit ] Standings [ edit ] Bold indicates league champion, Italics indicates World Series champion Rank Team G W L T WPCT GB RS (RS/G) RA (RA/G) AVG OBP SLG ERA FPCT 1 New York Giants 154 97 57 0 .630 -.- 732 (4.75) 550 (3.57) 0.264 0.331 0.424 3.09 0.974 2 Brooklyn Dodgers 154 92 62 0 .597 5.0 778 (5.05) 740 (4.81) 0.270 0.349 0.444 4.31 0.978 3 Milwaukee Braves 154 89 65 0 .578 8.0 670 (4.35) 556 (3.61) 0.265 0.326 0.401 3.19 0.981 4 Philadelphia Phillies 154 75 79 0 .487 22.0 659 (4.28) 614 (3.99) 0.267 0.343 0.395 3.59 0.975 5 Cincinnati Redlegs 154 74 80 0 .481 23.0 729 (4.73) 763 (4.95) 0.262 0.333 0.406 4.50 0.977 6 St. Louis Cardinals 154 72 82 0 .468 25.0 799 (5.19) 790 (5.13) 0.281 0.351 0.421 4.50 0.976 7 Chicago Cubs 154 64 90 0 .416 33.0 700 (4.55) 766 (4.97) 0.263 0.324 0.412 4.51 0.974 8 154 53 101 0 .344 44.0 557 (3.62) 845 (5.49) 0.248 0.323 0.350 4.92 0.971. League leaders [ edit ] Batting [ edit ] Statistic Leader Team Number Games Played Ernie Banks Alvin Dark Gil Hodges Johnny Logan Roy McMillan Chicago Cubs New York Giants Brooklyn Dodgers Milwaukee Braves Cincinnati Redlegs 154 At Bats Alvin Dark New York Giants 644 Runs Scored Stan Musial Duke Snider St. Louis Cardinals Brooklyn Dodgers 120 Hits Don Mueller New York Giants 212 Doubles Stan Musial St. Louis Cardinals 41 Triples Willie Mays New York Giants 13 Home Runs Ted Kluszewski Cincinnati Redlegs 49 Total Bases Duke Snider Brooklyn Dodgers 378 Runs Batted In Ted Kluszewski Cincinnati Redlegs 141 Stolen Bases Bill Bruton Milwaukee Braves 34 Caught Stealing Bill Bruton Milwaukee Braves 13 Walks Richie Ashburn Philadelphia Phillies 125 Hit by Pitch Frank Thomas Pittsburgh Pirates 10 Duke Snider Brooklyn Dodgers 96 Sacrifice Hits Roy McMillan Cincinnati Redlegs 31 Sacrifice Flies Gil Hodges Brooklyn Dodgers 19 Grounded into Double Plays Del Ennis Philadelphia Phillies 23 Batting Average Willie Mays New York Giants 0.345 On-Base Percentage Richie Ashburn Philadelphia Phillies 0.441 Slugging Percentage Willie Mays New York Giants 0.667 On-Base plus Slugging Willie Mays New York Giants 1.078 On-Base plus Slugging Plus Willie Mays New York Giants 175. Pitching [ edit ] Statistic Leader Team Number Wins Robin Roberts Philadelphia Phillies 23 Losses Murry Dickson Philadelphia Phillies 20 Win-Loss Percentage Johnny Antonelli Hoyt Wilhelm New York Giants New York Giants 0.750 Appearances Jim Hughes Brooklyn Dodgers 60 Games Started Robin Roberts Philadelphia Phillies 38 Complete Games Robin Roberts Philadelphia Phillies 29 Shutouts Johnny Antonelli New York Giants 6 Games Finished Johnny Hetki Pittsburgh Pirates 46 Saves Jim Hughes Brooklyn Dodgers 24 Innings Pitched Robin Roberts Philadelphia Phillies 336.2 Batters Faced Robin Roberts Philadelphia Phillies 1331 Hits Allowed Robin Roberts Philadelphia Phillies 289 Home Runs Allowed Robin Roberts Philadelphia Phillies 35 Base-on-Balls Allowed Ruben Gomez New York Giants 109 Hit Batsmen Brooks Lawrence St. Louis Cardinals 8 Strikeouts Robin Roberts Philadelphia Phillies 185 Wild Pitches Paul LaPalme Bob Rush Pittsburgh Pirates Chicago Cubs 8 Balks Bob Friend Pittsburgh Pirates 2 Runs Allowed Carl Erskine Brooklyn Dodgers 128 Earned Runs Allowed Carl Erskine Brooklyn Dodgers 120 Johnny Antonelli New York Giants 2.30 Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched Robin Roberts Philadelphia Phillies 1.025. All-Star Game [ edit ] The National League lost the twenty-first midsummer classic at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, OH on Tuesday, July 13, 1954 by a score of 11 to 9. The league's manager was Walt Alston. Postseason [ edit ] In the World Series, the National League champion New York Giants defeated the American League's Cleveland Indians, 4 games to 0. Award winners [ edit ] The winner of the league's Most Valuable Player Award, given its Most Valuable Player, was Willie Mays, an outfielder with the New York Giants. In the award's voting, he had 283 out of a possible 336 points and 16 first place votes. The winner of the league's Rookie of the Year Award, given its best rookie player, was Wally Moon, an outfielder with the St. Louis Cardinals. In the award's voting, he had 17 out of a possible 24 points and 17 first place votes. Hall of Fame Game [ edit ] The thirteenth annual Hall of Fame Game was played on August 9 at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY near the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In the game, the National League's Cincinnati Redlegs lost to the New York Yankees of the American League by a score of 10 to 9. Notable events [ edit ] Umpires [ edit ] Further Reading [ edit ] : 1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever , Da Capo Press, Boston, MA, 2014. ISBN 978-0306823329 John Oelerich: The Off Season: National League 1953/54 , Amika Press, Northfield, IL, 2011. This page was last edited on 16 December 2019, at 19:11. Content is available under GNU Free Documentation License unless otherwise noted. Welcome · Your Account. Full Site Menu. We're Social. for Statheads. Site Last Updated: FAQs, Tip & Tricks. Learn about the Wins Above Replacement Formula. 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Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. Many thanks to him. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. '1954': A glimpse of baseball's dramatic changes. Bill Madden discusses why 1954 was such a momentous year for baseball in "1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever." ASSOCIATED PRESS/DA CAPO PRESS. As the pennant races head into the fall stretch, it's worth remembering that 60 years ago the sport of baseball was changed permanently as African-American players began to establish their presence in the major leagues and would transform the sport. The premise of Bill Madden's "1954" is spelled out clearly in the introduction: "1954 was the launching pad for a new era, when the dominant players in baseball were to be blacks and Hispanics." It was the year that the New York Giants' Willie Mays and the Cleveland Indians' Larry Doby faced off in the World Series -- the first time both teams in the series featured players of color. It was also the year Hank Aaron made his debut with the Milwaukee Braves in what turned into a record-breaking career. Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs was just coming on the scene at about that time and Roberto Clemente would make his debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates the following year. It was seven years after Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke baseball's color barrier. As Madden notes, the rising profile for standout African-American players came at a time when the nation was feeling the effect of other dramatic changes -- among the most notable was the Supreme Court's historic Brown v. Board of Education ruling that said racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. Even as racial attitudes were starting to change, baseball offered reminders they hadn't changed that much in 1954. Madden notes that: • For the first few years of the Baltimore Orioles' existence in the mid-1950s, visiting black players had to stay at the all-black hotel in town or at the homes of friends of black porters they knew from the trains. • Aaron's effortless loping style in the outfield caused his manager to refer to the Braves' rookie occasionally as "Stepin Fetchit" -- referring to the stage name of the black actor of the 1920s and 1930s whose character was later condemned as representative of the worst stereotype of blacks. • The Indians' Doby was allowed to stay at a Tucson, Arizona, hotel with the rest of his team during spring training after the team's travel secretary persuaded the hotel manager to lift his restrictions on black players staying there. • Mays' appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated before the 1955 season, along with Leo Durocher and his wife, actress Laraine Day, added a touch of controversy. In the photo, Day appeared between Durocher, the Giants manager, and Mays, the 1954 National League Most Valuable Player, with her arms around both of them. Madden's thorough account of the year is most interesting for the general interest reader when it follows the developments about the black players and the obstacles they overcame to become some of baseball's top stars. But it also provides thorough details on the season itself and the pennant races that dedicated baseball fans may find interesting. Madden noted that baseball was in the forefront of sports in integrating with quality black players. In 1954, Major League Baseball teams had 7 percent black players, a percentage that grew to 28 percent by 1986, when it began declining again. This happened as blacks became more welcome in Southern college basketball and football programs, he writes. A series of black superstars, many in the National League like Mays, Aaron, Clemente, Banks, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda, tilted the balance of power toward the National League over the next couple of decades. As Aaron put it: "I guess we showed them pretty good what most of America was missing for the first 70 years of baseball."