Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Remembering the Stars of the NFL Glory Years
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1953
WEBSITE:
CITY: Lorain
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
“He lives in Lorain, Ohio, with his wife and two sons.” * Lorain City School, Lorain, OH, teacher till 2004. * http://www.morningjournal.com/article/MJ/20120708/NEWS/307089976
RESEARCHER NOTES:
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|---|---|
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| 100 | 1_ |a Stewart, Wayne, |d 1951- |
| 670 | __ |a Baseball oddities, c1998: |b CIP t.p. (Wayne Stewart) |
| 670 | __ |a Phone call to Sterling Pub. Co., Oct. 15, 1997 |b (Wayne Paul Stewart; b. September 3, 1951) |
| 670 | __ |a Tales from first base, c2013: |b ECIP t.p. (Wayne Stewart) data view (b. Sept. 3, 1952) |
| 953 | __ |a sj06 |b re25 |
PERSONAL
Born September 3, 1951 (some sources say 1952 or 1953); married; children: two sons.
EDUCATION:Graduate of California State College.
ADDRESS
CAREER
English teacher in Lorain, OH, public schools, 1974-2004.
WRITINGS
Contributor to periodicals, including Boys’ Life and Baseball Digest.
SIDELIGHTS
Wayne Stewart is the author of numerous books on baseball, football, and basketball, including trivia books, team histories, and biographies of notable players. He grew up in Donora, Pennsylvania, which produced baseball stars such as Stan Musial and Ken Griffey, Jr. His hometown influenced his interest in sports, he told Lorain, Ohio, Morning Journal interviewer Jason Henry. “I think part of it was that I came from the ‘Home of Champions,’ it was just part of our culture,” he said. “You knew you were from the same hometown as Stan Musial, hall of famer.” Stewart, a longtime English teacher in Lorain’s public schools, began writing magazine articles on sports in the 1970s; his first published piece was in Baseball Digest in 1978. “I remember telling my wife that if they rejected it, I would have thought I’m not a writer, I’m just a teacher,” he told Henry. “But they did buy it, which encouraged me and from there I branched off to a pretty good handful of magazines.” He started writing books in the 1990s, after noticing a book that covered subject matter similar to that of articles he had produced. “I knew I really wanted to write a book,” he told Henry. “I thought ‘I’m going to try this company,’ and luckily they did buy it.” He has since written and sold many more.
Stan the Man
Stewart writes about the pride of his hometown in Stan the Man: The Life and Times of Stan Musial, The Donora native was a star with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1941 through 1963, with a break during World War II for military service. His 3,630 career base stood for a time as the National League record, and he was a hitter for both power and average. He was voted the league’s Most Valuable Player three times and played in twenty-four All-Star Games. Musial had a gentlemanly public image, and that is how he comes across in the book, for which Stewart interviewed many of his contemporaries. The author also delves into Musial’s boyhood in the industrial town of Donora, where he became a star high school athlete in several sports, and provides background on the town itself.
Some critics considered Stan the Man a satisfying account of an exemplary player, although they noted that Musial was not the most colorful of subjects. “Any biographer of Stan Musial faces a challenge,” remarked Harry Levins in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, noting that Musial was not temperamental like the Boston Red Sox’s Ted Williams or enigmatic like the New York Yankees’ Joe DiMaggio, both stars from the same era. Musial was simply “a nice guy,” and that is how Stewart portrays him, Levins said. A contributor to the Baseball Happenings Website faulted Stewart for a lack of detail, saying the author “leaves bits and pieces of different stories hanging.” This reviewer thought the book could “serve as a primer” for those unfamiliar with Musial, while “the baseball fan or historian that is searching for greater depth … may not be satisfied.” Levins had a more positive assessment, summing Stan the Man up as “a well-deserved salute to a nice guy with an even nicer swing.”
Remembering the Stars of the NFL Glory Years
In Remembering the Stars of the NFL Glory Years: An Inside Look at the Golden Age of Football, Stewart asserts that professional football had its greatest years in the 1950s and 1960s, decades that produced more than half of the members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Drawing on interviews with several veterans of that era, he devotes chapters to the best offensive players of the the period, best defensive players, “toughest” players, and other categories. Those he mentions include Jim Brown, Joe Namath, Bart Starr, Johnny Unitas, and Jim Taylor. He also discusses the differences between football in this “Golden Age” and in the twenty-first-century, maintaining that the game was rougher and grittier in the earlier time, and offers a variety of quotes, many humorous, from notable players and coaches.
Some reviewers predicted that Remembering the Stars of the NFL Glory Years would please fans of the sport. “It is like a time machine, taking the reader back to a time when professional football was played in a much different manner than it is today,” observed a blogger at Guy Who Reviews Sports Books. He questioned some of Stewart’s assessments and thought his sourcing limited, but noted that “the reading is easy, quick and flows well.” He added that “football fans who watched the game during that time will enjoy reading” Stewart’s work. John Maxymuk, writing in Library Journal, saw flaws in the book’s organization, saying it “reads like a grab bag.” although he allowed that “Stewart has gathered solid stories and commentary about the time and its stars.” A Publishers Weekly critic found much to praise in the volume, including Stewart’s “sharp eye for the game’s contradictions and contrasts” and his “laugh reel of quotations.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, (February 1, 2000), Tim Arnold, review of Baseball Bafflers, p. 1022.
Internet Bookwatch, September, 2013, review of Tales from First Base: The Best, Funniest, and Slickest First Basemen Ever.
Library Journal, February 1, 1998, Paul Kaplan and Morey Berger, review of Baseball Oddities: Bizarre Plays & Other Funny Stuff, p. 94; February 1, 2010, review of You’re the Umpire: 139 Scenarios To Test Your Baseball Knowledge, p. 74; August 1, 2017, John Maxymuk, review of Remembering the Stars of the NFL Glory Years: An Inside Look at the Golden Age of Football.
Morning Journal (Lorain, OH), July 8, 2012, Jason Henry, “Local Author Publishes His 28th Book, ‘Baseball Dads.'”
Publishers Weekly, April 24, 2017, review of Remembering the Stars of the NFL Glory Years, p. 79.
Reference & Research Book News, November, 2006, review of Babe Ruth: A Biography.
St. Louis Post Dispatch, May 2, 2010, Harry Levins, “The Man: Nice Guy off the Field, Great on It.”
ONLINE
Baseball Happenings, http://www.baseballhappenings.net/ (October 31, 2010), review of Stan the Man: The Life and Times of Stan Musial.
Guy Who Reviews Sports Books, http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/ (November 26, 2017), review of Remembering the Stars of the NFL Glory Years.
Rowman & Littlefield Website, https://rowman.com/ (January 18, 2017), brief biography.
Wayne Stewart is a professional writer and sports historian. He has written numerous articles for publications such as Baseball Digest, USA Today/Baseball Weekly, and the SABR Research Journal. He is the author of thirty-two books, the latest of which are Stan the Man: The Life and Times of Stan Musial (2010), Baseball Dads: The Game’s Greatest Players Reflect on Their Fathers and the Game They Loved (2012), America’s Cradle of Quarterbacks: Western Pennsylvania’s Football Factory (2015), and All the Moves I Had: A Football Life (2016), written with Raymond Berry.
Quoted in Sidelights: “I think part of it was that I came from the ‘Home of Champions,’ it was just part of our culture,” he said. “You knew you were from the same hometown as Stan Musial, hall of famer.”
“I remember telling my wife that if they rejected it, I would have thought I’m not a writer, I’m just a teacher,” he told Henry. “But they did buy it, which encouraged me and from there I branched off to a pretty good handful of magazines.”
“I knew I really wanted to write a book,” he told Henry. “I thought ‘I’m going to try this company,’ and luckily they did buy it.”
Local author publishes his 28th book, 'Baseball Dads' (with video)
Morning Journal/Jim Bobel Wayne Stewart and his new book "Baseball Dads."
Morning Journal/Jim Bobel Wayne Stewart and his new book "Baseball Dads."
By JASON HENRY
Posted: 07/08/12, 12:01 AM EDT | Updated: on 07/08/2012
0 Comments
MORNING JOURNAL/JIM BOBELWayne Stewart and his new book Baseball Dads
MORNING JOURNAL/JIM BOBELWayne Stewart and his new book Baseball Dads
Wayne Stewart spent decades teaching Lorain City School students how to write while using his own knowledge to launch dozens of books about baseball.
"I wanted to write since I was in first grade," Stewart said. "I just wrote things, crude things, like 'Baseball is a fun game,' I mean how many words do you know as a kid? But I could tell I wanted to write."
The recent author of "Baseball Dads" got his start writing for newspapers and magazines. He came to Lorain in 1974 to teach English in the school district. He even coached baseball at Southview High School in the late 70s.
His first published piece landed in Baseball Digest in 1978. Before that, he wasn't sure if his dream of being a write was feasible.
"I remember telling my wife that if they rejected it, I would have thought I'm not a writer, I'm just a teacher," he said. "But they did buy it, which encouraged me and from there I branched off to a pretty good handful of magazines."
His work appeared in a number of magazines, such as team publications, Baseball Digest and Boy's Life. He said he wrote roughly two or three articles every month at the high point. He continued this path of writing sports pieces and teaching English until 1998 when he saw a book on baseball that seemed pretty similar to the articles he had written.
"I knew I really wanted to write a book," he said. "I thought 'I'm going to try this company,' and luckily they did buy it."
Stewart recently finished his 28th book and is already working on the 29th.
The graduate of California State College in California, Penn. had a long history with the sport his books focus on. His hometown of Donora, Penn. is known for producing legends such as Stan Musial and Ken Griffey Jr. and Sr. Stewart found himself attracted to the sport from a young age.
"I think part of it was that I came from the 'Home of Champions,' it was just part of our culture," he said. "You knew you were from the same hometown as Stan Musial, hall of famer."
The statistics behind baseball also drew in Stewart.
"There are so many oddities, so many records that people like to pour over," he said. "I think it is richer in its lore than other sports. So I was always drawn to that."
In recent years, statistics have boomed in the sport, a welcome addition to Stewart.
"When I was a kid, it was batting average, homers, RBIs," he said. "Now it is on-base percentages, with runners in scoring position,
"It is a flood of statistics these days, I like it," he said.
Stewart retired from teaching in 2004 and writing began to take up more of his time.
He has found success with biographies on hometown hero Stan Musial and Babe Ruth. Both books were personal triumphs, he said. His biography on Musial, "Stan the Man: The Life and Times of Stan Musial" took three years to research and write.
The non-fiction sports writing realm has changed over the years, Stewart noted. When he first began, it wasn't tough to land interviews, but in recent years, security has increased. For his most recent book, the Red Sox's security made his job tougher.
"The Red Sox were very protective, I wanted to speak to two Boston Red Sox. I prearranged it, but it was almost like I was asking for an audience with the Pope," he said. In the past, Stewart often wandered in between interviews and could often just talk to players who were around. The practice is rarely allowed anymore.
"I guess they're screening and they're protecting their players, but it is difficult, and it is a lot more difficult than it used to be," he said.
Though his behind-the-scenes experiences may have jaded him, Stewart said he still enjoys the feeling of walking into a ball park.
"I've got to meet a lot of people, and see a lot of different ball parks," he said.
His most recent book, "Baseball Dads," released just before Father's Day, chronicles the bond fathers and sons develop around the sport. He recalled his own father taking him as a child to meet Stan Musial. The author, who has been married for 40 years to his wife Nancy, said he also grew up playing ball with his sons Sean and Scott.
"It's pretty universal, just like the fathers in the book, probably just like any father and son that both enjoy baseball, it's always been a common denominator," he said.
"Baseball Dads" tells the stories of the bond between fathers and their baseball player sons, including Josh Hamilton, CC Sabathia and Chipper Jones.
The story of former Cleveland Indian John McDonald stood out to Stewart. He recalled how McDonald's father, on his death bed, asked his son to hit a homerun for him, an unlikely feat.
"This guy is not very powerful, he doesn't typically hit homeruns, he doesn't even play that often," Stewart said. "When he returned to the line up, it was Father's Day, and like in some Hollywood script, he doesn't get into the game until late -- he isn't a starter -- and they put him in and he has a chance to bat and he hits a home run."
"It's one of those stories where you say it is too hard to believe, but it is documented," Stewart added.
Stewart has no intention of slowing down his writing. The author is hard at work on his 29th book. Though he has muled the idea of writing fiction in the past, Stewart doesn't see himself branching away from baseball writing.
"I think as long as I can keep finding someone to buy the stuff in my area of expertise, I'll keep writing it," he said.
Those interested in purchasing one of Stewart's books can do so through most online bookstores, he said. Stewart also sells copies directly and can be contacted at wstew@roadrunner.com.
Quoted in Sidelights: “sharp eye for the game’s contradictions and contrasts”
“laugh reel of quotations.”
Remembering the Stars of the NFL
Glory Years: An Inside Look at the
Golden Age of Football
Publishers Weekly.
264.17 (Apr. 24, 2017): p79. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Remembering the Stars of the NFL Glory Years: An Inside Look at the Golden Age of Football Wayne Stewart. Rowman & Littlefield, $38
(224p) ISBN 978-1-4422-7423-5
In this book, Stewart, a sports historian and the author of Stan the Man, puts a spotlight on the Hall of Earners who made the 1950s and a'60s the NFL's glory years. The best of the offensive and defensive players from those decades are showcased here. As the author notes, more than half of the 260 players in the Football Hall of Fame, in Canton, Ohio, come from that era. Offensive stars of those years--among them such talents as fullback Jim Brown and quarterbacks Joe Namath, Bart Starr, Fran Tarkenton, Y.A. Tittle, and Johnny Unitas--get extensive coverage from Stewart. He doesn't ignore the great defensive players of the era or the gritty types on both sides of the ball. In addition to these portraits, Stewart includes a laugh reel of quotations from key players and coaches. With a sharp eye for the game's contradictions and contrasts, Stewart concludes that the sport has improved drastically in style and quality, but along the way has lost the rough-and-tumble element of the glory years. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Remembering the Stars of the NFL Glory Years: An Inside Look at the Golden Age of
Football." Publishers Weekly, 24 Apr. 2017, p. 79. PowerSearch, http://link.galegroup.com /apps/doc/A491250851/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=bf1d3c4e. Accessed 21 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A491250851
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http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MA...
Stewart, Wayne. You're the Umpire: 139
Scenarios To Test Your Baseball
Knowledge
Library Journal.
135.2 (Feb. 1, 2010): p74+. From Book Review Index Plus.
COPYRIGHT 2010 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
Stewart, Wayne. You're the Umpire: 139 Scenarios To Test Your Baseball Knowledge. Skyhorse, dist. by Norton. Mar. 2010. c.160p, photogs. ISBN 978-1-60239-793-4. pap. $8.95.
We may not be fond of baseball umps, but wouldn't it be fun to be in their shoes for a game? Prolific baseball writer Stewart divides his scenarios into three separately introduced sections: "Routine Calls," "Basic Situations," and "Obscure Rules and Situations," each presenting mostly real-case game situations upon which the reader is asked to rule. Explanatory answers, also rich with absorbing anecdotes from the past and present, follow each section. This is for all avid fans, new and old, wishing to learn the intriguing rules of baseball--or to prove that they already know them! With color photographs.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Stewart, Wayne. You're the Umpire: 139 Scenarios To Test Your Baseball Knowledge." Library
Journal, 1 Feb. 2010, p. 74+. PowerSearch, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc /A218370619/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=7b315cdc. Accessed 21 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A218370619
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Baseball Bafflers
Tim Arnold
Booklist.
96.11 (Feb. 1, 2000): p1022. From Book Review Index Plus.
COPYRIGHT 2000 American Library Association http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
Stewart, Wayne. Baseball Bafflers. 2000. 96p. index, illus. Sterling, paper, $5.95 (0-8069-6561-4). DDC: 796.357.
Gr. 4-7. For the devoted baseball fan in search of sustenance, here is a source rich in the sport's three basic food groups: anecdotes, quotes, and statistics. Stewart's text is nicely organized around the theme of bafflers--unusual strategies or plays for which readers can play armchair umpire. If, for example, an outfielder allows a fly ball to hit his glove and then intentionally juggles and bobbles it all the way back to the infield before catching it (to prevent a runner on third from tagging up and scoring), will the catch be ruled legal? The answer might surprise even the most devoted fans. Stewart's great affection for and thorough knowledge of baseball is apparent on every page. Black-and-white cartoons add to the fun. Fans and fanatics alike will finish this book with their appetites for baseball lore well satisfied.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Arnold, Tim. "Baseball Bafflers." Booklist, 1 Feb. 2000, p. 1022. PowerSearch,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A59473980/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=9d4b1d8d. Accessed 21 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A59473980
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Oddities of the Game: A Look at the
'Other' Side of Baseball
Paul Kaplan and Morey Berger
Library Journal.
123.2 (Feb. 1, 1998): p94. From Book Review Index Plus.
COPYRIGHT 1998 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
Stewart, Wayne. Sterling. Jun. 1998. c.96p. illus. ISBN 0-8069-0709-6. $14.95.
First-time author Stewart has compiled various tales--many of them from present-day players-- that are full of droll humor. Chapters include odd baseball plays and trick plays, quotes of the game, and more. If you have to choose between Lyons and Stewart, give the nod to Lyons first, since it is better organized.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Kaplan, Paul, and Morey Berger. "Oddities of the Game: A Look at the 'Other' Side of Baseball."
Library Journal, 1 Feb. 1998, p. 94. PowerSearch, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc /A20302364/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=12c113cc. Accessed 21 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A20302364
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Babe Ruth; a biography
Reference & Research Book News.
21.4 (Nov. 2006): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2006 Ringgold, Inc. http://www.ringgold.com/
Full Text:
0313335966
Babe Ruth; a biography.
Stewart, Wayne.
Greenwood Press
2006
175 pages
$35.00
Hardcover
Baseball's all-time greatest hitters
GV865
Stewart, a baseball historian, details the life of baseball great Babe Ruth, from his formative years through his lasting legacy. B&w historical photos and a chronology are included.
([c]20062005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Babe Ruth; a biography." Reference & Research Book News, Nov. 2006. PowerSearch,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A153755024/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=2396be0b. Accessed 21 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A153755024
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Tales From First Base
Internet Bookwatch.
(Sept. 2013): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2013 Midwest Book Review http://www.midwestbookreview.com
Full Text:
Tales From First Base
Brad Engel & Wayne Stewart
Potomac Books, Inc.
c/o University of Nebraska Press
22841 Quicksilver Drive
Dulles, VA 20166-2012 www.potomacbooksinc.com 9781597978453, $22.95, www.amazon.com
Baseball is a thoroughly American sport played everywhere from backlots, to school athletic fields, to major league stadiums. "Tales from First Base: The Best, Funniest, and Slickest First Basemen Ever" by baseball enthusiasts and sports journalists Brad Engel and Wayne Stewart is 152 page compendium comprised of famous (and occasionally infamous) but always humorous incidents and personalities associated with events focused upon playing first base. The stories related are true, the incidents reported really happened, and the result is what must be considered mandatory for anyone who has ever stood and cheered a first base play. Drawing upon numerous interviews with journalists, players, and fans, "Tales From First Base" is a tremendous read that is very highly recommended and would make an enduringly popular addition for school and community collections. It should also be noted that "Tales From First Base" is available in a Kindle edition ($13.77).
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Tales From First Base." Internet Bookwatch, Sept. 2013. PowerSearch,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A344211003/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=406b7a3f. Accessed 21 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A344211003
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“It is like a time machine, taking the reader back to a time when professional football was played in a much different manner than it is today,”
“the reading is easy, quick and flows well.”
“football fans who watched the game during that time will enjoy reading”
Review of "Remembering the NFL Glory Years"
The last of the Thanksgiving weekend reviews is about the sport that everyone associates with the holiday: football. This book interested me as it covered the game during the time that I enjoyed it the most and some of the players mentioned brought back some great memories of the Purple People Eaters days of my favorite team, the Minnesota Vikings. Here is my review of this book.
Title/Author:
“Remembering the Stars of the NFL Glory Years: An Inside Look at the Golden Age of Football” by Wayne Stewart
Tags:
Football (American), professional, history
Publish date:
July 13, 2017
Length:
238 pages
Rating:
3 of 5 stars (okay)
Review:
Professional football has undergone many changes since the “Golden Age” of the game, a twenty year time frame from 1955 to 1975, give or take a few years. Many of the great players from that era are remembered in this book by veteran sportswriter Wayne Stewart.
Stewart doesn’t try to rank players from that time in a numerical pecking order. Instead, he divides the book up by other means and writes a page or two on each player mentioned. There is a chapter for offensive players, a chapter for defensive players, one for funniest moments (my favorite chapter), one for the toughest, one for some other players not mentioned earlier, then finally a comparison of the game then to now.
In all chapters, the reading is easy, quick and flows well. Because he doesn’t use too many statistics, that makes the book more of an anecdotal read than an analytical one. That is good for a reader who wants to simply learn a little bit more about each of these players, especially if that reader never saw them play during their careers.
Many of the stories are told from only a few sources. It appears that Stewart obtained much of the material from a few interviews, most notably Gino Marchetti and Myron Pottios. Both of these men are mentioned and quoted frequently. While the information from these stories is good and entertaining, it does give the book a feel that this is mainly about how these men feel about who was the best during the era.
The other matter that caught my attention was that the chapter on defensive players included other positions. The most notable example was the mention of former offensive center Mick Tinglehoff near the end of the chapter on defensive players. Since he was an offensive player, I wondered why he was included in the defensive chapter. The tie-in was that he snapped to Vikings teammate Paul Krause for many years when Krause would be the placeholder for kicks. Krause is deservedly mentioned in the defensive chapter as one of the best defensive backs (he still holds the career record for pass interceptions), but including Tinglehoff on the pages with him was a head-scratcher for me.
Nonetheless, this is a decent book that football fans who watched the game during that time will enjoy reading. It is like a time machine, taking the reader back to a time when professional football was played in a much different manner than it is today.
I wish to thank Rowman & Littlefield for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
Hardcover
Buying Links:
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442274235/Remembering-the-Stars-of-the-NFL-Glory-Years-An-Inside-Look-at-the-Golden-Age-of-Football
https://www.amazon.com/Remembering-Stars-NFL-Glory-Years/dp/1442274239/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Quoted in Sidelights: “reads like a grab bag.”
“Stewart has gathered solid stories and commentary about the time and its stars.”
Stewart, Wayne. Remembering the Stars of the NFL Glory Years: An Inside Look at the Golden Age of Football. Rowman & Littlefield. Jul. 2017. 238p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781442274235. $38; ebk. ISBN 9781442274242. SPORTS
Stewart (Stan the Man) contends that the 1950s and 1960s were the golden age of professional football. This latest book contains interviews with several players from that era to support that assertion. Stewart has gathered solid stories and commentary about the time and its stars. The main problem with the book is its organization. Although there are chapters on “The Best Offensive Players,” “The Toughest Players,” and “Hall of Fame Defenders,” the rest reads like a grab bag as it transitions from player to player, sometimes by their position but inconsistently expressed. For example, while Hall of Fame fullback Jim Brown is featured in “The Best Offensive Players,” Hall of Fame fullback Jim Taylor does not turn up until the section on “The Toughest Players.” Similarly, although the first few sections are devoted to Hall of Famers, not all inductees from the time are included. The interviewed players seem to be mostly from the Baltimore Colts and there is very little commentary on the American Football League. The final chapter, “The NFL Then and Now,” works best and is the most focused. VERDICT An interesting book to skim, but its randomness is a detriment.
Quoted in Sidelights: “Any biographer of Stan Musial faces a challenge,”
“a nice guy,”
“a well-deserved salute to a nice guy with an even nicer swing.”
The Man: Nice guy off the field, great on it
By Harry Levins. Special to the Post-Dispatch May 2, 2010 (0)
Stan the Man
Stan the Man by Wayne Stewart A&E books
Any biographer of Stan Musial faces a challenge. Ted Williams' testiness made him interesting. Joe DiMaggio's aloofness gave him an air of mystery. But with Musial, what you saw what was you got — a nice guy.
Twenty-five years ago, Bill James wrote that Musial's image already seemed to be fading. In James' words, "He was never colorful, never much of an interview. He makes a better statue. What he was, was a ballplayer. He didn't spit at fans, he didn't get into fights in nightclubs. He didn't marry anybody famous. He hustled."
In "Stan the Man," baseball writer Wayne Stewart tries to put across that sense of Musial — of dutiful skill on the field and amiable behavior off the field, what Bob Costas summed up as "more than two decades of sustained excellence and complete decency as a human being."
Like Musial, author Stewart grew up in Donora, Pa., a gritty blue-collar town. Stewart does a nice job of sketching out Donora's sociology back in the '20s and '30s, putting Musial in the context of a place where everybody knew everybody and good behavior was expected.
If Musial comes under any criticism in this book, it's over his tepid support for Jackie Robinson and the rest of baseball's early black players. But author Stewart sees no sign of bias in Musial. Instead, he suggests, Musial just shied away from controversy of any sort.
Musial's on-the-field career is widely known. Still, Stewart finds a few odd angles that were new to me. For example, Musial's success in the old Ebbets Field in Brooklyn is still talked about. But Stewart says Musial hit more home runs in the old Polo Grounds — 49 against the Giants, just 37 against the Dodgers. When the expansion Mets reopened the Polo Grounds in 1963, Musial hit .440 there.
And according to Stewart, almost all of us mispronounce Stan the Man's last name. He says it's "mew-shil," not "mews-zee-al."
Well, Stewart makes a few bloopers on his own. He indulges in clichés (like "frames" for "innings") and describes St. Louis Hills as "an upper-middle-class suburb." But overall, Stewart's book comes across as a well-deserved salute to a nice guy with an even nicer swing.
Back in 1985, writer James chose Musial over Ted Williams as the best left fielder ever. James said, "I'd take Musial in left field, Musial on the basepaths, Musial in the clubhouse, and Williams only with the wood in his hand. And Stan Musial could hit a little, too."
'Stan the Man'
By Wayne Stewart
Published by Triumph, 240 pages, $24.95
Harry Levins of Manchester retired in 2007 as senior writer of the Post-Dispatch.
Quoted in Sidelights: “leaves bits and pieces of different stories hanging.” “serve as a primer”
“the baseball fan or historian that is searching for greater depth … may not be satisfied.”
Book Review: Stan the Man: The Life and Times of Stan Musial
October 31, 2010 Biography, Book Review, St. Louis Cardinals, Stan Musial, The Life and Times of Stan Musial, Wayne Stewart No comments
Stan the Man: The Life and Times of Stan Musial
Wayne Stewart
Triumph Books, 2010
256 pp.
Somehow Stan Musial's name seems to be omitted when discussing the upper echelon of baseball's royalty. He ranks fourth all time in hits (3,630), sixth in RBI's (1,951), appeared in 24 All-Star games and won the National League MVP award three times. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969 with over 93% of the votes.
Donora, PA native Wayne Stewart does his best to elevate Musial's standing in the public eye with his biography, "Stan the Man: The Life and Times of Stan Musial." Stewart treads down a similar path that others have traveled chronicling Musial's upbringing in the small town of Donora. We watch Musial develop into a multi-sport athlete at Donora High School where he would play with Buddy Griffey, the patriarch to the Griffey baseball legacy. He was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals at the age of 18 out of high school and the rest shall we say has been well documented.
While Stewart attempts to follow Musial through his Hall of Fame career, he leaves bits and pieces of different stories hanging, leaving you wondering why certain anecdotes weren't further developed or why they were mentioned in the first place. He attempts to fill the gaps by quoting some of Musial's living teammates and opponents, most notably Carl Erskine, who is frequently quoted during the book. Conspicuously absent are testimonials from Musial's long time teammates Red Schoendienst, Marty Marion and Musial himself.
For the younger fans who aren't familiar with the achievements of Musial, "Stan The Man" will serve as a primer about the Cardinal great to whom Albert Pujols respectfully deferred the title of "El Hombre". For the baseball fan or historian that is searching for greater depth into the annals of Musial's career, they may not be satisfied by Stewart's work.