- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Bison Books; illustrated edition edition (Oct 1 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0803218885
- ISBN-13: 978-0803218888
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 14 x 1.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 295 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #580,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
“Among the great pleasures of the narrative is the authors’ ability to recreate the gritty atmosphere of early baseball. By contrast, today’s game seems sedate. Rivalries were intense and local (within the Three I League—Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, for example). Dangers lurked from mobsters, brawling opponents and teammates, and head-hunting pitchers. Umpiring was a high-risk profession.”—Steve Golos, Ohioana Quarterly
(Steve Golos Ohioana Quarterly 20080205)“An excellent window into a time when sport and society were wildly different from today, and it successfully reminds us of Mordecai Brown''s rightful place in baseball’s collective memory.”—Tim Denevi, Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature
(Tim Denevi Aethlon )“Deadball aficionados, baseball fans in general, and those loving a well written story should read this great book.”—Mark Dugo, The Inside Game
(The Inside Game )
Product Description
On October 8, 1908, Mordecai Brown clutched a half-dozen notes inside his coat pocket. The message of each was clear: we’ll kill you if you pitch and beat the Giants. A black handprint marked each note, the signature of the Italian Mafia.
Mordecai Brown—dubbed “Three Finger” because of a childhood farm injury—was the dominant pitcher for the great Chicago Cubs team of the early twentieth century. Brown’s handicap enabled him to throw pitches with an unconventional movement that left batters bewildered—the curve ball that Ty Cobb once called “the most devastating” he had ever faced.
How Brown responded to the Mafia’s threats in 1908 mirrored the way he took life in general: with unflappable courage and resolve. Telling his story for the first time, Cindy Thomson and Scott Brown track Mordecai from the Indiana countryside to the coal mines, from semipro ball to the Majors, from the World Series mound back down to the Minors. Along the way they retrieve the lost lore of one of baseball’s greatest pitchers and chronicle one man’s determination to attain a dream that most believed was unreachable.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fianlly Three Finger gets his due, Nov 18 2006
By Jonathan Brookner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Three Finger: The Mordecai Brown Story (Hardcover)
It took longer than it should have for a bio of this early twentieth century top pitcher to be written, considering some of the baseball bios that have been produced. Perhaps the greatest Cub pitcher ever, Mordecai Brown was also a kind, good man. This book provides good insight into his life, and some photos never before published. If anything, it could have used a bit more detail on his pitching, at least in regular season games. But we are treated to detail on some of the famous Mathewson-Brown match-ups (Brown won the career duel), and the World series appearances.Brown is the hero, but his success and abilities are underplayed, if anything. That's a relief next to several current books about players whose authors are trying to get them into the Hall of Fame. A pleasurable, easy read. The baseball stats are reliable except in one instance where the authors must have had a petite mal seizure. Page 78 states that Brown's 213 innings pitched in 1908 were "more than any other single year in his career." The number is a typo for 312, but anyway, as the authors later note, Brown pitched 343 innings the following year. But not to worry, this is a unique lapse, and pointed out here only to help readers, or correct any future edition. Thanks for this book!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting man and great ball player, May 18 2010
By J. Hundley "katies phil" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Three Finger: The Mordecai Brown Story (Paperback)
The thing that makes Mordecai Brown so interesting is that, really, he wasn't all that interesting. It is refreshing to read the story of a man who worked hard, mastered his craft, was very successful (on and off the field) while being, to all evidence, a good man, good husband, good friend and good teammate. Kind of shocking in his very decency. The book is well researched, but stiffly written and a rather wooden read. I recommend this as there is so little on Brown available and his is an interesting story. I only wish the authors has loosened up a bit and allowed some of the color and liveliness of his times come through.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Legend Comes To Life, Nov 4 2008
By Bicycle Day - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Three Finger: The Mordecai Brown Story (Paperback)
Authors Cindy Thomson and Scott Brown pen an all-star book for the Hot Stove League that chronicles the life of one of the greatest pitchers in the "Dead Ball Era" of Major League Baseball, Mordecai "Three Fingered" of "Miner" Brown.Sporting a lifetime MLB record of 239-130, with 1375 strikeouts and an amazing 2.06 ERA, Brown is oftentimes more known for his main nickname, which was due to a farm-machinery accident as a youth, losing parts of two fingers. His other nickname came from his work in the Indiana coal mines before baseball became his profession.
His is truly an American story, as Brown sparked the Chicago Cubs to victories over the Detroit Tigers in the 1907-1908 Fall Classics, turned away from threats by mobsters in 1908 to throw a game and attempted to end the MLB monopoly on the pro game by joining the "outlaw" Federal League.
But its in retirement where Brown gave back to the sport - and to the local fans who followed his pro career - that made him a household name. When back home again in (Terre Haute) Indiana, he played in the minors, participated in exhibition games and also coached. Brown also operated a gas station in Terre Haute.
Like home plate being dusted off after a long winter, the biography brings to life a legend who was buried under yellowed pages of newspapers that had been weathered by time and neglect.
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