October 1964
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October 1964 description
Heroes have a habit of growing larger over time, as do the arenas in which they excelled. The 1964 World Series between the Yankees and Cardinals was coated in myth from the get-go. The Yankees represented the establishment: white, powerful, and seemingly invincible. The victorious Cards, on the other hand, were baseball's rebellious future: angry and defiant, black, and challenging. Their seven-game barnburner, played out against a backdrop of an America emerging from the Kennedy assassination, escalating the war in Vietnam, and struggling with civil rights, marked a turning point--neither the nation, nor baseball, would ever be quite so innocent again. Halberstam, one of the great reporters of the '60s, looks back in this marvelous and spirited elegy to the era, the game, and players such as Mantle, Maris, Ford, Gibson, Brock, and Flood with a clear eye in search of the truth that time has blurred into legend. His confident prose, diligent reporting, and deft analysis make it clear how much more interesting--and forceful--the truth can be. |
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October 1964 Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
The End of an Era and the Dawn of a New Age in Baseball
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This is a very solid follow up to David Halberstram's previous baseball history "The Summer of '49." Unlike that bestselling book which reviewed the most exciting of the pennant race between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox during the Forties, "October, 1964" chronicles the changing of the guard. 1964 was the final season of the postwar New York dynasty. As Halberstram indicates, the season was a watershed year for baseball. Old alignments faded away and new constellations began to sparkle and shine.
The corporate Yankees were the winners of a remarkable fifteen American League pennants and and eleven World Series titles between 1947 and 1964. New York teams were largely composed of white ballplayers. New York featured numerous sluggers, such as Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Under manager Yogi Berra, who was under fire for most of his first season as the skipper, the Yankees managed to edge the Chicago White Sox by a single game to capture the pennant in 1964. Their World Series opponent was the St. Louis Cardinals.
St. Louis may have been the first fully integrated team in that it featured numerous minority players, including Curt Flood, Bob Gibson, Bill White, Julian Javier and Mike Cuellar, among others. The season for St. Louis shifted dramatically when the team traded for Lou Brock. After being mismanaged and underutilized by the Chicago Cubs, Brock had a breakout second half with the Cardinals. Manager Johnny Keane was rumored to be in jeopardy of dismissal for most of the season (Leo Durocher was supposed to have been his likely successor), but Brock's acquisition spurred a winning streak and the team rallied and took the pennant.
The Cardinals beat the Yankees in seven games and Berra was fired as manager. New York hired Keane as his replacement. The Yankees entered into a prolonged slump as their aging stars retired. The replacements were nowhere near as good as their predecessors. The Cardinals, however, continued to prosper under their new manager, Red Schoendist. St. Louis emphasized speed on the basepaths and power pitching in addition to timely hitting. The Cardinals began adding outstanding Latin American players to their playing roster. In effect, the St. Louis team pointed to the wave of the future in major league baseball. |
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October 1964 Books In Print, Audio Books.