It's a Beautiful Day for Baseball: The National Pastime in the 1960s

by Doug Kurkul

The Sixties were one of the most memorable eras in baseball history. The story lines captured the nation's imagination and still resonate today. Many players were as famous as Hollywood's most glamorous stars, Washington's most powerful politicos, or the guitar heroes from emerging rock and roll bands. On the field, the sport was played according to sound fundamentals as hurlers pitched inside, starting pitchers strived to go the distance, batters hit behind the runner and executed perfect bunts, baserunners went hard into second base, and fielders crashed into walls to make seemingly impossible catches. Thanks to integration and the arrival of Latino stars, the quality of play had never been stronger.

Dozens of players are highlighted, including top stars such as Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Carl Yastrzemski, Stan Musial, Whitey Ford, Sandy Koufax, Rocky Colavito, Brooks Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Tom Seaver, Ernie Banks, Mickey Lolich, Luis Aparicio, Pete Rose, Sam McDowell, Frank Robinson and others.

So, what was it like to be a professional ballplayer in this glorious era? It's a Beautiful Day for Baseball provides an inside look at the national pastime -- on and off the field -- and the men who played the game.

Drawing on extensive research and the memories of more than 40 former players collected by author Doug Kurkul over a 17-year period, Section One provides a loving look at the sport, noting how much it as evolved over the decades. Section Two highlights the experiences and memories of a mix of superstars, journeymen, and short-term players, providing a 360-degree perspective. The Appendix provides original research into the leather of choice -- the brand of baseball glove used -- by more than 300 players.

Now, take a trip back in time when baseball was still the undisputed National Pastime and nearly every day was seemingly a beautiful day for baseball!

Genres: Baseball, Sports

620 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 29, 2024

Reviews

[Ryan Beltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll admit, it took me about halfway through this book to really start appreciating it. At first, the format felt a bit of a slog—page after page of players from the 1960s, many of whom I wasn’t familiar with. But once I settled in, I began to see just how much passion and research went into this project. Kurkal doesn’t just cover the stars; he digs into some truly obscure names, giving each player their due and offering a glimpse into what baseball meant in that era.

By the time I finished, I felt like I had learned a lot about the 1960s as a whole—a decade when baseball really was the national pastime and America’s premier sport. The profiles are uneven in length (some players get a deeper dive than others), but that almost adds to the charm, giving you a sense of where the author’s curiosity and admiration landed.

Personally, I loved the sections that touched on the Cleveland Indians and especially the connections to my own area—seeing players from Massillon, Wooster, and other parts of Ohio pop up was really cool.

This turned into a surprisingly engaging and rewarding read, and I’d recommend it to any sports fan. Baseball fans with a love for history—especially those with nostalgia for the 1960s—will really appreciate what Kurkal has done here

[Mr. Book · Rating 1 out of 5]

You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at Mr. Book's Book Reviews.

Mr. Book just finished It’s A Beautiful Day For Baseball: The National Pastime In The 1960s, by Doug Kurkul.

This book was published in April 2024.

The book started with a long tirade about how baseball was far better in the 1960s and has gone downhill from there. The author then had a seemingly unending section of 274 player profiles. Every one of them was just a cursory look at the player and it was easy to come up with material that the author should have included but didn’t. There were also very few stats being cited other than the triple crown stats. Major events in players’ careers and baseball history get single sentence treatment.

I give this book a D.

Goodreads requires grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, a D equates to 1 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at Mr. Book’s Book Reviews and Goodreads.

Mr. Book finished reading this on December 20, 2024.

[Robert De Haven · Rating 4 out of 5]

great insights to the players and the game in the 1960's

Entertaining yarn with little vignettes on many of the players in the 1960's. The book has very typos and mistaken paragraphs with different names. That said, very entertaining read for real baseball fans. A great winter read.

[martin steven ertz · Rating 5 out of 5]

like reading my old baseball card collection

Amazing stuff…My childhood baseball card collection and memories of my earth the radio and eyes on the Tube when the game is on…Very fun read

[bob bursey · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun read

Well written. Had all the players I was interested in and then some. Was in the class of “when the grass was real”. Any baseball fan will enjoy this.

[James R Cascione · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

A worthwhile read. I enjoyed reading about players I knew of growing up. The book was pleasant to peruse- beautiful day indeed.

[harvey l kaminski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out in a promising way, but faded as I got deeper into the book. They were incorrect facts and many misspellings eg. "fete"instead of "feat". The storage of the ball players were superficial and redundant. No great insights
Bottom line, not terrible, but not good

[Halle Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A GREAT RUN THROUGH A GREAT DECADE

I like how thisxbook covers so many players. Befitting legends, all-stars, or role players and various other notables who ought not to be forgotten, this book did well in going over their lives before, during, and after baseball. Despite a few errors I found in the book, worth the rest all the same.