Dizzy and the Gas House Gang: The 1934 St. Louis Cardinals and Depression-Era Baseball

by Doug Feldmann

Led by the colorful pitcher Dizzy Dean, the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals personified Depression-era America. The players were underpaid, wore uniforms that were almost always torn and dirty, and had wandered into professional baseball from small towns in the Midwest where other jobs were scarce. Despite their lack of resources, however, and despite coming off two mediocre seasons, the Cardinals emerged triumphant in '34, winning the pennant by two games over the Giants and the World Series in seven games over the Tigers. The book chronicles that championship team which came to be known in baseball lore as the famous "Gas House Gang." This work brings to life the legendary exploits of player manager Frankie Frisch and the Dean brothers--Dizzy and Paul--who combined for 49 wins that season. The era, the team, the season, and the Series are all fully covered.

Genres: Baseball, Sports

215 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2000

About the author

Doug Feldmann is an American author of thirteen books, focusing mainly upon baseball history and the sport's sociological impact on urban and small-town America. His work has been recognized in multiple-time nominations for the Casey Award and the Seymour Medal from the Society for American Baseball Research. He is a professor in the College of Education at Northern Kentucky University and a former baseball scout for the Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, and San Diego Padres. He completed his Ph.D. in Curriculum Studies at Indiana University (1999), his master's degree in Secondary Education at Rockford University (1995), and his bachelor's degree in English and History at Northern Illinois University (1992), where he was an outfielder on the baseball team and a walk-on punter on the football team.

Reviews

[Joe Santoro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly the format I want in a sports book... gives you a bit of background... tells the STORY of a season (all the fun stuff, the mood the pennant race, etc), without going hard into stats (stats are easy these days), and gives a bit of what happens next.

There are plenty of stories to go around for the Gashouse Gang.. it's incredible to me a team that was really only together for the one season (it was 100% a different Cardinals team that dominated the 1940s) is still so legendary.

I wouldn't have minded a bit more about the post-season barnstorming stuff (which endless fascinates me), but there's already an excellent book about that... (read by me pre-goodreads) so I didn't miss to much.

Definitely a great read if you're interested in the time... now I need to find a good book on the 1934 Tigers!

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of those game-by-game newspaper account books. One of the greatest teams in baseball history for funny stories and none of them made this book.

[Ed P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story of the 1934 season. I learned a lot about that cardinal team and was surprised at just how famous the dean brothers became. I liked all the player bios and the short discussion on the origin of the nickname gashouse gang

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it as a Cardinals fan. I would love to read a biography about Dizzy Dean.