Under Coogan's Bluff

by Fred Stein, Ken Smith (Foreword by)

Paperback, First Printing, April 1979, Inscription/signature by author, pages clean and neat, edge wear on cover, ships same or next day

160 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1981

Reviews

[James Klagge · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read--though not exactly what I expected. It is an account by a fan of the years 1933-1947 mostly in the life of the NY Giants, and then a much-abbreviated account up through 1954. I thought this would be much more of a fan/spectator's-eye-view of the games. There was a bit of that, but it was more like a well-researched summary of highlights of the seasons in question, with tidbits and anecdotes thrown in that the author seems to have gathered from research more than from personal experience. The only really well-known players for the Giants from 1933-1947 were Bill Terry, Mel Ott, Carl Hubbell and perhaps Ernie Lombardi. Willie Mays only arrived on the scene in the 1950's. Nevertheless I enjoyed hearing about baseball in those older days. For a true fan's-eye-view of clinching the pennant in 1951 see Pafko at the Wall, and the 1st game victory in the 1954 World Series see A Day In The Bleachers. Both of these are marvelous books, and they do more what I was hoping for from this book. But some interesting anecdotes included: The outfielder who muffed a ball because he was preparing his chewing tobacco (p. 56); the umpire who tried to throw out the player-manager but was convinced that that person was too essential to the game, so threw out 2 other players instead (p. 22); and the runner who body-slammed the SS to break up a double play (pp. 92-3). There was the time in 1941 that the umpires halted a game so that the PA system could broadcast a Joe Louis boxing match from the radio (p. 80). Mel Ott complained "They might as well hold up the game to listen to a Jack Benny or Bob Hope radio show!" And then there was the ditzy movie-star, Tallulah Bankhead, who was a fan of #4 Mel Ott. She was totally confused at the All-star game when 4 players wore #4, and then when she went to a Giants game in Brooklyn she was found rooting for #4 in white, Dolph Camilli of the Dodgers. How was she to know the home team wore white? Those were the days!