My Baseball Diary

by James T. Farrell

More than 40 years old, and inconceivably out of print for 30 of them, Farrell's Baseball Diary, one of the first gems in a new series of baseball reissues from Southern Illinois University Press, is as rare as a starter who can go nine these days: an ancient text that stays fresh on the wizardry of its ebullient prose. Farrell, who died in 1979, was a hard-hitting novelist and utility man-of- letters; his Studs Lonigan trilogy, which brilliantly mined the lives of the Irish working-class of Chicago in the early part of the century, was certainly a literary grand slam, a masterpiece of American realism. His Diary is less the formal journal of its title than a colorful collection of beautifully crafted remembrances, profiles, observations, and fictional excerpts that span the first 50 years of his seven-decade romance with the game.

He writes insightfully on Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, and Ray Schalk, and quite poignantly on Buck Weaver, the White Sox third baseman shamed in the 1919 scandal. He conjures up his first game as a boy in 1911 with loving detail, recounts going to White Sox games with his Red Sox-fan grandmother, and recalls Mrs. McCuddahy's Tavern--the ballplayers' home away from home--adjacent to Comiskey Park with a spirited fondness that's still infectious. All of that barely dents the top of the order of this all-star compendium from a writer worthy of his own niche in the Cooperstown of American letters. --Jeff Silverman, Sports editor

Genres: Baseball, Sports

227 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 1998

About the author

James Thomas Farrell was an American novelist. One of his most famous works was the Studs Lonigan trilogy, which was made into a film in 1960 and into a television miniseries in 1979. The trilogy was voted number 29 on the Modern Library's list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.

Reviews

[Bradthad Codgeroger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle-aged writer in middle 20th century reminisces about baseball in the teens and 20s, mostly. Enjoyable light read that I seemed to have spread over five years.

[Chuck LoPresti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am from Chicago and lived in the area where JTF was raised. These neighborhoods are the subject of his fiction and factual writing alike. There is some of the lucid realism that appears in Studs or the O'Neill books - but not much. This is what it says it is - a baseball diary. There are great chapters that detail a boy's love of the game and there is much to be learned about the history of baseball here. This will serve as an effective introduction to JTF and will appeal more to baseball historians than fans of early Irish American fiction. In his fiction writing - he's something like Turgenev where he lays out a scene and trusts the reader's intelligence to make their own meaning of it. Too smart to condescend, too modest to purple up the prose - I love his writing. But there is little of his full prowess on display here - and to his credit - why should he bother to take such a mode or style when all he really has set out to do here is to explain why one, and maybe more, young boy growing up with access to local and pro teams has learned to love the game so much. I happen to also love the game, and I love my son - so my goal was to gain insight by having one of my favorite writers lay out some of the foundation for the affection of our national game and try to pass some insight on to him. If I can teach my son to love the game like JTF, Ring Lardner and myself - I'll take some pride in my parenting.

[Jimmy Flame · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read baseball book

Amazing account of baseball obsession from a guy who grew up in Chicago, who witnessed the likes of Ty Cobb and the 1919 Black Sox, among other greats. I especially appreciate the author’s illuminating words when describing a visit to the baseball hall of fame and his tales of being a kid from the sandlots of Washington Park. Highly recommended reading for anyone wanting to feel the nostalgia of childhood or for anyone looking for a great baseball stories that focus on innocence and the human element.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do a baseball book every year at the start of the season, and this was this year's choice. Originally published in 1957 and reprinted by S IL U Press. A collection of Chicago writer Farrell's baseball writings. So he takes bits from his novels, and then also pieces he wrote over his career - including for the early SI. The bad part is that there is no identification of where the pieces were first published or in what year. A White Sox fan, he does give us some interesting views on old time baseball players, some now forgotten. This book is more for those interested in baseball history, and here often written from a very personal POV. Becomes a bit redundant. And, like his novels, is often "just the facts mam" and no real insight. OK, but I have to admit I wish I had chosen a different book this year.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

the interview with buck weaver was amazing, in particular.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Farrell's baseball reminiscences, mostly of the prelapsarian days before the Black Sox scandal.

[BIG BOOKS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Famed writer James Farrell turns away from fiction and towards his love of baseball. This series of essays on early baseball are a great read whether you are a fan of the game or not.