Season of Glory

by Ralph Houk

Former Yankee manager Ralph Houk recounts the historic 1961 season, when sluggers Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle pursued Babe Ruth's home run record, and the team, considered by many to be the greatest ever, battled its way to the championship

Genres: Baseball, Sports

326 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 1988

Reviews

[Chuck Neumann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of the 1961 New York Yankees, by Robert Creamer & Ralph Houk. A couple interesting notes about the book. It was published in 1988, so it wasn't written when the events were news, but when it was history. Also, most of the book was written by Creamer, the veteran sports writer. He often talked about Houk, the team's manager, but Houk himself added sections on his own. Usually he would add detail to some event or action mentioned in the Creamer section. An unusual way to do it, but fairly effective. The book itself gives a good insight into the powerful team headed by the home run chase of Mantle and Maris, but also including stars like Ford, Berra, Arroyo, Richardson, Howard, Kubek, Clete Boyer, Terry, Skowron and many others. It points out the race was fairly tight, as the Detroit Tigers were very good too, until the Yankees pulled away in August. It gives a good insight into the actions taken by the front office and manager. A good book.

[Tom Gase · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining and well researched book on the 1961 home run chase between New York Yankee outfielders Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle and the Yankees race for a pennant.

Told by author Roger Creamer (who also wrote a great biography on Babe Ruth) along with 1961 Yankee Manager, Ralph Houk, this book is more than a tale about the home run chase between Mantle and Maris, it's about the entire season and entire Yankee team.

I previously knew a lot about the Mantle/Maris home run chase, but it turns out a lot of that information, especially in the Billy Crystal film 61* was incorrect. Yankee outfielder Bob Cerv actually began the season on the California Angels, and wasn't traded back to the Yankees until around midseason. In the film, however, Cerv has an apartment with Maris and Mantle for the entire season. Also in the film, it has a Baltimore manager telling Hoyt Wilheim that if he throws Maris a fastball during a game in September, that Wilheim will be fined a thousand bucks. But this didn't happen either, as that Baltimore manager had resigned by then. Thank you to Creamer for getting the facts right. Leave it to a film to butcher them.

Not only did Maris and Mantle have a good year, but often overlooked is the season that Whitey Ford had. He was 19-2 at the all-star break (the season had two all-star games in 1961) and he also broke an old pitching record by Babe Ruth that year. When reading about this book you get to learn a lot about Maris, Mantle, Ford, Tony Kubek, Luis Arroyo, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard, Bobby Richardson, Moose Skowron and others. I just assumed the Yankees rolled easily to a pennant that year, but in fact they fought Detroit and their bashers Al Kaline, Norm Cash and Rocky Calavito all year long.

A must read for Yankee fans and most baseball fans will enjoy this as well.

[Marshall Merims · Rating 4 out of 5]

The season being referenced is the incredible 1961 season of the New York Yankees. Ralph Houk was the Yankees manager that season and wrote the book with baseball historian Robert Creamer. Besides the Maris-Mantle home run battle, the season was filled with 109 victories, a World Series victory of the Reds, 6 players with 20+ homers, 25 wins from Whitey Ford, two AL expansion teams, 29 saves from Luis Arroyo (mostly after Ford), and the first season after 12 with Casey Stengel as manager. And there were minor contributions from great names like Tex Clevenger, Danny McDevitt, Ryne Duren, and Duke Maas. The book included chapters with a lengthy quoted portion from Houk surrounded by more colorful explanations of the situation by Creamer referenced by Houk. The pennant race with the Tigers was strong and tight for much of the season so it wasn't a runaway until September as they finished 8 games ahead. I thought it was very well written and the thoughts of the two authors blended well together. Here are some of the notable nuggets from the book. One, after the World Series ended the Yankees hurriedly brushed Stengel aside and announced the signing of Houk to avoid him being grabbed by one of the expansion teams. Two, the 162-game schedule was rolled out in 1961 (up from the traditional 154-game season) but there were less enthusiastic 153 and 144 game options too). Three, Joe DiMaggio joined the Yanks for Spring Training which he'd not done since his retirement after the 1951 season likely due to his dislike for Stengel. Four, during 38 games from May 17 to June 22 Maris hit 24 home runs; during this power surge he belted nearly 40% of his 61 homers in that 5 week span. Five, Houk mentioned that the closest he came to hitting a home run as a player came in 1947 when his batted ball hit the foul pole; back then apparently a ball that did this was ruled a double rather than a homer which something I did not know.

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great look at the Yankees during a World Series winning season in 1961. Its also the season Maris and Mantle battled for the HR record set by Babe Ruth, with Maris breaking it. The writer Creamer does a good job though the asides into other things happening in the world in 1961 got a little much at times. Houk, the first year manager of the club gives plenty of insight into his feelings and how everything was working behind the scenes.

A highly recommended book. It details the 61 season of the Yankees about as completely as it can be done.

[John Burchfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a child these two guy (Mantle and Marris) were my childhood heros. I still have every Topps baseball card of these two greats that I collected back in the sixties.

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

read some time in 1994