The Last Few Innings with My Dad


Book Description

The Last Few Innings with My Dad By: Daniel Vaccaro A son embraces the blessing of time with his father at the end of life. The Last Few Innings with My Dad is the story of a son spending nights in the hospital with his father, talking about his life and learning things he never knew. He learned about his dad’s first date with his mom, his military service and so much more. Death is not new but having the opportunity to learn about a parent is something precious that all children should experience.




The Art of Putting


Book Description

PGA stars such as Jay Haas, Craig Stadler, Peter Jacobsen, and Darren Clarke have all sought advice from fellow pro Stan Utley about their putting, and have gone on to such immediate success on the green that Utley has become the most in-demand teacher in the game. Now, in The Art of Puttinghe outlines his unique approach to putting for golfers of all skill levels. In a welcome change from mechanistic and overly-complex putting "systems," Utley breaks down the putting stroke to a simple, natural motion, revealing a straightforward method for learning this sure, repeatable stroke. This definitive book also provides- A complete primer on club design, with tips for finding the putter most in tune with the nuances of your swing Simple steps for reading greens accurately, every time Drills to commit your putting stroke to muscle memory and overcome the tics that can knock your putts off line Cures for the mental hurdles you'll face on the short grass




The Fastest Thirty Ballgames


Book Description

"THE FASTEST 30 BALLGAMES" is a World Record journey of dedicated 'Ballpark Chaser', Chuck Booth. In the summer of 2009, Booth accomplished this amazing feat of attending a full baseball game at every Major League Baseball home team's ballpark in only 24 calendar days. Booth managed this after falling just short of the record in 2008. The book chronicles the story of Booth as he rearranged his life to attempt the World Record after hearing the inspirational story of Jim Maclaren who faced two near death experiences--and how Jim overcame being a quadriplegic to become one of the most respected motivational speakers in America. The story features write-ups of all ballparks Booth visited during the streak with a look at traditions and physical appearance. It also reveals how after he became a member of Ballpark Chasers, he decided to include Chaser Guides that offer suggestions on how to travel, where to eat and sleep, the best parking, transportation to and from the ballpark, where to score the best seats and so much more. This knowledge is passed on to the reader in hopes of saving them time, money and stress when Ballpark Chasing around the country. Co-authors are fellow Ballpark Chasers: Craig B. Landgren and Ken Lee. Craig assisted with the Ballpark Chaser Guides while Ken charted Booth's record attempt in 2009. Throughout the book look for other featured 'Ballpark Chasers' personal ballpark stories and memories that have forever changed their lives.




Wrigley Field


Book Description

“One of the best books ever written about the Cubs, their home and the fans who flock there to watch them, win or lose.”—Rolling Stone In spring 1914, a new ballpark opened in Chicago. Hastily constructed after epic political maneuvering around the city’s and organized baseball’s hierarchies, the new Weeghman Park (named after its builder, fast-food magnate Charley Weeghman) was home to the Federal Leagues Chicago Whales. The park would soon be known as Wrigley Field, one of the most emblematic and controversial baseball stadiums in America. In this book, Stuart Shea provides a detailed and colorful chronicle of this living historic landmark and shows how the stadium has evolved to meet the shifting priorities of its owners and changing demands of its fans. While Wrigley Field today seems irreplaceable, we learn that from game one it has been the subject of endless debates over its future, its design, and its place in the neighborhood it calls home. To some, it is a hallowed piece of baseball history; to others, an icon of mismanagement and ineptitude. Shea deftly navigates the highs and lows, breaking through myths and rumors, in a book packed with facts, stories, and surprises that will captivate even the most fair-weather fan. From big money (the Ricketts family paid $900 million for the team and stadium in 2009), to exploding hot dog carts, to the curse-inducing goat, Shea uncovers the heart of the stadium’s history. “More than any other American institution, baseball most wholeheartedly welcomes half-baked history and curdled lore. It's fun, after all; what grinch wishes to poke at the tale of Babe Ruth's called shot? But more often than not the real stories are even more delicious, and no one has gathered more of them than author Stuart Shea. His book is an unceasing delight.”—John Thorn, official historian, Major League Baseball and author of Baseball in the Garden of Eden




Some Direction Found


Book Description

I invite you to spend one day with my father and I as we travel through the wilds of southern Pennsylvania and explore the countryside and ourselves. I ask you to consider a forty-seven-year old man as he struggles to correct, perhaps too late, the sins of a quickly passing life. I ask you to place yourself in the seat of a fully grown, but hardly mature, thirteen-year-old boy looking for answers to just about everything. His is the story of a boy willing to ask, but not always accept, his father's reasoning for walking out on his family and why it took nine years for his dad to try and return. Be prepared to laugh, cry, and regale as you jump into what was a twelve-hour gab session in an awkward but productive attempt to ask and answer questions concerning the past years and the recent. The recent being the miracle of the boy's father stepping out of character and stepping into his son's life for one week as a parental volunteer at the boy's Boy Scout troop's yearly summer camp. Learn how a simple wrong turn on the Pennsylvania turnpike could fulfill the father's dream of a lifetime and learn that a man needs his child as much as the child needs him.




All Guts and No Glory


Book Description

As the recent film Glory Road reminded, the early desegregation of college sports often was neither easy nor pleasant. Here Bill Elder recalls how he and a courageous group of white and black student-athletes broke racial barriers at a small college in northeast Alabama in the early 1970s. The setting was Sand Mountain, an area which four decades earlier had given rise to the Scottsboro Boys case, and where racial attitudes for some had not changed much. Elder has recently retired from a successful career as a college sports administrator, but here he shows vividly why he sometimes wondered whether he and his players would live through their experience. Abandoned by their school officials, the players faced constant threats and harassment and occasional violence. But they kept playing and winning games and forging bonds between themselves that lasted long after that first season was over. Through it all, Elder, an Alabama native and lifelong Baptist, watches his community with both a loving and an objective eye. His brief eyewitness account of both the worst and best elements of Southerners during this tumultuous era is compelling testimony.




Glory Days in Tribe Town


Book Description

Relive the most thrilling seasons of Cleveland Indians baseball in recent memory! Remember the excitement of those first years at Jacobs Field? When it seemed the Indians could find a way to win almost any game? When screaming fans rocked the jam-packed stands every night? When a brash young team snapped a forty-year slump and electrified the city? Those weren’t baseball seasons, they were year-long celebrations. Step back into the glory days with sportswriter Terry Pluto and broadcaster Tom Hamilton as they share behind-the-scenes stories about a team with all-stars at nearly every position . . . a sparkling new ballpark . . . wild comeback victories . . . a record sellout streak . . . two trips to the World Series . . . and a city crazed with Indians fever. Revisit baseball’s most fearsome lineup: Albert Belle’s mighty swing and ferocious glare . . . Jim Thome’s moon-shot home runs . . . Omar Vizquel’s poetry-in-motion play at shortstop . . . Kenny Lofton’s exhilarating baserunning and over-the-wall catches . . . These two Cleveland baseball veterans were there for it all. Now, they combine firsthand experience and in-depth player interviews to tell a richly detailed story that Tribe fans will love.




Jim Palmer: Nine Innings to Success


Book Description

Jim Palmer is a Baltimore Orioles legend and one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball history. Palmer was just 20 years old when he became the youngest pitcher ever to throw a World Series shutout, helping lead the Baltimore Orioles to their first-ever championship, in 1966. Two years later, Palmer's budding career almost ended due to arm problems. Yet, he mounted an inspiring comeback and reached the pinnacle of his profession, becoming the winningest pitcher of the 1970s and the only hurler to win a World Series game in three different decades. With three World Series rings, three Cy Young Awards and six All-Star selections to his name, an exemplary record as a spokesperson for charities and corporations, and his long tenure as a TV baseball analyst, Palmer is an authority on what it takes to succeed on and off of the field. In Nine Innings to Success, Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer and co-author Alan Maimon take readers inside the clubhouse, broadcast booth, and corporate world to tell the story of a one-of-a-kind career that serves as a how-to guide on succeeding in the workplace. "The Oriole Way" – derived from his career as a fixture on the definitive American League franchise of the era – is a set of principles that frame many of the lessons he shares. The pillars of success include: 1. Learn2. Implement3. Persevere4. Connect5. Excel6. Sustain7. Broaden8. Appreciate9. Smile Nine Innings to Success is interspersed with memorable stories from his illustrious career with the Orioles, from baseball wisdom and life-lessons learned from the one-of-a-kind Earl Weaver to colorful anecdotes about O's teammates like Cal Ripken, Jr and Rick Dempsey, and broadcast partners Howard Cosell and Al Michaels. With tales of the diamond from the Swinging Sixties and beyond, to the core principles that lead to winning in the game of life, Nine Innings to Success is a must-have for baseball fans and self-improvement mavens alike.




Growing Up with Baseball


Book Description

An anecdotal history reveals the sport of baseball as it was watched, played and lived by everyday people from the 1930s to the 1990s, such as a missionary's son learning to read by comparing sports reports with announcements over the radio.




I Am My Dad's Son


Book Description

This book is a compilation of memoirs the author has experienced in his life, in his world of sports. It's never too early to start. That's what the author did and he carried on for 52 years before retiring in February, 2020. The writer expresses his upbringing with his father, having followed in his footsteps in the newspaper business. His father started young and actually became a father for the first time on a day he began his first position as a sports editor in Canton, Ohio. The author didn't back away and took a shot at the typewriter at age seven. Thus, the title of this book was born. In October of 2016 the author underwent a double lung transplant and writes about his life-saving experience. Sports fans will enjoy tidbits about baseball and first-hand golf trips to Ireland and Scotland. You'll enjoy his personal moments with the late Muhammad Ali. There are nuggets about Rocky Colavito, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and more. Golfers all have a favorite highlight and read about that of the author. It's all inside these covers.