Book Description

Rabbit Maranville was the Joe Garagiola of Grandpa's day, the baseball comedian of the times. In a twenty-four-year career from 1912 through 1936, Rabbit found a lot of funny situations to laugh at, and no wonder: he caused most of them himself. Few fans alive today have had the privilege of sitting down for a few beers with the Rabbit and listening to him spin his tales. But fortunately for us, a year before his death in 1954, Rabbit reached back forty years into his memory and put his stories down on paper after the urging of his daughter and Max Kase, former sports editor of the New York Journal-American, who had employed Maranville in a public relations position. Unfortunately, Maranville did not finish his autobiography before he died. For decades the tales rested, virtually unread, until the Graber brothers, Dallas and Ralph, discovered the manuscript inconspicuously offered for sale by a memorabilia dealer and bought it, rescuing it for all future fans to enjoy. The book also includes an introduction by the late baseball scholar Harold Seymour and historian Bob Carroll wraps up the book with a historical account of Maranville's life and Hall-of-Fame career. Fifteen rare photos from the Hall of Fame library and some from private collectors are also included. SABR originally published the book in paperback in March 1991. Now, 20 years later, the Society is bringing it back with both paperback and Kindle editions.