Victory Faust: The Rube Who Saved McGraw's Giants

Rating:
Summary: Baseball's Most Mysterious Mascot
Review: Gabriel Schechter's "Victory Faust - The Rube Who Saved McGraw's Giants" explores the tale of one of baseball's oddest characters. The near mythical story of Charles "Victory" Faust, an unknown hayseed who went from the obscurity of a Kansas farm to the toast of the New York baseball world, is set forth in detail. Using newspaper accounts and considerable original research, Schechter has crafted a fascinating portrait of the sport during the period just before the first World War. It was a time and a game of innocence and superstition, filled with legends such as Giants' manager John McGraw and pitcher Christy Mathewson, when the "impossible" was possible. In the history of baseball no story is more improbable than that of "Victory" Faust, the hick who became a flesh and blood good luck charm for the New York Giants. The author is able to put the reader in a box seat to history and breathe life into Faust's touching quest to actually pitch in a big league game. This book provides a fascinating read for those interested in a glimpse into early 20th century America, fan or non-fan alike.

Rating:
Summary: Certainly A Unique Subject For A Book
Review: Rightfully so, baseball produces more great books than any other sport. Author Gabriel Schechter has provided us with a truly unique subject in Charley Faust, a Kansas farmer who visited a fortune teller who told him if he would join the New York Giants they would win the pennant. Ballplayers were terribly superstitious and manager John McGraw took him along with the team as a good luck charm during the 1911 season. These were the Giants of Mathewson, Marquard, Merkle, Meyers, and Snodgrass among others. I was aware of the basic details of the Charley Faust story, but it was very interesting to read in greater detail about this story in baseball history. The players humored Charley in regard to his pitching abilities, but Charley regarded himself as a legitimate pitcher. Charley did get to pitch near the end of the 1911 season which put him into the baseball record book with everyone else whoever played the game. Faust as a good luck charm, however, didn't last into the World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics of Connie Mack and his $100,000 infield which defeated the Giants. During 1912 Charley Faust became more of a pest than a good luck charm and he eventually drifted off to the state of Washington where he died in 1915 from tuberculosis. Anything about John McGraw's Giants is interesting reading, but to have a book about the Charley Faust story hits a subject that has been ignored until now. The author did a great deal of research on his subject and includes various colorful articles on great writers of the time such as Damom Runyon, Sid Mercer, and others. A casual fan with an interest in baseball history will enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: "Victory Faust" entertaining and disturbing
Review: This book tells a deeply amusing and haunting story of fame, obsession and delusion -- on the part of Faust, the simple mascot who believed he was a ballplayer, and on that of the Giants, the team who egged him on for their own amusement and benefit.

Schechter also gives us a richly detailed account of National League baseball in 1911. We see the players, the owners, and especially such reporters as Damon Runyon and Sid Mercer, as vividly as we see baseball's characters today.