Memories of a Ballplayer: Bill Werber and Baseball in the 1930s

Rating:
Summary: A missed opportunity
Review: Bill Werber led an interesting life on and off the field in baseball, but this collection of anecdotes from the 1930s and 40s misses the opportunity for Werber to explain how he felt about one of baseball's biggest problem in the first half of the 20th Century: segregation. Werber was a vocal opponent of integration in the 1940s and openly opposed the selection of Frank Robinson as the first African-American manager back in 1974. If Werber could have explained his positions on these matters, this book would have made a lasting impression. Instead, it just sort of floats by without making any impact.

Rating:
Summary: Another time, another place...
Review: Bill Werber shares his experiences and remembrances of playing the National pastime in the 1930's. It was an era that is difficult for modern fans to imagine. Thanks to the memories of Werber and the skill of co-author Paul Rogers at detailing them, the life of a ballpayer pre-intercontinental travel, airplanes, multi year contracts and night games comes alive for the reader.

Werber was somewhat of an anomaly for the time; College educated, well read and intellectually curious, he made a stark contrast to the typical little educated, hard living, hard drinking, brawling ballplayer of that generation. Yet, he possessed a toughness of his own. A toughness that enabled him as a rookie to withstand and even return the barbs of veteren Yankee ballplayers. A toughness that would serve him well in disputes with teammates, opponents and management throughout his career.

Werber details recollections of those he fought with and against, came to admire and befriend, and gives an excellent oral history of what is was like to be a ballplayer during the depression era. His memories of the greats of the period, Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson and the others, sheds light on the pecking order that has always existed between the greats and their less talented contemporaries. It makes for interesting and informative reading. As an Oral History, the book is not designed to take political positions or rail against social injustice. The purpose of good Oral History is to tell the story of what it was like, not what it should have been like. This book is a valuable contribution to the search for historical truth about the game of baseball. As such it belongs in your library!

Rating:
Summary: Another time, another place...
Review: Bill Werber shares his experiences and remembrances of playing the National pastime in the 1930's. It was an era that is difficult for modern fans to imagine. Thanks to the memories of Werber and the skill of co-author Paul Rogers at detailing them, the life of a ballpayer pre-intercontinental travel, airplanes, multi year contracts and night games comes alive for the reader.

Werber was somewhat of an anomaly for the time; College educated, well read and intellectually curious, he made a stark contrast to the typical little educated, hard living, hard drinking, brawling ballplayer of that generation. Yet, he possessed a toughness of his own. A toughness that enabled him as a rookie to withstand and even return the barbs of veteren Yankee ballplayers. A toughness that would serve him well in disputes with teammates, opponents and management throughout his career.

Werber details recollections of those he fought with and against, came to admire and befriend, and gives an excellent oral history of what is was like to be a ballplayer during the depression era. His memories of the greats of the period, Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson and the others, sheds light on the pecking order that has always existed between the greats and their less talented contemporaries. It makes for interesting and informative reading. As an Oral History, the book is not designed to take political positions or rail against social injustice. The purpose of good Oral History is to tell the story of what it was like, not what it should have been like. This book is a valuable contribution to the search for historical truth about the game of baseball. As such it belongs in your library!