Leo Durocher: Baseball's Prodigal Son
Leo Durocher (1906-1991) was baseball's all-time leading cocky, flamboyant, and galvanizing character, casting a shadow across several eras, from the time of Babe Ruth to the Space Age Astrodome, from Prohibition through the Vietnam War. For more than forty years, he was at the forefront of the game, with a Zelig-like ability to be present as a player or manager for some of the greatest teams and defining baseball moments of the twentieth century. A rugged, combative shortstop and a three-time All-Star, he became a legendary manager, winning three pennants and a World Series in 1954.



Durocher performed on three main stages: New York, Chicago, and Hollywood. He entered from the wings, strode to where the lights were brightest, and then took a poke at anyone who tried to upstage him. On occasion he would share the limelight, but only with Hollywood friends such as actor Danny Kaye, tough-guy and sometime roommate George Raft, Frank Sinatra, and his third wife, movie star Laraine Day.



As he did with Bill Veeck, Dickson explores Durocher's life and times through primary source materials, interviews with those who knew him, and original newspaper files.
"1123806870"
Leo Durocher: Baseball's Prodigal Son
Leo Durocher (1906-1991) was baseball's all-time leading cocky, flamboyant, and galvanizing character, casting a shadow across several eras, from the time of Babe Ruth to the Space Age Astrodome, from Prohibition through the Vietnam War. For more than forty years, he was at the forefront of the game, with a Zelig-like ability to be present as a player or manager for some of the greatest teams and defining baseball moments of the twentieth century. A rugged, combative shortstop and a three-time All-Star, he became a legendary manager, winning three pennants and a World Series in 1954.



Durocher performed on three main stages: New York, Chicago, and Hollywood. He entered from the wings, strode to where the lights were brightest, and then took a poke at anyone who tried to upstage him. On occasion he would share the limelight, but only with Hollywood friends such as actor Danny Kaye, tough-guy and sometime roommate George Raft, Frank Sinatra, and his third wife, movie star Laraine Day.



As he did with Bill Veeck, Dickson explores Durocher's life and times through primary source materials, interviews with those who knew him, and original newspaper files.
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Leo Durocher: Baseball's Prodigal Son

Leo Durocher: Baseball's Prodigal Son

by Paul Dickson

Narrated by Barry Abrams

Unabridged — 13 hours, 47 minutes

Leo Durocher: Baseball's Prodigal Son

Leo Durocher: Baseball's Prodigal Son

by Paul Dickson

Narrated by Barry Abrams

Unabridged — 13 hours, 47 minutes

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Overview

Leo Durocher (1906-1991) was baseball's all-time leading cocky, flamboyant, and galvanizing character, casting a shadow across several eras, from the time of Babe Ruth to the Space Age Astrodome, from Prohibition through the Vietnam War. For more than forty years, he was at the forefront of the game, with a Zelig-like ability to be present as a player or manager for some of the greatest teams and defining baseball moments of the twentieth century. A rugged, combative shortstop and a three-time All-Star, he became a legendary manager, winning three pennants and a World Series in 1954.



Durocher performed on three main stages: New York, Chicago, and Hollywood. He entered from the wings, strode to where the lights were brightest, and then took a poke at anyone who tried to upstage him. On occasion he would share the limelight, but only with Hollywood friends such as actor Danny Kaye, tough-guy and sometime roommate George Raft, Frank Sinatra, and his third wife, movie star Laraine Day.



As he did with Bill Veeck, Dickson explores Durocher's life and times through primary source materials, interviews with those who knew him, and original newspaper files.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

11/28/2016
Veteran sports journalist Dickson (Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick) returns with another excellent remembrance of a larger-than-life persona, legendary baseball manager Leo Durocher, whom he describes as “cocky and flamboyant.” Durocher’s career spanned from Prohibition to the Apollo moon landings. Born in 1905 in West Springfield, Mass., of French-Canadian stock, Durocher signed with the Yankees in 1925 as a shortstop and erratic hitter; five years later, his blunt talk and fondness for living beyond his means got him sold to the Cincinnati Reds. Impressively, Durocher survived suspensions, firings, investigations, and brawls as a combative, eccentric player with the Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, and Brooklyn Dodgers to play in the World Series in 1928 and 1934. The author often approaches his subject with tabloid fervor as he writes of the manager’s 1947 game suspension, his contested friendship with actor George Raft and his gangster buddies, his divorces (including from actress Loraine Day), and his feuds with Babe Ruth and Casey Stengel. Dickson’s entertaining book brings the rambunctious Hall of Famer and true sports original to life. (Mar.)

From the Publisher

"Paul Dickson. . . does a great job of capturing the two sides of Durocher, the brilliant manager and the man who hung out with Frank Sinatra and liked to gamble. It's an excellent book and the chapters focusing on Durocher's handling of Jackie Robinson and his overall tenure with the Dodgers are must-read for Dodgers fans." - Los Angeles Times

"Strenuously researched and studded with footnotes, Paul Dickson’s Leo Durocher: Baseball's Prodigal Son is an unflinching portrait of a brilliant bastard. Mr. Dickson gives the devil his due and leaves no doubt why so many people could respect Durocher’s baseball genius and still hate his guts." - Wall Street Journal

"The biography by a veteran sportswriter makes a case for the cocky and combative star shortstop and legendary manager as both charming and insufferable, which sounds about right for the guy who both championed Jackie Robinson's arrival in Brooklyn and insulted him as fat and slow." - Bill Littlefield, Boston Globe

"[A] well-researched, smoothly written biography of a complex man." - Kirkus Reviews

"Paul Dickson, baseball historian and biographer (Bill Veeck: Baseball's Greatest Maverick) packs Durocher's story with enough great stories and colorful anecdotes to fill 10 normal books." - Dallas Morning News

“[A] well-researched, page-turning book. . . . Dickson’s work is based on few personal interviews, but is chock full of what he does best—research—and he digs for information and puts it together in a smooth narrative. Dickson combed newspaper archives and the personal papers of Rickey, Jackie Robinson and journalist Arthur Mann to supplement his research." - Bob D'Angelo, Books & Blogs

"The book is worth reading twice just to see what you may have missed the first time . . . Enjoy it and be grateful we have Paul among us." - Tom Hoffarth, columnist, Los Angeles Daily News

"Paul Dickson's biography of the impresario Bill Veeck is one of the best baseball books of recent years. In his latest effort Dickson takes one mighty biographical swing at Leo Durocher, a colorful baseball player and manager. Durocher was a loudmouthed brawler, lady’s man, fine coach, and coiner of the expression: 'nice guys finish last.'" - The Dayton Daily News

"In his new biography, Leo Durocher: Baseball's Prodigal Son, Dickson profiles a man who was constantly getting in trouble on and off the field. The controversial Durocher, known as 'Leo The Lip,' had a knack for ticking off virtually everyone he encountered . . . [he] wasn't elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame until 1994, three years after he died. Life, though, never was dull for Durocher, who was married four times and counted Hollywood stars like Frank Sinatra as close friends. It all adds up to an entertaining book about a truly unique character." - Chicago Tribune

"The racial integration of the game, which Durocher long advocated, is the book's crucial secondary story, and it is deftly handled." - Booklist

"'Leo the Lip' was confident, gaudy, and courageous. His spirit is brilliantly captured in this well-researched and thoroughly examined biography by Dickson (Bill Veeck), encompassing the personal and professional life of this legendary infielder. . . . Dickson brilliantly points out some of the player’s greatest moments as well as his worst. . . . From his relationship with Branch Rickey in the racially charged 1940s to his hectic private life, Durocher’s world was an enthralling on. . . . A fascinating look into the life and times of Leo Durocher, recommended for fans of the golden age of baseball." - Library Journal

"In this multilayered biography of big league bad boy Leo Durocher, [Dickson] tells three stories at once and all of them compelling reading. . . . Mr. Dickson serves up a thoroughly researched, compellingly written book of a complex character." - The Washington Times

"Dickson, who wrote one of recent years' best baseball biographies in 'Bill Veeck: Baseball's Greatest Maverick,' doesn't flinch in showing the dark side of the man known as Leo the Lip. But this complicated, richly detailed portrait also shows Durocher's better angels, as few as they were." - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Durocher's life — feuding with opponents, teammates, writers, and commissioners; baiting umpires; punching mouthy fans; running with gamblers and gangsters, and the Hollywood stars who played them in the movies; burning his way through four marriages, including one to actress Larraine Day—is colorful enough for any three novels. The world of Twitter and TMZ would’ve loved him." - The Washington Independent Review of Books

"Dickson’s biography of Leo Durocher captures the bright sunshine and optimism of baseball’s spring training by focusing upon a man who loved the game, but the dark side of the sport is revealed through a man with an inferiority complex and a gambling problem who antagonized many in the nation of baseball by his desire to win at any cost; threatening the integrity of the game and leaving Durocher isolated and lonely." - History News Network



[A] splendidly written and meticulously researched book. - Daily News Gems

Library Journal

12/01/2016
A three-time All-Star and four-time World Series champion, Leo Durocher (1905–91)was a famous shortstop and renowned manager. Few have matched the mark he left in the history of baseball. "Leo the Lip" was confident, gaudy, and courageous. His spirit is brilliantly captured in this well-researched and thoroughly examined biography by Dickson (Bill Veeck), encompassing the personal and professional life of this legendary infielder. Durocher was one of the most prominent figures in the game for over 40 years, and Dickson brilliantly points out some of the player's greatest moments as well as his worst. As a player and especially as a manager, many fans would come to see Durocher in action, a true testament of his character. From his relationship with Branch Rickey in the racially charged 1940s to his hectic private life, Durocher's world was an enthralling one. VERDICT A fascinating look into the life and times of Leo Durocher, recommended for fans of the golden age of baseball.—Gus Palas, Ela Area P.L., Lake Zurich, IL

Kirkus Reviews

2016-10-26
Prolific author Dickson (Contraband Cocktails: How America Drank When It Wasn't Supposed to Be, 2015, etc.) digs deep into the controversial baseball career and spicy extracurricular life of Leo Durocher (1905-1991).Durocher was a light-hitting, skilled infielder for the New York Yankees and other teams before achieving national renown as the unorthodox, flamboyant manager of a succession of Major League Baseball teams. Away from the baseball field, he hung out with Hollywood celebrities and alleged organized crime figures. Actress Laraine Day became Durocher's third wife, and their marriage made society headlines during rocky periods and even during calmer intervals. Dickson, who has authored numerous books about baseball, labors mightily to sort through the divergent opinions of Durocher: he was either selfish or generous, a talented manger or inappropriate leader of athletes, and worthy or unworthy of his rocky path to his posthumous election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The author pronounces Durocher's memoir, Nice Guys Finish Last, as broadly fraudulent, and he claims that previous biographies are sometimes questionable in both factual accuracy and evaluation of Durocher's character. Although Dickson mostly eschews psychological analysis, the details of his subject's life suggest at minimum a manic-depressive disorder, coupled with occasional psychotic behavior. Durocher's poisonous relationships with sports journalists seem especially inexplicable. As for his on-field and clubhouse managing skills, his public castigating of players, particularly Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs, qualifies as cringeworthy. Despite the Banks episode, however, Durocher acted honorably regarding racial segregation in professional baseball. After all, he wanted his teams to win, which meant recruiting the most talented players regardless of skin color. His nurturing of Willie Mays is perhaps the most inspiring of all the anecdotes presented here. Baseball buffs will enjoy this well-researched, smoothly written biography of a complex man, but readers lacking interest in the MLB may be inclined to dismiss the mercurial Durocher as an unpleasant individual not worth trying to understand.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940170984442
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Publication date: 07/25/2017
Edition description: Unabridged
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