Lyman Bostock: The Inspiring Life and Tragic Death of a Ballplayer

by K. Adam Powell

Overview

Lyman Bostock Jr. had baseball in his blood. The son of a former Negro League standout, Bostock began his professional career with the Minnesota Twins in 1975. Two years later, he became one of the first players in major league baseball to cash in on the new era of free agency, signing with the California Angels for more than $2 million—one of the richest contracts in sports history at that time. But Bostock’s true potential would never be known. On September 23, 1978, Bostock was shot and killed in Gary, Indiana. He was just 27 years old.

In Lyman Bostock: The Inspiring Life and Tragic Death of a Ballplayer, K. Adam Powell tells the story of Bostock’s humble beginnings in Birmingham, Alabama, his coming-of-age in Los Angeles, his involvement in the Black Power movement, his brief yet impactful baseball career, and his senseless murder in 1978. Those who knew Bostock and played alongside him believed he was good enough to win multiple batting titles, and perhaps even make the Hall of Fame some day. More than just a ballplayer, Bostock was known as a stand-out citizen who never forgot where he came from, investing hours of his time giving back to his community, visiting with local youth, and hosting baseball clinics.

Lyman Bostock captures a remarkable era in professional baseball, an era when ballplayers such as Bostock still engaged closely with their fans even as power shifted from management and owners to the players. Through careful research, exclusive interviews, and rarely-seen photographs, Bostock’s life and the times in which he lived are conveyed in intimate detail. For baseball fans of all ages, Lyman Bostock’s biography is a poignant and inspiring story of an upcoming star whose life was cut much too short.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442252059
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	12/09/2016
Pages:	350
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

K. Adam Powell is a reporter for the ACC Sports Journal, the ACCSports.com website, and the Mebane Enterprise newspaper. He previously worked for the Rivals.com network, and has covered Final Fours, college bowl games, and numerous NBA and NFL players. Powell is the author of three books, including Border Wars: The First 50 Years of Atlantic Coast Conference Football (Scarecrow, 2004).

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Acknowledgments xi

1 California Dreaming (1950-1968) 1

2 Coming of Age in Times of Confusion (1968-1970) 19

3 New Decisions, New Opportunities (1971-1972) 33

4 The Path to the Big Leagues (1972-1974) 53

5 A Rookie's Journey (1975) 69

6 The Great Breakout (1976) 87

7 Something to Prove (1977) 115

8 Settling into Stardom (1977) 139

9 A Life-Changing Negotiation (1977 Off-Season) 159

10 The Big Slump (1978) 179

11 Redemption and Happiness (1978) 199

12 Another Day in Comiskey and Gary (September 23, 1978) 221

13 Passing into Legend 235

14 Saying Goodbye (September 24-28, 1978) 247

15 The Trials of Leonard Smith (1979) 269

16 Moving On (1979-1980s) 279

17 Lyman Bostock's Legacy 287

Notes 299

Bibliography 311

Index 319

About the Author 335

Editorial Reviews

A very important aspect of this book, shows the reader all of the details leading up to Lymans final moments. The readers get all the details of the who, what, when, why and where of that fateful night. It filled in a lot of the blanks in the story for me and put to rest any doubts of what a stand up guy Lyman Bostock really was from beginning until the end. Powell did a great job of sharing Bostock’s story which I feel has been a very overlooked or forgotten subject. His time in both life and baseball were very short, but his impact was much greater beyond his years. Check this book out, I don’t think anyone who puts the effort into reading this will regret it.

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