"Tearin' Up the Pea Patch": The Brooklyn Dodgers, 1953

by Andrew Paul Mele

Overview

Arguably the greatest ball club in National League history, the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers recorded some staggering statistics. They led the league in virtually every offensive category while fielding some of the finest defensive players of the era. But the team's extraordinary success on the field is only part of their story.

Jackie Robinson was in his seventh year since breaking the color barrier, but ugly racist incidents were yet to abate and several marred the '53 season. The most intense rivalry in sports climaxed with a September brawl as Dodger Carl Furillo floored Giants manager Leo Durocher. First baseman Gil Hodges weathered a horrendous slump with the support of the team's devoted fans. This book tells the exciting story of the '53 Brooklyn Dodgers, highlighting a season and a team.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786496204
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	04/01/2015
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

The late Andrew Paul Mele had retired from the Brooklyn Public Library. The author of six books and several short stories, his articles appeared in the Staten Island Advance and the Italian Tribune. He lived in Staten Island.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments v

Preface: The Gold in the Golden Age 1

1 There Used to Be a Ball Club 5

2 Brooklyn: The Time and the Place 20

3 A Dubious Spring 36

4 April 51

5 May 68

6 June 83

7 July 98

8 August 113

9 September 128

10 October 146

11 Success and the Road to Perdition 164

12 Redux: Brooklyn Without the Dodgers 178

Appendix: Player Records: Brooklyn Dodgers 1953 199

Chapter Notes 201

Bibliography 209

Index 211

Editorial Reviews

Another fine insightful and entertaining book by Brooklyn Dodgers historian Andrew Paul Mele. This book will carry you back to the years when the Brooklyn Dodgers were on top of the world.”—Donald Honig, novelist and baseball historian; “We who played on the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers feel it was the best of the Brooklyn teams. Even though we didn’t win the World Series, the individual numbers throughout the lineup are among the all-time best. Andy Mele’s research and writing proves my point.”—Carl Erskine, Brooklyn Dodgers 1948–1957.

From the Publisher

"We who played on the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers feel it was the best of the Brooklyn teams. Even though we didn't win the World Series, the individual numbers throughout the lineup are among the all-time best. Andy Mele's research and writing proves my point."

Brooklyn Dodgers 1948-1957 - Carl Erskine

Another fine insightful and entertaining book by Brooklyn Dodgers historian Andrew Paul Mele. This book will carry you back to the years when the Brooklyn Dodgers were on top of the world.

novelist and baseball historian - Donald Honig