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Steve's Bibliography

  • Books
  • Books:

    The World Series in the Deadball Era: A History in the Words and Pictures of the Writers and Photographers, edited by Steve Steinberg with contributions by members of the Deadball Era Committee of SABR, The Society for American Baseball Research. (Haworth, new Jersey: St. Johann Press, 2018). The World Series of 1903-1919 were played before the emergence of radio, when newspaper sportswriters and photographers brought the action to fans across the country. The era and the action come alive in the words of the Damon Runyon, Grantland Rice, Ring Lardner and others, as well as players and managers. With 180 evocative photos, many seen for the first time in a century.

    Urban Shocker: Silent Hero of Baseball's Golden Age. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2017) Urban Shocker is a forgotten spitball pitching star of the 1920s. A fiercely competitive and colorful pitcher who had famous battles with Babe Ruth before returning to the Yankees, who had traded him away early in his career. With his physical skills eroding as he battled incurable heart disease, he continued to win games through craftiness and guile. Despite the advancing heart failure that would claim his life in 1928, Shocker's courage and love of the game helped him win 37 games for the great New York Yankees of 1926-1927. This book was awarded the 2018 SABR Baseball Research Award.

    The Colonel and Hug: The Partnership that Transformed the New York Yankees, coauthored with Lyle Spatz, Foreword by Marty Appel. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2015) Brewery owner Colonel Jacob Ruppert bought the New York Yankees in 1915 and hired Miller Huggins as his manager three years later. Together, this unlikely partnership, based on mutual trust and loyalty, set into motion the Yankees' run as the dominant baseball franchise of the 1920s, and the rest of the twentieth century. Huggins's vision recommended the purchase of Babe Ruth, and Ruppert took the financial risk to do so. The book is set in the context of America's entry into WWI, Prohibition, and the Roaring Twenties.


    1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York, coauthored with Lyle Spatz, Foreword by Professor Charles C. Alexander. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2010) The pivotal season of the New York Yankees' first pennant and two dramatic pennant races, that pitted Babe Ruth's team against their Polo Grounds landlords and hated rivals, John McGraw's New York Giants, in the first all-New York World Series. Baseball was at a crossroads, as two competing styles of play fought for the future of the game and the hearts of New Yorkers.


    Baseball in St. Louis, 1900-1925 (Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2004) 180 rare and revealing photographs, with lively and descriptive stories, convey a feel for and love of baseball in an early era and heartland city, when 21 future members of the Baseball Hall of Fame played for a St. Louis team.

  • Contributions to Books
  • Contributions to Books:

    Sportsman's Park in St. Louis: Home of the Browns and Cardinals at Grand and Dodier, Gregory H. Wolf, editor (Phoenix: Society for American Baseball Research, 2017) Articles on the most significant games played at Sportsman's Park. Including Steve's article on the deciding game of the Little World Series between the St. Louis Browns and the New York Yankees on Sept. 18, 1922, which in effect cost the Browns the American League pennant. Also biographies of the various owners of the Browns and Cardinals, including Steve's bios of "Robert Hedges: Overlooked visionary" and "Phil Ball: Cantankerous Owner; Passionate Fan."

    Scandal on the South Side: The 1919 Chicago White Sox, Jacob Pomrenke, editor (Phoenix: Society for

    The book contains biographies of more than 100 AL stars of the 1901-1919 era. Steve contributed three of them: St. Louis Browns' owner Robert Hedges, the man who hired Branch Rickey; second baseman Del Pratt, called "the greatest clubhouse lawyer baseball ever knew" by The New York Times; andpitcher Ray Caldwell, one of the most colorful and talented ballplayers in the history of the game, whose drinking held him back from greatness.


    Deadball Stars of the American League, Deadball Era Committee of the Society for American Baseball Research, David Jones, editor (Washington, D.C.: Potomac, 2007)

    The book contains biographies of more than 100 AL stars of the 1901-1919 era. Steve contributed three of them: St. Louis Browns' owner Robert Hedges, the man who hired Branch Rickey; second baseman Del Pratt, called "the greatest clubhouse lawyer baseball ever knew" by The New York Times; andpitcher Ray Caldwell, one of the most colorful and talented ballplayers in the history of the game, whose drinking held him back from greatness.


    Deadball Stars of the National League, Deadball Era Committee of the Society for American Baseball Research, Tom Simon, editor (Washington, D.C.: Potomac, 2004)

    The book contains biographies of more than one hundred NL stars of the 1901-1919 era. Steve contributed the story of Spittin' Bill Doak, a spitball pitcher who helped Rawlings design the famous Bill Doak glove in 1920, the first one with a natural web pocket.


    Play It Again: Baseball Experts on What Might Have Been, Jim Bresnahan, editor (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishing, 2006)

    Steve joins other baseball historians and writers, including Bill James and Rob Neyer, as well as former players, including Bob Feller and Brooks Robinson. They look at major events throughout the history of the game and speculate on the outcomes, had history taken a different course. A revealing and entertaining book, it adds to the ongoing debates about baseball history. Steve's focus is on the Deadball Era and the 1920s: What if the Boston Red Sox had not traded Babe Ruth? What if the Chicago White Sox had not lost so many star players to the Black Sox controversy? There are just a couple of the topics Steve weighs in on.


    The St. Louis Baseball Reader, Richard Peterson, editor (Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 2006), pages 103-106

    An anthology of the best writing about St. Louis's two baseball teams, the Cardinals and the Browns, and their stars and colorful characters. From the rise of the Cardinals as a powerhouse in the 1920s to their heartbreaking loss in the 1985 World Series, from George Sisler's Browns of the 1920s to the pennant-winning Browns of 1944, from Grover Cleveland Alexander and Rogers Hornsby to Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, and Ozzie Smith.

    Steve is honored to join Baseball Hall of Fame writers Bob Broeg, Red Smith, and Fred Lieb, as well as Roger Angell, John Grisham, George Will, and Whitey Herzog, to capture the magic of St. Louis baseball.

  • Journal Articles
  • Articles:

    "Pitchers in Pinstripes: Unheralded Stars of the 1920s," New York Yankees Official 2006 Yearbook, pages 474-494

    In the 1920s, as in the 1990s and today, the great Yankees sluggers garner the headlines. Yet the solid pitching of the Yankees has made all those pennants possible. The focus here is on 13 pitchers, from Hall-of-Famers Waite Hoyt and Herb Pennock, to lesser-known hurlers, including Bob Shawkey, Urban Shocker, and George Pipgras.


    "Heralding Hug: The First Great Yankees Manager," New York Yankees Official 2005 Yearbook, pp. 246-268; YANKEES Magazine, Summer 2005, Vol. 26-5, pages 124-134

    Miller Huggins was the New York Yankees manager who laid the foundation for future Yankee greatness. Here is the story of his success, the enormous obstacles he overcame and the inner strengths and genius that he drew on.


    "Roaring Race: Yanks Took 1922 Pennant after Epic Battle with the St. Louis Browns," New York Yankees Official Playoff Program, 2005, pages 70-86

    The Yankees overcame Babe Ruth's suspension and won that pennant by a mere one game over George Sisler, Urban Shocker, and the Browns, after taking the fiercely fought "Little World Series" in St. Louis in late September.


    "Miller Huggins: The St. Louis Years," St. Louis Cardinals GAMEDAY Magazine (not yet published)

    Before managing the Yankees, Huggins was a second baseman and then player-manager for the St. Louis Cardinals. He led them to two surprising third-place finishes under severe budgetary constraints. It was here that he began to develop his management style and leadership skills.


    "Cardinals' Opening Day, 1912," Gateway, Quarterly Magazine of the Missouri Historical Society, Volume 25, No. 3, Winter 2004-5, pages 46-53

    Recently identified photos and the story behind them, when the St. Louis Cardinals had the first female owner of a major league sports team, Helene Britton, known as "Lady Bee."


    "The Cardinals' First Great Pennant Race," St. Louis Cardinals GAMEDAY Magazine, 2004, Number 7, pages 40-51

    "1908's Forgotten Team: The Pittsburgh Pirates," Baseball Research Journal, Volume 47, No. 2, (Phoenix: Society for American Baseball Research, Fall 2018), pages 103-111. The 1908 National League pennant race is remembered for the infamous Merkle game and the New York Giants losing to the Chicago Cubs in the season's final game. But there was a third team in that race, which like the Giants also finished just one game out of first place. Led by the mighty Honus Wagner and one of his greatest seasons, the Pirates were in the three-way race until their last game. This article also explores the league ruling that could have resulted in a three-way tie for first place.

    The story of the 1914 pennant race, when the St. Louis Cardinals—with a small payroll and no big stars—surprised the baseball world in a three-way battle with the New York Giants and the ultimate pennant winners, the Miracle Boston Braves.

    This article also appeared as "The Summer of '14: Almost a Miracle" in the Baseball Research Journal, Number 36 (Cleveland: Society for American Baseball Research, 2007), pages 7-12


    "The Colonel and Hug: The Odd Couple . . . Not Really," Baseball Research Journal, Volume 44, No. 2 (Phoenix: Society for American Baseball Research, 2015), pages 86-92

    Jacob Ruppert, the wealthy and urbane owner of the New York Yankees, and Miller Huggins, his modest Midwestern manager, seemed like complete opposites. Yet they had much in common, traits that helped them build the Yankees into a winning franchise.


    "Horace Fogel: The Man Who Knew (and Talked) Too Much," Base Ball, A Journal of the Early Game, Volume 6, No. 2 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, Fall 2012)

    The story of the 1914 pennant race, when the St. Louis Cardinals—with a small payroll and no big stars—surprised the baseball world in a three-way battle with the New York Giants and the ultimate pennant winners, the Miracle Boston Braves.

    Horace Fogel, the president of the Philadelphia Phillies, was expelled and banned from the National League for making charges of corruption, favoritism, and fixed games. This article takes a close look at Fogel and suggests he was an honorable man, victim of an organization that wanted to sweep its problems "under the rug," rather than confront them.


    "The St. Paul-New York Underground Railroad," The National Pastime, 2012 (Phoenix: Society for American Baseball Research), pp. 38-43.

    The story of the close working relationship between the New York Yankees and the minor league St. Paul Saints for player development and acquisition. This began when former Yankees' scout Bob Connery bought the Saints in early 1925. Not well known at the time was that Yankees' manager Miller Huggins was a silent partner in that purchase of the Saints.


    "Manager Speaker," Baseball Research Journal, Volume 39, No. 1 (Cleveland: Society for American Baseball Research, Summer 2010) pages 49-56

    Hall of Fame outfielder Tris Speaker was the player-manager of the Cleveland Indians from 1919 to 1926 and led them to the 1920 world championship. Often overlooked is his skill in evaluating and acquiring talent, as well as his pioneering in the practice now known as "platooning," rotating left-handed and right-handed hitters in the lineup, based on whether the starting pitcher was a lefty or a righty.


    "1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York," Baseball Research Journal, Volume 38, No. 2 (Cleveland: Society for American Baseball Research, Fall 2009), pages 9-19

    HAn excerpt from the 2010 book of the same title (see above) about the approaching World Series of 1921, pitting John McGraw's New York Giants, the city's favorites for more than a decade, and Babe Ruth's New York Yankees, rising in popularity and on-field success.


    "The 'Little World Series' of 1922: The Most Heartbreaking Loss in St. Louis Baseball History," The National Pastime, Number 28 (Cleveland: Society for American Baseball Research, 2008), pages 7-14

    Perhaps the greatest St. Louis Browns' team of all time, the 1922 club led by George Sisler and Urban Shocker fell just one game short of the Yankees and the American League pennant. In mid-September, the two teams met for a three-game series in St. Louis with the Browns only one-half game out. After splitting the first two games, the Browns led 2-0 in the eighth inning of the final, only to have five bad breaks allow the Yanks to win, 3-2.


    "A Shocker on the Island," The National Pastime (Cleveland: Society for American Baseball Research, 2008) pages 118-119

    In the summer of 1916, the New York Yankees sent rookie pitcher Urban Shocker to the Toronto Maple Leafs minor league team, which played on the idyllic Toronto Island. Shocker's sensational 15-3 season there included a record scoreless inning streak and the lowest ever earned run average in the highest level of minor league.


    "Spitballing to the Hall of Fame: Colorful Contemporaries Help Pave Coveleski's Way to Majors," Rain Check: Baseball in the Pacific Northwest (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2006), pages 34-43

    Future Hall-of-Fame spitball pitcher Stan Coveleski spent three years in the Northwest, 1913-1915 in Spokane and Portland. This is not simply the story of his rise to the Bigs, but also that of Northwest baseball and the men who starred in it, and their relationship with the majors.


    "The Curse of the Hurlers," Baseball Research Journal, Number 35 (Cleveland: Society for American Baseball Research, 2006), pages 63-73

    A close look at the enormous exodus of pitching talent from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees in the late Teens and early 1920s, which may have meant more to the Yankees' success than the acquisition of Babe Ruth. These one-sided trades, called by some "The Rape of the Red Sox," were actually considered equitable at the time they were made.


    "The Face of Baseball: Photo Selections from the Detroit and Cleveland Public Libraries," The National Pastime, Number 25 (Cleveland: Society for American Baseball Research, 2005), pages 38-46

    A look at two remarkable and overlooked early 20th century collections, including the one that broadcaster Ernie Harwell donated to the Detroit Public Library.


    "George Grantham Bain: Pioneer of News Photography," The National Pastime, Number 24 (Cleveland: Society for American Baseball Research, 2004), pages 33-40

    A look at the man who started photojournalism, before the more famous news services, including a number of exquisite Bain baseball images of the early 20th century.


    "The Spitball and the End of the Deadball Era," The National Pastime, Number 23 (Cleveland: Society for American Baseball Research, 2003), pages 7-17

    An in-depth look at the infamous illegal pitch, its background and history, from the perspective of a watershed year for baseball, 1920, the start of the Lively Ball Era and the outlawing of this and other "trick" pitches.


    "Dave Danforth: Baseball's Forrest Gump," The National Pastime, Number 22 (Cleveland: Society for American Baseball Research, 2002), pages 50-54

    A study of the controversial pitcher of the 1910s and 1920s, who was accused of throwing virtually every illegal pitch, yet was never caught throwing any of them.


    "Urban Shocker: Free Agency in 1923," The National Pastime, Number 20 (Cleveland: Society for American Baseball Research, 2000), pages 121-123

    The remarkable battle of the terrific and temperamental spitball pitcher with the best name in baseball history, as he fought for women's rights and his own freedom, decades before Free Agency.


    "World War I and Free Agency: The Fateful 1918 Battle for Jack Quinn," NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture, Volume 16, No. 2 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, Spring 2008), pages 84-92

    In 1918, a tumultuous time when the nation was at war and the baseball season was shortened, both the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox claimed the rights to spitball pitcher Jack Quinn. When baseball's governing body awarded Quinn to the Yankees, it was the final rupture to the relationship of American League President Ban Johnson and Charles Comiskey, the powerful White Sox's owner.


    "Matty and the Browns: A Window onto the AL-NL War (1901-1902)," NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture, Volume 14, No. 2 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, Spring 2006), pages 102-117

    The forgotten story of Christy Mathewson's signing an ironclad contract with the St. Louis Browns in the summer of 1902, and how the Browns gave up the star pitcher as part of the peace settlement between the American and National Leagues in January, 1903. This article received the 2007 McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award.


    "For the Good of the Game, 1923," NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture, Volume 19, No. 1 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, Fall 2010), pages 108-118

    The story of the controversy swirling around the 1923 St. Louis Browns, whose pitcher, Dave Danforth, was suspended for throwing illegal pitches, and whose manager, Lee Fohl, was fired in the resulting fallout. In this creative piece, the mystery of Danforth and the decency of Fohl are woven together in the story of a ballclub in disarray.


    "Back Where I Belong," NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture, Volume 11, No. 2 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, Spring 2003), pages 162-167

    A story revolving around spitball pitcher Urban Shocker, who lost his battle with heart disease shortly after winning 37 games for the great 1926 and 1927 New York Yankees. In this creative piece, Shocker is reunited with Yankee manager Miller Huggins, who has just re-acquired Shocker in a late 1924 trade.

    Ordering Journal Articles:

    You can subscribe to NINE (published semiannually) or order single issues of NINE from the University of Nebraska Press, by calling (402) 472-8536 or by going on-line here.

    You can order back issues of SABR Journals, BASEBALL RESEARCH JOURNAL and THE NATIONAL PASTIME from the University of Nebraska Press, by calling (402) 472-8536 or by going on-line here or here

  • Book Reviews
  • Book Reviews:

    August "Garry" Herrmann: A Baseball Biography by William A. Cook (Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishing), NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture, Volume 17, No. 2, Spring 2009, pages 148-150

    A review of the biography of the longtime president and owner of the Cincinnati Reds (1902-1927) and president of Major League baseball's governing body, the National Commission (1903-1920). This book also offers a revealing look into the early 20th-century Cincinnati political machine of George B. "Boss" Cox, of which Herrmann was a key figure.


    Greatness in Waiting: An Illustrated History of the New York Yankees, 1903-1919 by Ray Istorico, Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishing, 2008, in The Inside Game, The Official Newsletter of SABR's Deadball Era Committee, Vol. 9, No. 2, May 2009, pages 5-6

    A review of a photo-laden book that takes a close look at look at the pre-Babe Ruth Yankees. It is a fascinating look at a struggling franchise, one that was near the bottom of the standings most years.


    The UnforgettableSeason by G.H. Fleming. Jefferson, NC: Bison Books, 2006 (originally published in 1981), in The Inside Game, The Official Newsletter of SABR's Deadball Era Committee, Vol. 7, No. 2, May 2007, pages 6-7

    Fleming's classic look at the dramatic 1908 season, when the Chicago Cubs won the NL pennant in a playoff game with the New York Giants, after the famous "Merkle" game. In the AL, just 1.5 games separated the pennant-winning Detroit Tigers from the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. Fleming uses the words of 1908's sportswriters to tell the story and capture the bygone era.


    Back issues of both The National Pastime and NINE can be ordered from the University of Nebraska Press, (800) 755-1105 or www.nebraskapress.unl.edu

  • Websites
  • Websites:

    The Bio Project, www.bioproj.sabr.org, Mark Armour, editor. This is a vast undertaking of The Society for American Baseball Research, which aims to have on-line biographies of everyone connected with major league baseball. Steve Steinberg has contributed profiles of Phil Ball, Ray Caldwell, Bob Connery, Dave Danforth, Bill Doak, Robert Lee Hedges, and Del Pratt. These bios are more in-depth than those appearing in the Deadball Stars books. Steve will later be contributing other profiles, including those of Lee Fohl and Miller Huggins.


    Find out more about Steve's baseball writings and research, especially the spitball, on his web site, www.stevesteinberg.net

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