Handsome Ransom Jackson (eBook)

Accidental Big Leaguer

Ransom Jackson Jr. (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2016
288 Seiten
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (Verlag)
978-1-4422-6155-6 (ISBN)

Infos

This book is the autobiography of “Handsome Ransom” Jackson, all-star third baseman in the 1950s. Jackson shares his memorable moments in the sport, from playing with Ernie Banks and Jackie Robinson to becoming the last Brooklyn player to hit a home run before the team moved to L.A.

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Millions of America's youth dream of playing major league baseball or in a college bowl game on New Year's Day. Growing up in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Ransom Jackson had no idea that one day he would not only play in back-to-back Cotton Bowls for two different colleges-the first and only player to do so-but that he would also become known as "e;Handsome Ransom,"e; all-star third baseman for the Chicago Cubs. He was in Chicago in 1953 when Ernie Banks became the first African American to play for the Cubs. He was in Brooklyn in 1956, the year Jackie Robinson retired. In 1957, Jackson was the last Brooklyn player to hit a home run before the team moved to LA. Jackson's major league career spanned the entire decade of the 1950s, a time when the landscape of baseball changed dramatically as teams moved to new cities, built new stadiums, and integrated their rosters.Handsome Ransom Jackson: Accidental Big Leaguer is an autobiographical account of Jackson's fascinating journey from his boyhood days in Arkansas to playing in the major leagues, where many of his teammates were future Hall of Famers. It's a fun and nostalgic visit to the past, with Jackson sharing such memories as spring training with the Cubs on Catalina Island, befriending a Mafia boss in Massachusetts, batting behind Hank Sauer and getting knocked down by pitchers retaliating for Sauer's home runs, rooming with Don Drysdale on an historic baseball tour of Japan, and sitting in the dugout in LA with Dodger teammates looking for movie stars in the stands. In addition, Jackson remembers being brought to Brooklyn to take over third base for the aging Jackie Robinson, and quickly discovering that nobody replaces a legend like Jackie. While many of the players from the 1950s are no longer with us, Jackson's invaluable and timeless stories celebrate the greatness of the game and preserve a sliver of history from the heart of the golden age of baseball. Featuring many never-before-published photographs from Ransom Jackson's personal collection, including photos of Dodger and Cub greats Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Carl Erskine, Ralph Kiner, and Ernie Banks, Handsome Ransom Jackson will take the reader back to an era when baseball was truly the national pastime.

Autor

Ransom Jackson Jr. was a professional baseball player for twelve years, ten in the majors. He played for the Chicago Cubs (1950-55 and 1959), the Dodgers in Brooklyn (1956-57) and Los Angeles (1958), and the Cleveland Indians (1958-59). He played in two Major League Baseball All-Star games and the 1956 World Series. Jackson also played three years of college football at Texas Christian University and the University of Texas, during which he competed in two Cotton Bowl Classics. Gaylon H. White was a sportswriter for the Denver Post, Arizona Republic and Oklahoma Journal before working in the corporate world for nearly forty years. He is the author of The Bilko Athletic Club: The Story of the 1956 Los Angeles Angels (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014), called “one of the best sports books of 2014” by the Chicago Daily Herald.

Inhalt

Foreword by Roger CraigPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: Early Years and the Minor LeaguesChapter 1: Ransom as in HandsomeChapter 2: Adventures with BubbaChapter 3: Accidental Big LeaguerChapter 4: The Amazing Bobby LayneChapter 5: From Conroe to the CubsChapter 6: Training with the GoatsChapter 7: Field of DreamsChapter 8: Almost ThereChapter 9: New Kid in TownChapter 10: Big Nose Sam, the Baseball FanPart II: The Big LeaguesChapter 11: Who’s on Third?Chapter 12: The Power of Chocolate DonutsChapter 13: Batting behind the MayorChapter 14: Hot Time in the GardenChapter 15: Fire and MoneyChapter 16: Making Waves on WavelandChapter 17: One of a KindChapter 18: A History-Making WalkChapter 19: Wasting Away in WrigleyvilleChapter 20: If You Can’t Beat ’Em, Join ’EmChapter 21: Jackie and MeChapter 22: A Masterpiece (and a Fluke)Chapter 23: Kings in JapanChapter 24: Bummer of a SeasonChapter 25: The Day the Music DiedChapter 26: Star Watching in L.A.Chapter 27: Detour to ClevelandChapter 28: Back Where I StartedPart III: Life After BaseballChapter 29: Where Can You Go from There?Chapter 30: I’m No JoeChapter 31: My Friend, DadChapter 32: The Lady in the Yellow Tennis DressChapter 33: My First LoveChapter 34: Pilgrimage to Wrigley FieldPart IV: Ransom ThoughtsChapter 35: One for the BookChapter 36: The Man from MarsChapter 37: My RoomiesChapter 38: Of Power Pitchers and Powder PuffsChapter 39: The Cheating GameChapter 40: Heaven on EarthChapter 41: The Bat That GlowedChapter 42: A Fishing Tale That’s Mostly TrueChapter 43: Remembering “The Galloping Ghost”Chapter 44: Shoeless Joe and Other JacksonsChapter 45: Where Have All the Jackies Gone?StatisticsNotesBibliographyIndexAbout the Authors

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 19.5.2016
• Co-Autor: Gaylon H. White
• Zusatzinfo: 37 Illustrations including: - 36 Halftones, Black & White including Black & White Photographs; - 1 Tables.
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Sport ► Ballsport
• Schlagworte: Randy Jackson Jr.
• ISBN-10: 1-4422-6155-2 / 1442261552
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4422-6155-6 / 9781442261556