Mr. Rickey's Redbirds: Baseball, Beer, Scandals & Celebrations in St. Louis

St.Louis cardinals.

My days as a passionate fan of a single baseball team are far behind me. I love the romance of the game's past far more than the launch angles and "WAR" of the modern game. Create for me a taste of nostalgia as you educate me on classic baseball topics and I'm hooked. And that's what "Mr. Rickey's Redbirds" does.You don't have to be from St. Louis and you don't have to love the Cardinals to get a kick out of this well-researched, in-depth walk through baseball history. And if you thought you knew all there was to know about Branch Rickey -- the man who signed Jackie Robinson to break baseball's color barrier -- you're likely in for a surprise. I know I was. When I've heard the name Rickey, I've always thought "Dodgers," and for good reason. But his history in St. Louis is much longer and more fascinating than I ever realized.If you have an interest in how baseball -- and one brilliant executive -- can impact a city and its entire culture, this is a book for you. If you're a sucker for scene-setting details that illuminate a story -- I'd never considered the fact that the Battle of Little Big Horn was fought AFTER the founding of the National League -- this is a book for you. And if you happen to actually be a Cardinals fan or a native of St. Louis, well, this is certainly a must-have for the bookshelf.If you've ever loved baseball and still have a longing for what it once was, do yourself a favor and give this book a read. Heck, a quote from the film, "Field of Dreams," better sums up the reasons to buy this book than I ever could:"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again."Amen.

Author Mike Mitchell has covered a tremendous amount of St. Louis baseball history in addition to information on the Black Sox scandal and Babe Ruth anecdotes as well. Everything from Chris Von der Ahe, known as Der Poss Bresident and the St. Louis Browns, the turbulent life of Rogers Hornsby, the temper tantrums of owner Gussie Busch, Miller Huggins, and, of course, the incomparable Branch Rickey are just some of the individuals included in this voluminous tomb.Hornsby was one who never placed a filter on his words and quickly wore out his welcome either as a player or a coach with the Cardinals, Giants, Braves, Browns, and Mets. Hornsby said his greatest thrill in baseball took place when he placed the tag on a sliding Babe Ruth attempting to steal second base to end the 1926 World Series. The Rajah said he got along with McGraw in New York but that's all. Frankie Frisch, on the other hand, went on to become what Bob Broeg called "The Pilot Light of the Gashouse Gang."With Branch Rickey it was either a love or hate relationship with him. Tim McCarver said he "despised the man" for insulting him. Rickey, known for his expertise in judging ballplayers struck out on his judgment on Yogi Berra and for a paltry amount of $250 eventually lost him to the New York Yankees. It was not a pretty site to watch Rickey mesmerize a rival general manager in trade talk.I especially liked the part on the Cardinals from the 1964 World Series onward because I remember following that so well by placing my transistor radio on our wall telephone and using that for an antennae listening to Harry Caray and Jack Buck bring all of the action on KMOX radio and all of the turmoil in the front office following the World Series. I also remember listening to Mr. Rickey's last speech on the radio in Columbia, Missouri, in which he stated "I don't believe I am able to speak any longer" when he was beginning to tell a story on the courage of Pepper Martin.This book is loaded with anecdotes on numerous individuals throughout the decades right up until today. The appropriate footnotes appear at the end of each chapter. It's going to take a while to get through this book. I would read a few chapters, then go on to another book, and come back to this one. It is very well researched and contains twenty pages of photographs.

Mike Mitchell did a fine job of pulling together a very complex historical narrative and making it intelligible. An enjoyable and informative read.

As someone who is associated with this book, it isn't appropriate for me to do a reader review, but I'll take the opportunity to offer guidance for those coming here to see if this book is right for them. If you like history and baseball and good yarns, you will like this book. It is credible and well-researched. It is filled with anecdotes and insights. You don't have to be a St. Louis Cardinals fan to enjoy it. Branch Rickey provides the book its foundation, but he is just one of multiple main characters. The book is as much about Rogers Hornsby and Babe Ruth as it is about Rickey. You also get insights into people as diverse as Al Capone and Charles Lindbergh. There is no hero-worshipping in this book. It reveals facts, not myths, and does so in a compelling and accurate manner. I enjoyed it.

Too long, too much meandering off course, too much information. This book is a hard-work-read. I was so hoping to enjoy this book but I can’t recommend it — and I am a lifelong Cardinal fan!