Sal Maglie: Baseball's Demon Barber - Hardcover

Testa, Judith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0875803679 ISBN 13: 9780875803678

Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press, 2006

Synopsis

To the batters who faced him, pitcher Sal Maglie looked like the hurler from hell. Tall and sinister in appearance, with glowering dark eyes and a formidable five-oAEclock shadow, the famed righthander earned the nickname \u201cSal the Barber\u201d for his high-inside fastball that cut dangerously close to the batterAEs chin. But Maglie was much more than his intimidating image. This biography provides a colorful, detailed, occasionally shocking, and often moving narrative about the son of poor Italian immigrants who rose far beyond his familyAEs and his own early dreams and became a star pitcher for the New York Giants. He then, at the apex of his career in the mid-1950s, joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. This is the story of a man whose early mediocrity and failures in the minor leagues in no way prefigured his later success and fame. MaglieAEs major league career shines with baseball drama. He was a key player in some of the most dramatic pennant races in baseball history and a participant in several of the sportAEs most famous games. Women found him irresistible, and his first marriage was at times severely strained by his infidelities. Despite his success in baseball, he endured pain, disappointment, and personal tragedy. Through wide-ranging research that includes interviews with MaglieAEs relatives, friends, former teammates, and team officials, as well as newspaper reports, books, and magazines, Judith Testa creates an insightful and compelling portrait of one of baseballAEs most intriguing figures. Baseball fans and people interested in baseball history and in the Italian American experience will discover new insights and a wealth of information in Sal Maglie.

About this title

Product Description:

Unusual book

Review:

"The book reveals as few others have the dual personality of the professional athlete. Testa's achievement lies in depicting this man as a complete, full-dimensional human being. This book transcends its genre and is a first-rate work of literature."--Donald Honig, author of Baseball When the Grass Was Real and Baseball America

"There are few baseball books that delve into the complexity of a man's life in the way that Testa has done with this biography."--Elysian Fields Quarterly

"A very enjoyable read. Testa writes well--at times with brilliance. The real value of this biography is its foray into social history. Few baseball biographies have dared to discuss the sexual or psychological aspects of players' marriages in the manner this work does."--William J. Marshall, author of Baseball's Pivotal Era, 1945-1951

To the batters who faced him, pitcher Sal Maglie looked like the hurler from hell. Tall and sinister in appearance, with glowering dark eyes and a

About this edition

• Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0875803679
• ISBN 13: 9780875803678
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 486