Ebbets Field

Ebbets Field is one of the most cherished of baseball's lost ballparks. This book tells the story of Ebbets Field through several feature essays and stories of nearly 100 historic games played there. Relive the historic debut of Jackie Robinson, the 1949 All-Star Game, and the first start by 19-year-old Sandy Koufax-a two-hitter in which he fanned 19 batters. Brooklyn's triumphs and heartbreaks in multiple World Series are here, too, along with Jeff Pfeffer's 18-inning complete game in 1919, and Johnny Vander Meer's second straight no-hitter. These games encompass ample heroics of Cookie Lavagetto, Dolph Camilli, Don Newcombe, Sal Maglie, Babe Herman, and Joe Black. Named after Charles Ebbets, majority owner of the Brooklyn baseball club from 1902 until his death in 1925, Ebbets Field was the home of the Dodgers from 1913 until their relocation to Los Angeles after the 1957 season. Whether they were called the Superbas, the Robins (after skipper Wilbert Robinson) or the Dodgers, the club played over 3,400 games at Ebbets Field, as well as 28 World Series games in nine different postseasons. The games included in this volume reflect every decade in the ballpark's history, from the inaugural regular-season game, against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 9, 1913, to the last one, against the Pittsburgh Pirates, in front of just 6,702 spectators on September 24, 1957. This volume is a collaborative effort of dozens of members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).