Standing the Gaff
The Life and Hard Times of a Minor League Umpire
Harry Johnson(Author)
University of Nebraska Press
Published on 1. February 1994
Book
Paperback/Softback
148 pages
978-0-8032-7579-9 (ISBN)
Description
Harry "Steamboat" Johnson brought to early baseball great integrity and a pugnacious style. Toughness-being able to "stand the gaff"-was essential during his long career afs an umpire. From 1909 to 1935 Johnson umpired in exhibition games and minor leagues (except for the 1914 season in the National League) from Los Angeles to Toronto. When fans screamed "Kill the umpire!" he responded he'd rather die on a baseball field than anywhere else. With disarming directness and humor, Steamboat Johnson tells what it was like umpiring for various leagues (the wild Western was nicknamed "101 Ranch"), being on the road (lonely because umpires could not fraternize with players), and getting into all sorts of jams (he once took on Ty Cobb in a 1922 exhibition game between the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals). "Standing the gaff" meant surviving the wrath of players-and of fans, who hurled insults and pop bottles. After a game, Steamboat would be escorted to his hotel by the police. Johnson instructs would-be umpires, answers questions from fans, and names the best players he ever saw. Until now, Standing the Gaff, originally published in 1935, has been hard to find.
This Bison Book edition makes it available to buffs and social historians and those curious about baseball in its rowdy adolescence. In a new introduction, Larry R. Gerlach tells more about Steamboat's life.
This Bison Book edition makes it available to buffs and social historians and those curious about baseball in its rowdy adolescence. In a new introduction, Larry R. Gerlach tells more about Steamboat's life.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Lincoln
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Illus.
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Weight
227 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8032-7579-9 (9780803275799)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Larry R. Gerlach is a professor of history at the University of Utah and the author of The Men in Blue: Conversations with Umpires, also a Bison Book.