by Norman L. Macht
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Product Description
Connie Mack (1862–1956) was the Grand Old Man of baseball and one of the game’s first true celebrities. This book, spanning the first fifty-two years of Mack’s life, through 1914, covers his experiences as player, manager, and club owner and will stand as the definitive biography of baseball’s most legendary and beloved figure. Norman L. Macht chronicles Mack’s little-known beginnings. He tells how Mack, a school dropout at fourteen, created strategies for winning baseball and principles for managing men long before there were notions of defining such subjects. And he details how Mack, a key figure in the launching of the American League in 1901, won six of the league’s first fourteen pennants while serving as manager, treasurer, general manager, traveling secretary, and public relations and scouting director (all at the same time) for the Philadelphia Athletics. This book brings to life the unruly origins of baseball as a sport and a business. It also provides the first complete and accurate picture of a character who was larger than life and yet little known: the tricky, rule-bending catcher; the peppery field leader and fan favorite; the hot-tempered young manager. Illustrated with family photographs never before published, it affords unique insight into a colorful personality who helped shape baseball as we know it today. (20071126)
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
The Tall Tactician and the Early Years of Baseball, 2008-09-27
Norman Macht is among the very best baseball biography writers. This book, covering Connie Mack's life from birth through 1915, is the most thoroughly researched book on Mack ever written. While little information exists about Mack's childhood, Macht manages 17 pages on the topic, and weaves themes from childhood into characteristics encountered many times over in adulthood (e.g., providing financial support to family members). With respect to baseball, Macht covers many angles, such as Mack's evolution in managerial style, his early contributions to the art of managing pitchers, his dugout demeanor, and of course the world titles of 1910, 1911, and 1913. We also get some interesting nuggets on Christy Mathewson not often heard elsewhere. While there are few photos for a book of this size (18 in over 600 pages), the text flows easily and isn't stretched thin by excessive game details. If you enjoy this genre and the early years of baseball, this is an essential addition to your library, and a fun read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A must read for anyone interested in baseball history, 2008-05-02
After researching Connie Mack for more than 20 years, author Norman Macht definitely knows his subject. Macht masterfully weaves the story of Mack and the early years of baseball in this 675-page biography, which covers the time from Mack's birth in 1862 through 1914.
Mack is the ideal subject to use to tell about baseball's early years because he was involved, in one way or another, in virtually every development. Macht chronicles Mack's childhood, his family, his days as a player and manager.
Macht spends much of the first part of the book dispelling myths about baseball's early years and Mack.
As a catcher, Mack was underrated. Writer Hugh Fullerton described him as a "better hitter than credited and dangerous in the pinch. He was a perfect backstop; cool, unhurried, deadly in throwing."
Wilbert Robinson called him "a little tin god behind the plate."
Macht writes that "It's difficult to reconcile the later image of Mack the public remembers--dignified, kind and soft-spoken--with the sharp-tongued, hot-headed manager of the 1890s, which he was."
Macht does an excellent job of capturing what the times were like, both on and off the field. A reader will learn a lot about the issues of the times and how the rules changed during baseball's early years.
Macht is extremely knowledgeable about the personalities of the players associated with Mack. He has a habit of adding little details, insight and color that bring the players to life. He does the same with Mack's family life. You truly feel you are in Mack's shoes.
While Macht is a noted baseball historian, he is also an excellent writer. He avoids the pitfall of getting bogged down in too many details, and he tells the story in an easy-to-read manner.
Although Macht explains why his book doesn't have a bibliography or footnotes, their absence is disappointing, particularly since Macht is a baseball historian.
Macht plans a second volume which will cover 1915 through Mack's death.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 A Delight For the Serious Baseball Historian, 2008-03-28
Mr. Macht has done a scholarly job. This biography is thoroughly researched and presented in a style that is organized and interesting. Mr. Macht probes not only the business and baseball facets of Connie Mack, but includes the portions of Mack's personal and private life that contribute to a greater understanding of the man and the time. For those who enjoy baseball within a cultural and historical context, this is a delight.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
These Stars ARE for Norman Macht, 2008-03-04
This trove of valuable information and entertaining stories is must-read material for those who want to know about the old Philadelphia Athletics and Connie Mack's pre-eminent role in baseball history. A salient and exhaustive examination of the teams he built and the dynasty he started, this book was written with an authority only Norman Macht could have brought to the task.
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
From the Great-Niece of The Grand Old Man of Baseball!, 2008-02-16
This reviewer gives Mr. Macht's book on Connie Mack five stars. . .not for
the author but to honor the subject of this book. In all the years that
this legend of baseball was part of my family's life, I never heard him
utter an unkind word or anything approaching profanity. The A's had
their ups and downs and, in the down times, Uncle Con had no choice but
to trade some of his stars so that the club itself might survive. Uncle
Con was a loving and generous gentleman, adored by his children, grand-
children, great-grandchildren, and now another Connie Mack, the FIFTH, has joined the family. The Philadelphia A's are memorable for their
nine pennants and five world series championships. Readers: Kindly note
that the five stars are for Connie Mack, not for Norman L. Macht.
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