Sunday,
January 07, 2007
Book: Sal Maglie:
Baseball's Demon Barber by Judith Testa
The
ANNOTICO Report
Salvatore
Anthony Maglie (April 26, 1917-December 28, 1992) Maglie had the distinction of being one of the few players
to play for all three NYC baseball teams, (Giants, Yankees, and Dodgers) and
also pitched for the Cleveland Indians and St Louis Cardinals.
Maglie was known as "Sal
the Barber," because he gave close shaves - that is, pitched inside to
hitters. "When I'm pitching," he explained, "I own the
plate." Coincidentally, he also sported a five o'clock shadow look.
Maglie was integral to the
brilliant success of the New York Giant teams of the early 1950's. In 1950, he
went 18-4 for the Giants and led the NL in winning percentage. His 23-6 mark
the next year helped
A back
ailment reduced Maglie's effectiveness in 1955. He
was waived to
Sal
was
the Dodgers' pitcher opposing Don Larsen of the Yankees in the latter's famous
perfect game of the 1956 World Series. Maglie won 119
games and lost 62, with an ERA of 3.15, over his career.
In 1969, Maglie later became a pitching coach for the Seattle
Pilots team.Jim Bouton's book
profiled Maglie unflatteringly in his book
"Ball Four", although Bouton was known as
an incessant trouble maker at the time,
Hall of Famer Don Drysdale credits Maglie with giving him the ability to pitch inside that
would later make Drysdale a legend. Jim Lonborg, AL Cy Young Award winner
in 1967 also learned to brush hitters back under instruction from Maglie; before that he had been an inconsistant
pitcher.
"Sal
Maglie: Baseball's Demon Barber"
by Judith Testa.
A new
biography about Italian American baseball
player,
Published
by
This
engaging book details the life of Maglie, an
intimidating pitcher who achieved fame in the 1950s while playing for the New
York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Through
wide-ranging research, some of which includes interviews with Maglie's relatives, friends, former teammates, and team
officials, Testa offers a compelling portrait of not
only a baseball player, but that of the son of poor Italian immigrants who
experienced success, pain, and personal tragedy throughout his life.
Donald
Honig, author of Baseball When the Grass Was Real and
Baseball
"Testa's achievement lies in depicting this man as a
complete, full-dimensional human being. The book transcends its genre and is a
first-rate work of literature."
Visit
NIU Press online at www.niupress.niu.edu
Linda
Manning is Marketing Manager of Northern
Illinois University Press,
ph. 815-753-9905: fax 815-753-1845; lmanning2@niu.edu <mailto:lmanning2@niu.edu>
The
ANNOTICO Reports
Can
be Viewed, and are Archived at:
Italia
Italia Mia: http://www.ItaliaMia.com
Annotico
Email: annotico@earthlink.net