Anticipating the animosity between the Brooklyn Dodgers and his own team, Giants player Mickey Rawlings is nevertheless surprised when Florence Hampton, the widow of Dodgers owner William Daley, is murdered after an important game

In 1924, fourteen-year-old Bobby Franks was abducted while walking home from school, killed by a chisel blow to his head, and later found stuffed in a culvert in a marshy wasteland at the Illinois-Indiana state line. Acid had been poured over his naked body. Evil Summer examines the shocking kidnapping and murder of Franks by two University of Chicago students, Nathan “Babe” Leopold and Richard “Dickie” Loeb, both from families of privilege. In this new examination of the crime, author John Theodore takes readers into the minds of the two criminals as he focuses on three months in 1924. Theodore covers the killing, the confessions, the defense, and the sentencing surrounding the horrific murder, placing the killers’ actions and Clarence Darrow’s historic defense into the context of 1920s Chicago. Theodore deftly investigates the psychological dimensions of the crime, revealing the murderers’ fantasies, relationships, sexuality, and motives. The author examines the killers’ past, outlining Loeb’s obsession with detective fiction and crime and his editorial on random killing—written at age nine—and Leopold’s nightly master-slave fantasies and fascination with Nietzsche. Evil Summer, which includes twenty-three illustrations, meticulously traces the murder from inception to confession, including such details as the special-delivery ransom letter sent to Jacob Franks and the discovery of Leopold’s horn-rimmed eyeglasses lying on a railroad embankment near Bobby’s dead body. Theodore re-creates such scenes as the convergence of hundreds of people in front of the Franks home, Bobby’s body lying in a small white casket in the library, and Loeb being voyeuristically drawn to the home while Bobby’s classmates carry the casket to the hearse. Worldwide press coverage reflected the public fascination with the case in what was then called “the trial of the century.” The story became a media circus: Chicago’s six daily newspapers battled vigorously for readers, two Daily News cub reporters became part of the story, and the Chicago Tribune carried a voting ballot asking readers whether radio station WGN should broadcast the courtroom spectacle. The changing drama was delivered to Chicagoans every morning and evening, and the public feasted on every press run. More than a crime story, Evil Summer illuminates the dark side of American life in the 1920s, including the excesses of privileged youth, the troubled childhoods, the random victimization, the anti-Semitism, and the sexuality.

When we think of baseball, we think of sunny days and leisurely outings at the ballpark--rarely do thoughts of death come to mind. Yet during the game's history, hundreds of players, coaches and spectators have died while playing or watching the National Pastime. In its second edition, this ground-breaking study provides the known details for 150 years of game-related deaths, identifies contributing factors and discusses resulting changes to game rules, protective equipment, crowd control and stadium structures and grounds. Topics covered include pitched and batted-ball fatalities, weather and field condition accidents, structural failures, fatalities from violent or risky behavior and deaths from natural causes.

What grandstand collapsed during a game, killing twelve? How high is the Green monster in Fenway? In what park was the outfield fence only 187 feet from home plate? Ballparks of North America is a comprehensive encyclopedia of the grounds, yards and stadiums used for organized baseball from the invention of the sport in the 1840s to the year 1988. Entries, listed alphabetically by community, cover everything from cornfields to Yankee Stadium. Each entry gives the location of the park, who played there and when, home run dimensions, seating capacity, architectural comments, attendance records, and anecdotes. More than 100 photos and drawings are included, some rare.

A Red Sox rookie is accused of murder in the first Mickey Rawlings historical mystery “that will leave readers eager for subsequent innings” (Publishers Weekly). Boston, 1912. Fenway has just opened, Ty Cobb is a nationwide sensation, and rookie Mickey Rawlings has finally made it to the majors. But just when he sets foot inside the confines of the green monster, his all-star dreams come crashing down—Rawlings is fingered for the monstrous murder of his teammate Red Corriden. Sure, someone decided to use Red for batting practice. But just because Rawlings has fouled off a lot of balls in his time doesn’t mean the cops have to be as blind as a rookie ump when it comes to his innocence. With no one watching his back, Rawlings has no choice but to switch his baseball cap for a sleuthing hat to clear his name. Otherwise, it’s going to be a short season in the majors and a long one behind bars . . . “Equal parts baseball and mystery are the perfect proportion.” —Robert Parker “Soos’ delightful debut, mixing suspense, period detail and such legendary baseball greats as Cobb, Walter Johnson, Smokey Joe Wood and Tris Speaker, is a four-bagger.” —Publishers Weekly

★★★★★ As a fan of high-action espionage thrillers, you will eat this one up! Full of 1950's tough guys and dames, this mystery/thriller is, for the most part, set in the borough of Kings: Brooklyn!" ★★★★★ "I love private eye books and this one delivered. There is excitement, intrigue, murder, sex, mystery, all the things that make up a good detective story." ★★★★★ "Throughout the book I questioned whether it was fiction or non-fiction. I would call it "embelished" non-fiction, with facts and fiction being wonderfully interwoven." Jake McHenry spent five years in Germany after Hitler's War, and came back laden with ill-gotten Nazi riches. Back home in Brooklyn, he became a private detective because he needed a pretend job to hide the source of his riches. Mostly, however, he went to most Brooklyn Dodgers games at Ebbets Field and drank beer. Then Joe McCarthy entered the picture. Tailgunner Joe wanted Jake to steal a secret list of celebrity American communists from the Ice Queen, a rich high-society commie named Arabella Van Dyk. The Ice Queen also happened to be the most beautiful woman that Jake had ever seen. The break-in of the Ice Queen's brownstone in Manhattan was easy, but it unleashed Russians, North Koreans, J. Edgar Hoover, mobsters and one stunningly beautiful spy in a wild chase for the list of celebrity commies. In the background is the greatest pennant race in the history of Major League Baseball. It's 1951 and the New York Giants chased the Brooklyn Dodgers for the National League Pennant. That's the year that Bobby Thompson hit the "shot heard 'round the world." The pennant--and Jake's life--came down to the last inning and the last pitch at the Polo Grounds in New York City on Wednesday, October 3, 1951. Red Chaser is fun, it's 1950s noir, it's Brooklyn, it keeps you guessing, and just when you think you've figured it all out, you find out you've figured wrong. Have fun reading Red Chaser today.

The Dodgers' final game in Brooklyn was played on September 24th, 1957. From the author of "The Giants of The Polo Grounds," here's a thoughtful entertaining new account of that last game played by the Brooklyn Dodgers at baseball's fabled Ebbets Field. 'The Final Game At Ebbets Field' starts this unique collection of true baseball stories. Photographs and a treasure trove of new insights and details accompany this newly researched account. The book continues with a lively assemblage of true major league stories from the golden age of baseball, focusing on New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Brooklyn, with a touch of San Francisco at the conclusion. We meet the fascinating men and women of the first half of the 20th Century. We get to know the people and places of a colorful bygone time: back when there were sixteen teams and hundreds of legendary players. Meet, for example, the family that lived at a ballpark in New York, the female Olympic swimmer who became the pitcher and captain of the New York Female Giants. Spend time with championship Boston Red Sox team that featured the greatest everyday outfield ever. Go back to the day when John Dillinger played professional baseball and Al Capone asked a Chicago player for an autograph, a request that was not to be refused. Fly a single engine plane with Ruth Law, the skilled aviatrix who dropped a grapefruit from an airplane on the Brooklyn manager. Relive the torments of the A's owner who erected a spiteful wall in Philadelphia to prevent neighborhood fans from seeing his team's games.All these true stories and more are contained here, told in the wry amusing style of Noel Hynd, a former contributor to Sports Illustrated.'The Final Game at Ebbets Field' is an insightful romp through some of American baseball's quirkiest events. It's a memorable read! Come join us on a road trip into baseball's most colorful times.Praise for Noel Hynd's "The Giants of The Polo Grounds"......"A compelling and comprehensive history of an extraordinary ball club." - New York Times"Grandly digressive! The owners, stars like Mathewson and Mays, various eccentric players are all here in this vivid history by Sports Illustrated contributor Hynd." - Publishers' Weekly"Fans of all ages will treasure the crazy quilt text for its stylish recall of the game's summer roots." -Kirkus Library Journal"Just plain enjoyable as baseball is supposed to be." - The Pennsylvania GazetteE-book priced in a tribute to Ty Cobb's career batting average. Trade paperback publication, late May 2019.