Able to Play: Overcoming Physical Challenges

Good Sports

by Glenn Stout

Able to Play shares the inspiring stories of four baseball players. Mordecai “Three Finger”
Brown, Ron Santo, Jim Abbott, and Curtis Pride faced physical challenges other
players didn’t have. With determination and guts, they didn’t just overcome; they
excelled. This book is a game-changing celebration of overcoming odds.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Biography

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Author of the Jazz Age true crime yarn Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid: America's Original Gangster Couple (2021), NY Times bestseller The Pats: An Illustrated History of the New England Patriots (2018) The Selling of the Babe (2016), Fenway 1912 (2012) and Young Woman the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World (2009) currently set up and in development as a major motion picture for Disney +. (ETA 2021). Since becoming a full-time writer in 1993, Glenn Stout has written, ghostwritten or edited 100 books representing sales in excess of two million copies. Stout is also author of The Cubs, The Dodgers, Nine Months at Ground Zero, Yankees Century, Red Sox Century, and has served as Series Editor of The Best American Sports Writing since its inception. Glenn also consults on a variety of writing projects (books, proposals, Longform narratives). He has won both the Seymour Medal and Ritter Award (twice) by the Society for American Baseball Research, and Yes Se Can! made the 2012 Amelia Bloom list for feminist content. He lives in Vermont.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never patronizing, Able to Play shares the inspiring stories of four baseball players: Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, Ron Santo, Jim Abbott, and Curtis Pride. Each faces physical challenges that, with determination and guts, they didn't just overcome, they excelled. This book is a game-changing celebration of overcoming odds that will appeal to sports fans while simultaneously providing material for research. Fans of Matt Christopher, Dan Gutman, and Mike Lupica will be quick to pick up this volume.


Mordecai Brown lost a finger, Ron Santo debilitating diabetes, one-armed Jim Abbot, and Curtis Pride, had a hearing disability. Stout offers an unvarnished portrayal of the trials these players faced as the result of their disabilities. These range from people staring to people assuming that they wouldn't be able to perform as well able-bodied players.

Kudos to the parents who raised these men with a "can do" attitude. Readers will find the focus on successes rather than weakness or failure, and may come to realize that people with disabilities can still become contributing members of society, with compassion, support, and determination.

[Aaron Lozano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read for Theo and I, he was especially excited to have two Yankees featured. The Ron Santo chapter seemed to leave the biggest impression. Always fun to read with the kiddos!