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Black and Blue: Sandy Koufax, the Robinson Boys, and the World Series That Stunned America
"Richly layered....An entertaining and informative portrait of two underappreciated teams in an unforgettable time."--Boston Sunday Globe
The most surprising World Series ever? Many baseball fans would agree that it was the epic 1966 clash between the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the perennial underdog Baltimore Orioles.
The godlike Sandy Koufax had led the Dodgers to victory in two previous World Series, and had finished the season with twenty-seven wins, a personal best. Few outside Baltimore gave the Orioles - slugger Frank Robinson leading a young team of no-name kids and promising prospects - more than a fighting chance against such series veterans as Koufax, Don Drysdale, Maury Wills, and the rest. Experts were betting that Los Angeles would sweep it in four. What transpired instead astonished the nation, as the greatest pitching performance in World Series history capped a redemption beyond imagining.
"Guaranteed to score a home run." - Essence
"Astonishing. . . . Adelman goes way past the box scores to get information that makes the players more human and the games more dramatic." - San Diego Union-Tribune
" Black and Blue delivers good baseball action, ownerly perfidy, and social context." - Boston Globe
The most surprising World Series ever? Many baseball fans would agree that it was the epic 1966 clash between the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the perennial underdog Baltimore Orioles.
The godlike Sandy Koufax had led the Dodgers to victory in two previous World Series, and had finished the season with twenty-seven wins, a personal best. Few outside Baltimore gave the Orioles - slugger Frank Robinson leading a young team of no-name kids and promising prospects - more than a fighting chance against such series veterans as Koufax, Don Drysdale, Maury Wills, and the rest. Experts were betting that Los Angeles would sweep it in four. What transpired instead astonished the nation, as the greatest pitching performance in World Series history capped a redemption beyond imagining.
"Guaranteed to score a home run." - Essence
"Astonishing. . . . Adelman goes way past the box scores to get information that makes the players more human and the games more dramatic." - San Diego Union-Tribune
" Black and Blue delivers good baseball action, ownerly perfidy, and social context." - Boston Globe
288 pages, Paperback
First published April 3, 2006
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May 16, 2024
"[1966] was an in-between year, overshadowed in popular recollection by what came before and after. It was a season of transition, in the nation as in the 'national pastime,' a time of comings and goings. That year no American arrived more loudly than [Baltimore Orioles outfielder] Frank Robinson, and none would depart more quietly than [Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher] Sandy Koufax." -- on pages 217-218
Author Adelman - a novelist / music critic previously unknown to me - has written an absolute grand slam of a baseball book with his Black and Blue, a bruising title courtesy of the team colors from the opposing clubs - the Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Dodgers - in the somewhat forgotten 1966 World Series. Starting with veteran Frank Robinson's now-ridiculous seeming trade from the Cincinnati Reds to the Orioles - because the Reds owner considered him 'old' at thirty years of age - the author provides some damn near perfect character sketches of the men who would suit up and slug it out during the series. Opposing Robinson and his O's teammates - such as 'Moe' Drabowsky, 'Boog' Powell, 'Little Louie' Aparicio and rookie Jim Palmer - were the considerably more popular LA Dodgers, who had just notched two World Series victories during the previous three seasons. The Dodgers were feared for their ace pitching staff - featuring that golden left arm of Sandy Koufax, Don 'the Big D' Drysdale, and Claude 'Gomer' Osteen - and a talented / experienced crew including Tommy Davis, Jim Gilliam, and Maury Wills. (Also, players used to have such fun nicknames back in the day - just sayin'!) Since the author gives insight / background into these involved men it then really means something once the four games play out in the 'fall classic.' He also smartly mixes in some historical and sociological details from that era which helped set the tone of that bygone time. One particularly illuminating moment was Vice President Hubert Humphrey - who threw out the first pitch in the final game - visiting both teams afterwards in their respective locker rooms. From the recounting the VP acquits himself nicely as a gentleman and (baseball) scholar, notably gently joking with Drysdale to get him to crack a smile after his team's loss. It actually made me wonder if our nation truly missed out on having what appeared to be a decent man ascend to the presidency.
Author Adelman - a novelist / music critic previously unknown to me - has written an absolute grand slam of a baseball book with his Black and Blue, a bruising title courtesy of the team colors from the opposing clubs - the Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Dodgers - in the somewhat forgotten 1966 World Series. Starting with veteran Frank Robinson's now-ridiculous seeming trade from the Cincinnati Reds to the Orioles - because the Reds owner considered him 'old' at thirty years of age - the author provides some damn near perfect character sketches of the men who would suit up and slug it out during the series. Opposing Robinson and his O's teammates - such as 'Moe' Drabowsky, 'Boog' Powell, 'Little Louie' Aparicio and rookie Jim Palmer - were the considerably more popular LA Dodgers, who had just notched two World Series victories during the previous three seasons. The Dodgers were feared for their ace pitching staff - featuring that golden left arm of Sandy Koufax, Don 'the Big D' Drysdale, and Claude 'Gomer' Osteen - and a talented / experienced crew including Tommy Davis, Jim Gilliam, and Maury Wills. (Also, players used to have such fun nicknames back in the day - just sayin'!) Since the author gives insight / background into these involved men it then really means something once the four games play out in the 'fall classic.' He also smartly mixes in some historical and sociological details from that era which helped set the tone of that bygone time. One particularly illuminating moment was Vice President Hubert Humphrey - who threw out the first pitch in the final game - visiting both teams afterwards in their respective locker rooms. From the recounting the VP acquits himself nicely as a gentleman and (baseball) scholar, notably gently joking with Drysdale to get him to crack a smile after his team's loss. It actually made me wonder if our nation truly missed out on having what appeared to be a decent man ascend to the presidency.
December 6, 2020
In a normal year, I have baseball withdrawal symptoms as soon as the World Series is over. After watching or listening to games everyday for six months, it is tough to adjust to life without baseball. Like everything else about 2020, baseball season was strange to say the least. The season did not start until July 24 and was disrupted twice. Fans were not allowed in the stands until the postseason and for the first time since I was four years old, I did not attend a game at Wrigley Field. After the Dodgers won the World Series for the first time in thirty two years, I didn’t not experience baseball withdrawal. With a disjointed season only lasting two and a half months, I did not get as emotionally involved; baseball started and finished and now it’s over, and there’s football to watch. It ended up taking me a month rather than days after baseball season’s completion to pick up my first baseball book of the offseason. At the urging of my co-baseball book club moderator, we decided on Black and Blue as a last minute book club read. Needless to say even those who did not read this book welcomed any type of baseball discussion in a year starved for sports.
In 1966 baseball was at a crossroads. The Yankee dynasty of the 1950s had finally come to pass, and any link the Los Angeles Dodgers still had to Brooklyn was all but gone. The Dodgers had won a seven game epic World Series against the Twins the year before, punctuated by Sandy Koufax’s refusal to pitch on Yom Kippur and then all but willing his team to victory. Yet, Koufax’s left arm was beyond repair and he realized that the next season would be his last. In the years before medical advancements to repair elbow ligaments, Koufax left arm was on borrowed time, and he desired to enjoy the rest of his life with as full use of his body as possible. The rest of the Dodger heroes from 1965 would return the next year as well. It was an aging team with little offense that relied on Koufax and Don Drysdale to pitch them to victory. Around the Dodger clubhouse there was much animosity toward the ownership and management, and the popular feeling was that 1966 would be their last chance for a championship. Lead by hall of fame caliber pitching, the Dodgers nearly pulled it off.
With the Yankees in between dynasties (they would not win another World Series until 1977), the American League was there for the taking. The Orioles lead by hall of fame third baseman Brooks Robinson knew that they had a special team that was a piece or two away from making a run to the pennant. During the off-season, disgruntled Cincinnati Reds owner Bill DeWitt traded them Frank Robinson. Brooks Robinson realized upon Frank’s arrival in spring training that their team could go to great heights. The Robinson boys could be something special in baseball annals as they crushed the ball out of Memorial Stadium on a daily basis. With young pitchers Dave McNally and Jim Palmer, only twenty years old at the time, the Orioles believed that they had the team that could defeat the defending league champion Twins and, of course, the Yankees en route to the pennant. Having an offense far superior to the Dodgers small ball, who knows how far the Orioles could go in 1966.
Author Tom Adelman divides Black and Blue into six chapters with an epilogue. What I appreciated in this book that featured an entire year of baseball history is that he gave equal time to both the Dodgers and the Orioles, going back and forth between the two teams. While star players Koufax and the Robinsons received the most print, Adelman also focused on other role players on both teams including relief pitchers Moe Drabowsky of the Orioles, a prankster who brought a smile to my face, and Phil Regan of the Dodgers, who Koufax aptly nicknamed the vulture. The nickname stuck with Regan for his entire career, and that is how I remember him from his time as Cubs’ pitching coach. With quality pitching out of both bullpens, neither team needed much more than three starters to make a run at a championship. The late 1960s showed the modernization of baseball, with the game beginning to utilize bench players and bullpens rather than just a starting nine. The transformation would take years, but 1966 offered a glimpse to the future. The Orioles had almost no starting pitching. The Dodgers had Koufax with a damaged arm, Drysdale, and question marks. Something would have to give, and that something was the Robinson bats.
Today, many people pause before remembering the 1966 World Series champions. The Dodgers were heavy favorites against the “Baby Birds”, yet with an aging team with little to no offense, the Dodgers were exposed immediately. The Orioles had their championship, and Frank Robinson became the first player to win an MVP award in both leagues. Most people remember 1966 as the year that Sandy Koufax retired and think what if Tommy John surgery had been available. Sandy could have pitched longer and broken every record in baseball history. Or would he have? With labor strife becoming more prevalent each year, perhaps Koufax would still have left the game at the peak of his career, even with full use of his arm. Other than Oriole fans, baseball fans think of 1966 as the year the Dodgers did not win and that Koufax hung them up.
Black and Blue generated much discussion in the baseball book club, even among those who did not read the book, at a time of year when we are all starved for baseball. This off season has more questions than ever with many teams losing money after going through a year with no fans in the stands and little revenue. Even bigger market teams jettisoned players to save salaries as labor strife between the players and owners looms on the horizon. Thankfully, there is a treasure trove of baseball books to hold my interest until spring training starts. Black and Blue was a great way to jump start my off season reading, which hopefully will not last as long as is this past year.
⚾️ 4.5 stars ⚾️
In 1966 baseball was at a crossroads. The Yankee dynasty of the 1950s had finally come to pass, and any link the Los Angeles Dodgers still had to Brooklyn was all but gone. The Dodgers had won a seven game epic World Series against the Twins the year before, punctuated by Sandy Koufax’s refusal to pitch on Yom Kippur and then all but willing his team to victory. Yet, Koufax’s left arm was beyond repair and he realized that the next season would be his last. In the years before medical advancements to repair elbow ligaments, Koufax left arm was on borrowed time, and he desired to enjoy the rest of his life with as full use of his body as possible. The rest of the Dodger heroes from 1965 would return the next year as well. It was an aging team with little offense that relied on Koufax and Don Drysdale to pitch them to victory. Around the Dodger clubhouse there was much animosity toward the ownership and management, and the popular feeling was that 1966 would be their last chance for a championship. Lead by hall of fame caliber pitching, the Dodgers nearly pulled it off.
With the Yankees in between dynasties (they would not win another World Series until 1977), the American League was there for the taking. The Orioles lead by hall of fame third baseman Brooks Robinson knew that they had a special team that was a piece or two away from making a run to the pennant. During the off-season, disgruntled Cincinnati Reds owner Bill DeWitt traded them Frank Robinson. Brooks Robinson realized upon Frank’s arrival in spring training that their team could go to great heights. The Robinson boys could be something special in baseball annals as they crushed the ball out of Memorial Stadium on a daily basis. With young pitchers Dave McNally and Jim Palmer, only twenty years old at the time, the Orioles believed that they had the team that could defeat the defending league champion Twins and, of course, the Yankees en route to the pennant. Having an offense far superior to the Dodgers small ball, who knows how far the Orioles could go in 1966.
Author Tom Adelman divides Black and Blue into six chapters with an epilogue. What I appreciated in this book that featured an entire year of baseball history is that he gave equal time to both the Dodgers and the Orioles, going back and forth between the two teams. While star players Koufax and the Robinsons received the most print, Adelman also focused on other role players on both teams including relief pitchers Moe Drabowsky of the Orioles, a prankster who brought a smile to my face, and Phil Regan of the Dodgers, who Koufax aptly nicknamed the vulture. The nickname stuck with Regan for his entire career, and that is how I remember him from his time as Cubs’ pitching coach. With quality pitching out of both bullpens, neither team needed much more than three starters to make a run at a championship. The late 1960s showed the modernization of baseball, with the game beginning to utilize bench players and bullpens rather than just a starting nine. The transformation would take years, but 1966 offered a glimpse to the future. The Orioles had almost no starting pitching. The Dodgers had Koufax with a damaged arm, Drysdale, and question marks. Something would have to give, and that something was the Robinson bats.
Today, many people pause before remembering the 1966 World Series champions. The Dodgers were heavy favorites against the “Baby Birds”, yet with an aging team with little to no offense, the Dodgers were exposed immediately. The Orioles had their championship, and Frank Robinson became the first player to win an MVP award in both leagues. Most people remember 1966 as the year that Sandy Koufax retired and think what if Tommy John surgery had been available. Sandy could have pitched longer and broken every record in baseball history. Or would he have? With labor strife becoming more prevalent each year, perhaps Koufax would still have left the game at the peak of his career, even with full use of his arm. Other than Oriole fans, baseball fans think of 1966 as the year the Dodgers did not win and that Koufax hung them up.
Black and Blue generated much discussion in the baseball book club, even among those who did not read the book, at a time of year when we are all starved for baseball. This off season has more questions than ever with many teams losing money after going through a year with no fans in the stands and little revenue. Even bigger market teams jettisoned players to save salaries as labor strife between the players and owners looms on the horizon. Thankfully, there is a treasure trove of baseball books to hold my interest until spring training starts. Black and Blue was a great way to jump start my off season reading, which hopefully will not last as long as is this past year.
⚾️ 4.5 stars ⚾️
May 6, 2018
A weird subject matter that needed a bit more focus. The subject at hand, the 1966 World Series, was not special in any other way and the author didn’t do much to create some extraordinary narrative outside of it being Koufax’s last games. I think he meant to place the Series within the context of the tumultuous mid-60s, but this vein is treated like a footnote.
A good book would’ve focused on the Orioles and their history in the city and at Memorial Stadium. Furthermore, place Frank Robinson’s move and Paul Blair’s emergence in context of Baltimore-Maryland’s complex history with slavery and race relations. He does mention this but it garners just a few pages.
Otherwise, it was an uneventful Series for two teams that aren’t really connected. Sorta get the feeling he was fulfilling a book contract.
A good book would’ve focused on the Orioles and their history in the city and at Memorial Stadium. Furthermore, place Frank Robinson’s move and Paul Blair’s emergence in context of Baltimore-Maryland’s complex history with slavery and race relations. He does mention this but it garners just a few pages.
Otherwise, it was an uneventful Series for two teams that aren’t really connected. Sorta get the feeling he was fulfilling a book contract.
February 22, 2017
Nineteen sixty-six was a transitional year in America and provides the backdrop for Tom Adelman’s recounting of the Dodgers’ and Orioles’ seasons and what led them to meet in an astounding World Series. He expertly weaves together current events – riots tearing apart inner cities, the Vietnam War, and racism – with the major changes that were also occurring on the baseball diamond. The LA Dodgers were the old guard. Their era was quietly coming to a close, while the young Orioles’ was just beginning. This book is fairly short, but poetically written and wonderfully readable. It absolutely captures a moment in time that not too many people remember. Baseball is depicted as so many things: quirky, funny, sad, strange, odd, unfair, but most of all, beautiful. What a terrific book to read at the start of a new season!
Favorite quotes: “With all the painkillers and anti-inflammatories Koufax took, he was, he would later admit, ‘high half the time during a ballgame.’”
“I think a baseball field must be the most beautiful thing in the world. It’s so honest and precise. And we play on it. Every star gets humbled. Every mediocre player has a great moment.” – Jim Lefebvre, 2nd baseman, LA Dodgers
“Scouts, gamblers, opponents: all season they had looked at the Oriole pitching staff with blinders, searching for totals that would have accrued to a single hurler had the burden not been so expertly shared. They had looked at the parts, not the sum. Searching for exclamation points, they had overlooked the words.”
Favorite quotes: “With all the painkillers and anti-inflammatories Koufax took, he was, he would later admit, ‘high half the time during a ballgame.’”
“I think a baseball field must be the most beautiful thing in the world. It’s so honest and precise. And we play on it. Every star gets humbled. Every mediocre player has a great moment.” – Jim Lefebvre, 2nd baseman, LA Dodgers
“Scouts, gamblers, opponents: all season they had looked at the Oriole pitching staff with blinders, searching for totals that would have accrued to a single hurler had the burden not been so expertly shared. They had looked at the parts, not the sum. Searching for exclamation points, they had overlooked the words.”
June 27, 2011
This book was so good. I felt like I was there, watching very World Series game. I loved all the description. And, of course, I was very happy with the ending (go O's!).
This book is a good baseball book. Well written, interesting, and engaging. And if you care about the Orioles or the Dodgers, you'll enjoy it even more. This might become the book I read every spring, right before baseball season starts.
This book is a good baseball book. Well written, interesting, and engaging. And if you care about the Orioles or the Dodgers, you'll enjoy it even more. This might become the book I read every spring, right before baseball season starts.
February 25, 2009
Some scattered moments of sharp description notwithstanding, this story is a boring one, told in a boring way. Some elements are there- Sandy Koufax's dominant mastery, the Orioles surprise win- but they are smudged out by the colorless prose. Mediocre.
July 25, 2011
Entertaining account of the 1966 baseball season and the World Series that seems to have been forgotten by all but the most ardent of baseball fans.
July 24, 2024
As a lifelong Orioles fan (and baseball fan in general) this book was so fun, so moving, and just what I needed in the middle of what I am hoping is an historic season for Baltimore yet again. This book follows the 1966 Orioles and Dodgers, with the opening chapter touching on the highlights of the entire Orioles season through the lens of Frank Robinson mostly, and the second chapter doing the same for the Dodgers and Koufax.
This was an Orioles team that came together with untested youngsters, knowledgable veterans, and quite a few washed up players that had the year of their lives. Black, white, and Latino players captured the heart of a city still holding onto segregation. So many members of this team gave back to baseball and our city over the years, with Boog and Palmer in particular still present today.
I knew that Koufax seemingly walked away from baseball at his peak, but I loved getting to understand more about that decision and realized that it wasn't actually out of the blue. For years he'd been hurting, yet steadfastly omitted to his craft. At the age of 30 he decided that life was more than baseball and he meant every word that he said. So much respect.
Throughout, Adelman placed this year in baseball in the context of American and World History, and as I've read countless baseball books over the years, that is the aspect that never ceases to surprise me. It's a game, a celebrity maker, a boys-only-club, but always set in a wider context. In this book the backdrop is the 60s...full of racial tensions, the Vietnam War, housing issues and political change. I loved it.
There is an extensive (through publication in 2006) bibliography that features many great titles I've read plus a few more I hope to read someday.
This was an Orioles team that came together with untested youngsters, knowledgable veterans, and quite a few washed up players that had the year of their lives. Black, white, and Latino players captured the heart of a city still holding onto segregation. So many members of this team gave back to baseball and our city over the years, with Boog and Palmer in particular still present today.
I knew that Koufax seemingly walked away from baseball at his peak, but I loved getting to understand more about that decision and realized that it wasn't actually out of the blue. For years he'd been hurting, yet steadfastly omitted to his craft. At the age of 30 he decided that life was more than baseball and he meant every word that he said. So much respect.
Throughout, Adelman placed this year in baseball in the context of American and World History, and as I've read countless baseball books over the years, that is the aspect that never ceases to surprise me. It's a game, a celebrity maker, a boys-only-club, but always set in a wider context. In this book the backdrop is the 60s...full of racial tensions, the Vietnam War, housing issues and political change. I loved it.
There is an extensive (through publication in 2006) bibliography that features many great titles I've read plus a few more I hope to read someday.
March 27, 2020
I loved this book about the 1966 World Series, largely forgotten now but vividly remembered by me. I was a baseball-mad sixth grader at the time, and when my teacher asked me, as we waited by the door for the bell to ring, who I thought would win, I correctly predicted the Orioles in four. My life has been all downhill since!
This was the year that Frank Robinson, declared "an old thirty" by his original team,the Cincinnati Reds, found himself traded to Baltimore. All Frank did was to win the triple crown and lead his team to a world championship.
As much as this book is about the rise and triumph of the young Orioles, it is also a portrait of the end of an era for the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was Sandy Koufax's final season, a year almost as successful as Robinson's, as Sandy pitched through incredible pain to cement himself as the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time.But the Dodgers were aging, and were unhappy about a scheduled baseball tour of Japan immediately following the World Series. Star shortstop Maury Wills would jump the team and head home, spurring his being traded to the Pirates. Without Wills or Koufax, and with Don Drysdale nearing the end (though he would set a record for consecutive scoreless innings just two years later), the Dodgers would not be the same for many years to come. In this regard, the book reminded me of David Halberstam's "1964", which depicts the similar last hurrah of the vaunted New York Yankees.
Great book, wonderfully written,and highly recommended for any baseball fan.
This was the year that Frank Robinson, declared "an old thirty" by his original team,the Cincinnati Reds, found himself traded to Baltimore. All Frank did was to win the triple crown and lead his team to a world championship.
As much as this book is about the rise and triumph of the young Orioles, it is also a portrait of the end of an era for the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was Sandy Koufax's final season, a year almost as successful as Robinson's, as Sandy pitched through incredible pain to cement himself as the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time.But the Dodgers were aging, and were unhappy about a scheduled baseball tour of Japan immediately following the World Series. Star shortstop Maury Wills would jump the team and head home, spurring his being traded to the Pirates. Without Wills or Koufax, and with Don Drysdale nearing the end (though he would set a record for consecutive scoreless innings just two years later), the Dodgers would not be the same for many years to come. In this regard, the book reminded me of David Halberstam's "1964", which depicts the similar last hurrah of the vaunted New York Yankees.
Great book, wonderfully written,and highly recommended for any baseball fan.
December 19, 2018
Tom Adelman takes a deep dive into the 1966 World Series. He Looks closely at the seasons of the American League Champion Orioles and the National League (and defending World Series) Champion Dodgers. Adelman gives the reader a close-up of the key players, especially focusing on Frank Robinson. And for good measure, he reminds the reader of the social events that swirled in that tumultuous year of 1966. To cap it all off, Adelman gives the reader a quick summary of what followed the crowning of the World Series Champs, with the Dodgers fading and the Orioles ascending to prominence. And the key players' paths from that point. I'd always heard that Sandy Koufax walked away from the game much like the NFL's Jim Brown---at the peak of his career with plenty more left in the tank. But that was not the case. Koufax's pitching arm had not been protected, he had repeatedly been asked to pitch on short rest, and the lengths he had to go to just to get back on the mound each time was shocking. This is a great read for a baseball fan, as the story contains many big-time, historically great players. If you're not a big baseball fan, well, it's still a good story with some interesting "lessons" and perspectives.
June 24, 2022
The 66 season was an interesting one, with the Dodgers sputtering against an Orioles team that didn't seem that strong. Enjoyed this book quite a bit, the author does a good job showing how each team won their pennant. He also goes behind the scenes a bit and really gets into the personalities of both teams without getting too in depth.
Recommended, thought this was better then his book about the 75 season, Long Ball. He stuck more to baseball in this one, and didn't write like a bad novel writer that was his style in Long Ball for a good bit of the book.
Recommended, thought this was better then his book about the 75 season, Long Ball. He stuck more to baseball in this one, and didn't write like a bad novel writer that was his style in Long Ball for a good bit of the book.
October 23, 2017
OK, I am a sucker for baseball books, particularly from the 50's and 60's. While not a classic, it is a good read. 1966 was my last year in little league and we received Baltimore games in Woodbridge, VA, so I followed the Orioles closely (the Senators were bad, and my all time favorite Tigers were rebuilding from their great 1961 season). This brought back a lot of memories.
September 6, 2023
Well-written (and isn´t sports journalism all about the writing?) account of the inner dynamics of the Los Angeles and Baltimore teams. Adelman does a decent job of depicting social issues in the two cities and the U.S. as a whole and to set the series in its historical context (it DID take place a long time ago) but at bottom it is an enjoyable book for baseball fans.
May 9, 2025
There is a relative glut of 1960s’ Dodgers literature for baseball readers to choose from, which I don’t mind because (a) I’m a Dodgers’ fan and (b) it’s the only way the histories of less popular teams like the Twins and the Orioles are told. This has stuff you’ve already read about Koufax and Drysdale and Wills, but also wonderful mini-bios of players like Moe Drabowsky and Paul Blair.
May 14, 2025
Really breezy, fun read. Took me no longer to read that the '66 World Series itself lasted. Only quibble - on three separate occasions, the author refers to Baltimore as "the capital of Maryland" - sorry, but it is not. That type of inaccuracy plants seeds of doubts as to whether any other facts in the book are also incorrect.
Moe Drabowsky is a new all-time favorite Oriole!
Moe Drabowsky is a new all-time favorite Oriole!
September 10, 2018
Decent read espcially since this predates my existence and 1966 didn't particularly stand out as a notable year; however, Tom does bring the year to life, a little too long on certain games but certainly enjoyable for those who love baseball and its historyl.
January 3, 2026
Decent baseball book with some weird errors -- at least three times, the author refers to Baltimore as the capital of Maryland. (Pretty sure it's been Annapolis since the 1600s.) And he has a really bad habit of using "had", like all the time.
December 31, 2019
Enjoyable read.
March 10, 2021
This was a decent book about World Series I'd never heard about. However, it lacked a big moment and was a fairly normal World Series.
Read
June 6, 2025Ain't the B+ cold
January 25, 2023
WORLD SERIES BOOK LIST: READ
1907-1909 Tigers vs. Cubs, Cubs and Pirates: Ty Cobb by Charles Alexander
1908 Cubs vs. Tigers: Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History by Cait Johnson
1918 Red Sox vs. Cubs: War Fever: Boston, Baseball, and America in the Shadow of the Great War by Randy Roberts and John Smith
1927 Yankees vs. Pirates: One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson
1945 Tigers vs. Cubs: The Game Must Go On: Hank Greenberg, Pete Gray, and the Great Days of Baseball on the Home Front in WWII by John Klima
1948 Indians vs. Braves: Our Team: The Epic Story of Four Men and the World Series That Changed Baseball by Luke Epplin
1949 Yankees vs. Dodgers: Summer of '49 by David Halberstam
1951 Yankees vs. Dodgers: The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn
1954 Giants vs. Indians: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever by Bill Madden
1957 Braves vs. Yankees: Bushville Wins!: The Wild Saga of the 1957 Milwaukee Braves and the Screwballs, Sluggers, and Beer Swiggers Who Canned the New York Yankees and Changed Baseball by John Klima
1962 Yankees vs. Giants: 1962: Baseball and America in the Time of JFK by David Krell
1964 Cardinals vs. Yankees: October 1964 by David Halberstam
1966 Orioles vs. Dodgers: Black and Blue: The Golden Arm, the Robinson Boys, and the 1966 World Series That Stunned America by Tom Adelman
1968 Tigers vs. Cardinals: Summer of '68: The Season That Changed Baseball—and America—Forever by Tim Wendel
1972-1974 A’s vs. Reds, Mets, Dodgers: Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s by Jason Turbow
1976 Reds vs. Yankees: Stars and Strikes: Baseball and America in the Bicentennial Summer of ‘76 by Dan Epstein
1981 Dodgers vs. Yankees: They Bled Blue: Fernandomania, Strike-Season Mayhem, and the Weirdest Championship Baseball Had Ever Seen: The 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers by Jason Turbow
2004 Red Sox vs. Cardinals: Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season by Stewart O’Nan and Stephen King
Multiple World Series: The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It by Lawrence Ritter
Multiple World Series: Big Hair and Plastic Grass: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging '70s by Dan Epstein
WORLD SERIES BOOK LIST: WANT TO READ
The Betrayal: How the 1919 Black Sox Scandal Changed Baseball by Charles Fountain
Willie's Boys: The 1948 Birmingham Black Barons, The Last Negro League World Series, and the Making of a Baseball Legend by John Klima
The Long Ball: The Summer of '75 -- Spaceman, Catfish, Charlie Hustle, and the Greatest World Series Ever Played by Tom Adelman
1907-1909 Tigers vs. Cubs, Cubs and Pirates: Ty Cobb by Charles Alexander
1908 Cubs vs. Tigers: Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History by Cait Johnson
1918 Red Sox vs. Cubs: War Fever: Boston, Baseball, and America in the Shadow of the Great War by Randy Roberts and John Smith
1927 Yankees vs. Pirates: One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson
1945 Tigers vs. Cubs: The Game Must Go On: Hank Greenberg, Pete Gray, and the Great Days of Baseball on the Home Front in WWII by John Klima
1948 Indians vs. Braves: Our Team: The Epic Story of Four Men and the World Series That Changed Baseball by Luke Epplin
1949 Yankees vs. Dodgers: Summer of '49 by David Halberstam
1951 Yankees vs. Dodgers: The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn
1954 Giants vs. Indians: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever by Bill Madden
1957 Braves vs. Yankees: Bushville Wins!: The Wild Saga of the 1957 Milwaukee Braves and the Screwballs, Sluggers, and Beer Swiggers Who Canned the New York Yankees and Changed Baseball by John Klima
1962 Yankees vs. Giants: 1962: Baseball and America in the Time of JFK by David Krell
1964 Cardinals vs. Yankees: October 1964 by David Halberstam
1966 Orioles vs. Dodgers: Black and Blue: The Golden Arm, the Robinson Boys, and the 1966 World Series That Stunned America by Tom Adelman
1968 Tigers vs. Cardinals: Summer of '68: The Season That Changed Baseball—and America—Forever by Tim Wendel
1972-1974 A’s vs. Reds, Mets, Dodgers: Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s by Jason Turbow
1976 Reds vs. Yankees: Stars and Strikes: Baseball and America in the Bicentennial Summer of ‘76 by Dan Epstein
1981 Dodgers vs. Yankees: They Bled Blue: Fernandomania, Strike-Season Mayhem, and the Weirdest Championship Baseball Had Ever Seen: The 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers by Jason Turbow
2004 Red Sox vs. Cardinals: Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season by Stewart O’Nan and Stephen King
Multiple World Series: The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It by Lawrence Ritter
Multiple World Series: Big Hair and Plastic Grass: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging '70s by Dan Epstein
WORLD SERIES BOOK LIST: WANT TO READ
The Betrayal: How the 1919 Black Sox Scandal Changed Baseball by Charles Fountain
Willie's Boys: The 1948 Birmingham Black Barons, The Last Negro League World Series, and the Making of a Baseball Legend by John Klima
The Long Ball: The Summer of '75 -- Spaceman, Catfish, Charlie Hustle, and the Greatest World Series Ever Played by Tom Adelman
May 26, 2009
As a lifelong baseball fan with a pretty solid grasp of its storied past, I had, of course, already known about the great Sandy Koufax and the story of how he'd walked away from the game in his prime due to a chronically arthritic elbow.
What reading this book helped me realize is that I had always unconsciously questioned Mr. Koufax's commitment to the game. If I, who would've given anything as a youth to become a major leaguer, had grown up to become as successful as he, surely I could've pitched through such an injury. To be that good and to walk away in one's prime simply didn't compute for me, no matter the reason.
Chalk those feelings up to youthful ignorance, but it's also not a viewpoint I had thought to revisit much in my adulthood. How often in one's life does one, even one as baseball obsessed as I, think about the trials of Sandy Koufax? Well, upon reading this book, my previous (unrealized) opinion is forever changed. The amount of pain an only thirty-year-old Koufax endured to pitch, and pitch at an insanely high level, is staggering. The tales of ice baths and cortisone shots and painkillers interspersed with the stories of just how unhittable he was has given me an incredible respect for the man.
So Koufax, for me, was the thing that stuck with me the most from this book. It was an easy read and I enjoyed many of the quirky little bits about fans and broadcasters (I especially enjoyed the recounting of the BBC announcers trying to make sense of this strange American game).
I also find myself hungry now to find a more in-depth portrait of Frank Robinson. Hopefully there's a good biography out there.
What reading this book helped me realize is that I had always unconsciously questioned Mr. Koufax's commitment to the game. If I, who would've given anything as a youth to become a major leaguer, had grown up to become as successful as he, surely I could've pitched through such an injury. To be that good and to walk away in one's prime simply didn't compute for me, no matter the reason.
Chalk those feelings up to youthful ignorance, but it's also not a viewpoint I had thought to revisit much in my adulthood. How often in one's life does one, even one as baseball obsessed as I, think about the trials of Sandy Koufax? Well, upon reading this book, my previous (unrealized) opinion is forever changed. The amount of pain an only thirty-year-old Koufax endured to pitch, and pitch at an insanely high level, is staggering. The tales of ice baths and cortisone shots and painkillers interspersed with the stories of just how unhittable he was has given me an incredible respect for the man.
So Koufax, for me, was the thing that stuck with me the most from this book. It was an easy read and I enjoyed many of the quirky little bits about fans and broadcasters (I especially enjoyed the recounting of the BBC announcers trying to make sense of this strange American game).
I also find myself hungry now to find a more in-depth portrait of Frank Robinson. Hopefully there's a good biography out there.
February 19, 2016
A marvelous piece of baseball history, "Black and Blue" chronicles the 1966 World Series that saw the underdog Baltimore Orioles defeat the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in a four-game sweep. Tom Adelman offers a crisp narrative that covers both teams during the regular season, then offers a chapter on each of the four World Series games. He focuses in particular on two players: Baltimore's Frank Robinson, who was written off by his previous team as being too old to be a good ballplayer, yet went on to win the baseball Triple Crown and lead his team to the American League pennant; and Sandy Koufax, the venerable Los Angeles pitcher who endured incredible physical pain to win 27 games in what would be the final season of his career. Adelman does a nice job of tying the games into the bigger history of the U.S. at the time, so the book really does take the reader back into 1966, and gives a clear picture of the simmering tensions (civil rights, Vietnam) that would erupt in the coming years. My only complaint (and this is biased because I am an Orioles fan) is that the chapter on LA's season is twice as long as the Baltimore chapter. That minor issue aside, "Black and Blue" is a wonderful book that is a must-read for both sports fans and history buffs alike. Highly recommended.
October 18, 2011
I couldn’t finish this book. Part of it was the endless references the author made to Baltimore as the capital of Maryland. It’s really hard for me to take a book seriously if it’s supposed to be a historical look at something and the there are a high number of obvious mistakes. Makes it difficult to believe what you read.
Beyond that, the title and text were somewhat at odds. Part of the title reads, “the 1966 World Series that Stunned America.” Then the first few chapters are all about how the Orioles went into spring training believing they had a chance to be a great team while no one thought the Dodgers were going to have a good season. I knew the Orioles won in a sweep. Nothing I read suggested to me that the people were really shocked. Yet, I know that people were. That’s bad writing.
Overall, the book was just boring. It’s a feel-good story. Each chapter is like a separate vignette whose purpose is to show the readers how great of a guy Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson and Jim Palmer and Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale were. Everybody was the good guy. And that’s fine…if that’s what you’re looking for. I was looking for a real historical look at the 1966 World Series and baseball season. I did not get that. Very disappointing.
Beyond that, the title and text were somewhat at odds. Part of the title reads, “the 1966 World Series that Stunned America.” Then the first few chapters are all about how the Orioles went into spring training believing they had a chance to be a great team while no one thought the Dodgers were going to have a good season. I knew the Orioles won in a sweep. Nothing I read suggested to me that the people were really shocked. Yet, I know that people were. That’s bad writing.
Overall, the book was just boring. It’s a feel-good story. Each chapter is like a separate vignette whose purpose is to show the readers how great of a guy Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson and Jim Palmer and Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale were. Everybody was the good guy. And that’s fine…if that’s what you’re looking for. I was looking for a real historical look at the 1966 World Series and baseball season. I did not get that. Very disappointing.
June 20, 2008
An hilarious and sentimental look at the 1966 World Series. It's notable for being Baltimore's first World Series victory, and featuring Sandy Koufax's final game. Adelman does a wonderful job of capturing the players - Koufax's willingness to work through the terrible pain in his arm, Frank Robinson's drive to win and Brooks Robinson's unquestioning acceptance of his new battery mate, Moe Drabowsky's career season and bullpen hijinks.
Despite the handful of big names (Koufax, Robinson, Don Drysdale), I didn't know most of the players involved in the series, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. That's pretty much the hallmark of a well-written sport book, because they can so often be dependent on know the people who were playing and the games being discussed.
Adelman rushed the games themselves, skipping innings, and sometimes switching back and forth between teams that I had trouble keeping up - there were a couple instances of "but why is Sutton striking out guys on his own team? that seems counterproductive!" He was better at the player profiles, and they more than made up for the iffy sportswriting.
Despite the handful of big names (Koufax, Robinson, Don Drysdale), I didn't know most of the players involved in the series, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. That's pretty much the hallmark of a well-written sport book, because they can so often be dependent on know the people who were playing and the games being discussed.
Adelman rushed the games themselves, skipping innings, and sometimes switching back and forth between teams that I had trouble keeping up - there were a couple instances of "but why is Sutton striking out guys on his own team? that seems counterproductive!" He was better at the player profiles, and they more than made up for the iffy sportswriting.
February 24, 2013
This book starts out by talking sbout the career that frabk robinson was having at the Cincinati Reds. it talk about how the Reds traded him a year before his pruduction started to decrease, that way they could get the best young talent possible for him. The Reds trade him to the Balitmore Orioles. Everyone thought that the Reds got th better part of the deal, but they were wrong. By the end of the 1966 season frank robinson won the leages Tripple Crown, the most prestige hitting title you can get. In order to win the Tripple Crown you must lead the league in Batting Average, Homeruns, Runs Batted In.
The Balitomore Orioles, behind a re-charged Frank Robinson, surged their way into the fall classic to face the defending World Series champs, the Los Angeles Dogers. The Dogers were a team that focused on defense, lead by their ace pitcher Sandy Koufax. Sandy Koufax won 27 games in the '66 season, apersonal best, while battling with arthritis in his pitching arm.
The Balitomore Orioles, behind a re-charged Frank Robinson, surged their way into the fall classic to face the defending World Series champs, the Los Angeles Dogers. The Dogers were a team that focused on defense, lead by their ace pitcher Sandy Koufax. Sandy Koufax won 27 games in the '66 season, apersonal best, while battling with arthritis in his pitching arm.
November 19, 2021
A well-written, highly readable account of the 1966 World Series between the heavily favored (and reigning World Champion) Koufax/Drysdale Dodgers and the underdog Baltimore Orioles. No one picked the Orioles to win and many thought they would get swept. However, led by newcomer Frank Robinson, mainstay third-sacker Brooks Robinson (one of the all-time greats at the position) and a young, then-unproven pitcher named Jim Palmer, they ended up sweeping the Dodgers! The rosters of the two teams featured 7 future Hall of Famers plus a future Hall of Fame Manager, Walter Alston, and this turned out to be Koufax’s final season. A great baseball book, but a must-read for O’s fans!!
October 21, 2007
Taut, well-written account of the Dodgers' and Orioles' '66 campaign, including a detailed analysis of their World Series clash. But could someone down there at the publisher have been bothered to maybe check a fact? Among other errors, there are multiple instances of date confusion (e.g. 1995 is "19 years" after 1966), and repeated references to Baltimore as the capital of the state of Maryland...somebody tell Annapolis.
August 5, 2007
This book absolutely broke my heart -- the Orioles, of course, swept that World Series from the heavily favored Dodgers, but that wasn't what broke my heart. Adelman does a spectacular job of taking the story of that season and that World Series and giving it its due backdrop of America -- and Baltimore, a heavily segregated city until very late -- during the 60s. Heartbreaking and gorgeous, and very subtly written and very well paced.
April 26, 2016
A fine book about the upset that took place in the 1966 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers (the prohibitive favorite) and the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles would sweep the series, Sandy Koufax would pitch his last game, & the emergence of Frank Robinson as one of the best players in the league. A study of Race and Culture that "mesmerized a nation in turmoil." Tom Adelman is also the author of the best seller The Long Ball. A classic in itself.
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