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Hornsby Hit One Over My Head: A Fans' Oral History of Baseball
Drawing on the reminiscences of forty-five fervent fans, this spellbinding oral history celebrates baseball’s powerful hold on our national consciousness-from a journalist who remembers his excitement when he first saw Jackie Robinson in the majors to a nun who looks back fondly on her stint at the Texas Rangers’ fantasy camp.
288 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 12, 2014
A great book for any baseball fan.
October 15, 2026
I bought this a long time ago, and probably did not read it then because I thought it was going to be something it wasn't. I pulled it off the shelf and said to myself, "It is time to read this book at long last." I am glad I did. The book is a collection of remembrances collected by the author, David Cataneo, over a string of years leading up to the publishing date of 1998 or so. It reads as if he had taped interviews or even phone interviews with the people he chose to talk to. It was fun to read the recollections of the oldest people, people who had seen Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth play the game. One of the recollections was from a person who had been to a baseball camp at which Rogers Hornsby was a director. He must have been in his early fifties by that date, but the book takes its title from an event that happened at that camp.
Some of the recollections were informative; some of them evoked memories of my own childhood, the first time I walked up the ramp from the dark tunnels under Fenway park to come into the grandstand. The book made me a little sad, because it showed what we have lost. So many people remembered the baseball related games they used to play in the thirties and forties, and i recall some of those games into the 1970s. Those are baseball related games that can be played with anywhere from one to fifteen people, running bases, Pepper, "Johnny at the bat," baseball with imaginary runners and limited areas you were permitted to hit the ball, pitching against a backstop with a strike zone, throwing the ball onto the roof and catching it coming off, to improve your reflexes. When kids played imaginary games that involved baseball skills, baseball was truly America's pastime. Many people spoke of the changes in the way the game is organized, over organized, with too many adults controlling things.
Not stated, but implied, were changes in the professional game. Today the players throw the ball and swing the bat harder. They also spend more time on the IL. They are paid enormous amounts, and of course that is reflected in the ticket prices. Bringing a family to another city for a three game series is a prohibitively expensive proposition, even though baseball was meant to be seen in groups of games, not just one game here or there. I still remember my mother gasping at the seven dollar price of a box seat to Fenway in the mid sixties. Today that single seat might be $300.00, and even more if the Yankees are in town and you are buying it on the secondary market. (In fact, the amount that the ticketing service charges, ironically named the "convenience fee,") is higher than the price of the ticket sixty years ago. There are no knot hole gangs, with reduced prices for kids who are members. Kids of twelve to fifteen years old do not take the bus, or the subway, to games on their own or with a small group of friends. It was my memory that they did in my youth; that was brought home by countless of these recollections. One result of all these changes is that fewer people go with an understanding of the game, and thus they must be entertained with walk up music, and silly games between innings, and incredibly loud and seemingly pointless announcements over the loudspeakers. It is very obviously much more of a business now than it used to be.
This book brought back memories of the time when it was much more a part of American culture, when most of the country would pause for the World Series, when you did not need to search for the game through 150 channels of pay TV, because it was on the networks and was big enough that the networks changed their programming to accomodate baseball, not the other way around. I was glad to be reminded about those times; I miss them. The game is great today, but the place of Baseball in America has changed in a way that reflects poorly on the people who run the game and on America itself.
Some of the recollections were informative; some of them evoked memories of my own childhood, the first time I walked up the ramp from the dark tunnels under Fenway park to come into the grandstand. The book made me a little sad, because it showed what we have lost. So many people remembered the baseball related games they used to play in the thirties and forties, and i recall some of those games into the 1970s. Those are baseball related games that can be played with anywhere from one to fifteen people, running bases, Pepper, "Johnny at the bat," baseball with imaginary runners and limited areas you were permitted to hit the ball, pitching against a backstop with a strike zone, throwing the ball onto the roof and catching it coming off, to improve your reflexes. When kids played imaginary games that involved baseball skills, baseball was truly America's pastime. Many people spoke of the changes in the way the game is organized, over organized, with too many adults controlling things.
Not stated, but implied, were changes in the professional game. Today the players throw the ball and swing the bat harder. They also spend more time on the IL. They are paid enormous amounts, and of course that is reflected in the ticket prices. Bringing a family to another city for a three game series is a prohibitively expensive proposition, even though baseball was meant to be seen in groups of games, not just one game here or there. I still remember my mother gasping at the seven dollar price of a box seat to Fenway in the mid sixties. Today that single seat might be $300.00, and even more if the Yankees are in town and you are buying it on the secondary market. (In fact, the amount that the ticketing service charges, ironically named the "convenience fee,") is higher than the price of the ticket sixty years ago. There are no knot hole gangs, with reduced prices for kids who are members. Kids of twelve to fifteen years old do not take the bus, or the subway, to games on their own or with a small group of friends. It was my memory that they did in my youth; that was brought home by countless of these recollections. One result of all these changes is that fewer people go with an understanding of the game, and thus they must be entertained with walk up music, and silly games between innings, and incredibly loud and seemingly pointless announcements over the loudspeakers. It is very obviously much more of a business now than it used to be.
This book brought back memories of the time when it was much more a part of American culture, when most of the country would pause for the World Series, when you did not need to search for the game through 150 channels of pay TV, because it was on the networks and was big enough that the networks changed their programming to accomodate baseball, not the other way around. I was glad to be reminded about those times; I miss them. The game is great today, but the place of Baseball in America has changed in a way that reflects poorly on the people who run the game and on America itself.
December 2, 2012
Fans tell their own stories. Fans like me who treat baseball like life or religion.
At one time, people could run on the field in Fenway Park for baseballs. Ushers tried to get them back, but people would pass them down a row to hide them.
There are stories here about the Negro Leagues and women's leagues. One is from a blind man who went to games and listened on the radio. Another a nun who played with other nuns. And a Japanese man who played in detainment camps in WWII.
In my life, I've witnessed the first Japanese players, who are now a big part of major league baseball, as well as the first black players. One thing that troubles me is that I always hoped to see a woman break into the majors. It's more difficult now with the softball leagues. I may never see it in my lifetime.
At one time, people could run on the field in Fenway Park for baseballs. Ushers tried to get them back, but people would pass them down a row to hide them.
There are stories here about the Negro Leagues and women's leagues. One is from a blind man who went to games and listened on the radio. Another a nun who played with other nuns. And a Japanese man who played in detainment camps in WWII.
In my life, I've witnessed the first Japanese players, who are now a big part of major league baseball, as well as the first black players. One thing that troubles me is that I always hoped to see a woman break into the majors. It's more difficult now with the softball leagues. I may never see it in my lifetime.
March 24, 2016
Very enjoyable. If you're from a certain vintage you'll flash back on so many things that we did as kids-wiffle ball, pickle, going to the ball park and trying to get autographs, listening to the radio when you were supposed to be asleep. A fun, nostalgiac read. A must for a baseball fan of the Baby Boomer era (and before)
August 6, 2015
A good read with baseball and sports in general.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews