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The Babe Signed My Shoe
Spanning from the time he talked Babe Ruth into signing his tennis shoe at the age of 12 to his last Tiger broadcast more than 60 years later, this book is a personal scrapbook of Hall-of-Famer Ernie Harwell's life-long love of baseball.
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 19, 2020
It is remarkable how many baseball stories this man had in his head and I am just glad they did not die with him. Ernie Harwell not only dispensed them on the air, but he put them down on paper including this delightful collection of anecdotes in 1993.
It’s a pretty good survey of where he was at the time and the way he viewed the game and reminisced of its past. I often found myself putting down the book to Google a little-known player he mentioned who was involved in something incredible.
Harwell also expounds issues in 1993 that have only been exacerbated by 2020; managers overmanaging their pitching changes, the length and slow pace of games, announcers who don’t prioritize calling the game, and the DH issue where one league has it and the other doesn’t. He also foreshadowed the devastating strike of 1994 by expressing concern over the player-owner relationship. I can’t help but believe he would be really disappointed to see how much worse these issues are now.
This book is strongly recommended to Ernie fans for sure, but I think all hardcore baseball fans who like amazing old stories will enjoy it greatly.
It’s a pretty good survey of where he was at the time and the way he viewed the game and reminisced of its past. I often found myself putting down the book to Google a little-known player he mentioned who was involved in something incredible.
Harwell also expounds issues in 1993 that have only been exacerbated by 2020; managers overmanaging their pitching changes, the length and slow pace of games, announcers who don’t prioritize calling the game, and the DH issue where one league has it and the other doesn’t. He also foreshadowed the devastating strike of 1994 by expressing concern over the player-owner relationship. I can’t help but believe he would be really disappointed to see how much worse these issues are now.
This book is strongly recommended to Ernie fans for sure, but I think all hardcore baseball fans who like amazing old stories will enjoy it greatly.
September 23, 2019
Maybe a but of a homer review but if you grew up listening to Ernie, you'll end up reading the whole book with his voice in your head! Great little story's everywhere and a easy snapshot of life in baseball just close enough to remember seeing these players play. Enjoy!
October 15, 2016
I was into reading all the old stories,
It is probably better to approach this as an audio book because reading it felt choppy.
Too many breaks and jumping around with no real theme present
But, still nice to live in the past of baseball for a while
It is probably better to approach this as an audio book because reading it felt choppy.
Too many breaks and jumping around with no real theme present
But, still nice to live in the past of baseball for a while
April 19, 2009
Another wonderful collection of recollections by the Hall of Fame broadcaster.
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April 11, 2016read some time in 1996
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews