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Handsome Ransom Jackson: Accidental Big Leaguer
Millions of America's youth dream of playing major league baseball or in a college bowl game on New Year's Day. Growing up in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Ransom Jackson had no idea that one day he would not only play in back-to-back Cotton Bowls for two different colleges--the first and only player to do so--but that he would also become known as "Handsome Ransom," all-star third baseman for the Chicago Cubs. He was in Chicago in 1953 when Ernie Banks became the first African American to play for the Cubs. He was in Brooklyn in 1956, the year Jackie Robinson retired. In 1957, Jackson was the last Brooklyn player to hit a home run before the team moved to LA. Jackson's major league career spanned the entire decade of the 1950s, a time when the landscape of baseball changed dramatically as teams moved to new cities, built new stadiums, and integrated their rosters.Handsome Ransom Accidental Big Leaguer is an autobiographical account of Jackson's fascinating journey from his boyhood days in Arkansas to playing in the major leagues, where many of his teammates were future Hall of Famers. It's a fun and nostalgic visit to the past, with Jackson sharing such memories as spring training with the Cubs on Catalina Island, befriending a Mafia boss in Massachusetts, batting behind Hank Sauer and getting knocked down by pitchers retaliating for Sauer's home runs, rooming with Don Drysdale on an historic baseball tour of Japan, and sitting in the dugout in LA with Dodger teammates looking for movie stars in the stands. In addition, Jackson remembers being brought to Brooklyn to take over third base for the aging Jackie Robinson, and quickly discovering that nobody replaces a legend like Jackie. While many of the players from the 1950s are no longer with us, Jackson's invaluable and timeless stories celebrate the greatness of the game and preserve a sliver of history from the heart of the golden age of baseball. Featuring many never-before-published photographs from Ransom Jackson's personal collection, including photos of Dodger and Cub greats Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Carl Erskine, Ralph Kiner, and Ernie Banks, Handsome Ransom Jackson will take the reader back to an era when baseball was truly the national pastime. --Peter O'Malley, president, Los Angeles Dodgers, 1970-1998 "The Mighty Quinn Media Machine"
288 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 19, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 31, 2023
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: A REAL-LIFE FORREST GUMP – FROM 2 COTTON BOWLS TO BROOKLYN DODGER WORLD SERIES
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As a born and raised Brooklyn Dodger Fan… I attended my first Big League game with my Dad on September 30, 1956 at Ebbets Field my families Field of Dreams. It was the last game of the regular season and “Our Bums” won… to win the National League Pennant by one game. I got two souvenirs as a child at that game… (See pictures below).. one was a WORLD CHAMPION BROOKLYN DODGER PENNANT (They were reigning World Champs after winning the World Series in 1955)… and I took that pennant everywhere I moved as a child… including moving from New York to Los Angeles with the Dodgers at the end of 1957… and moved it everywhere my entire life up through my current role as a Grandfather. The pennant was starting to get frayed not only from age… but from all the different thumb tacks that were put in and out at each residence… so I had it custom made into a plaque. The second souvenir I got was one of those packets of twelve 5 x 7 individual pictures of the Brooklyn Dodger players. I had that also made into a beautiful custom frame that I have on my wall in my living room (See picture below) by my treadmill. Every single day I look over at that picture and say hello with a wink to my childhood and adulthood idols. Pee Wee… Jackie… The Duke of Flatbush… Campy… The Reading Rifle… Big Gil… Big Newk… Oisk… Little Johnny… Clem Labine… Smokey Alston (Who my Dad and I didn’t care for)… and then there was one player who I always just looked at… but didn’t wink or say hello… because I knew almost nothing about him… and I knew he wasn’t one of my hallowed “BOYS OF SUMMER”… his name is Randy Jackson.
Then I got this book. And before I continue with my review… let me tell you Randy… I’m glad you wrote it… and you will be getting a double wink from me each day… to make up for lost time!
If you want to relive some of the pure love and magic of the 1950’s golden age of baseball this is a wonderful book to pursue that nostalgia. In addition to the facts of that era themselves… a potential reader… will also be blessed with the story told from a pure gentlemanly point of view. From the introduction through the very end… the author tells his tale without any of the current nauseating “third-person” inflated braggadocio that is almost commonplace nowadays. Even the acknowledgements area is tender and caring… as compared to the thousand that I’ve read that seem simply like a teletype printing names and titles.
Randy aka Handsome Ransom had a ten year major league career… mostly with the Chicago Cubs… but also two years with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956 and 57… and part of 1958 with the Los Angeles Dodgers… and a pit stop with the Cleveland Indians. What really made me feel good… is that despite only playing two years in Brooklyn… Randy exudes the love of… and descriptions of… the Brooklyn fans… that are infamous… and will live on forever. A microcosm of the wonderful person you will learn that Randy was… and is… is in how he describes how happy and honored he was to even get to play on such a storied team… and how he felt privileged just to be able to be among the Hall of Fame lineup that awaited him at Ebbets Field. As a man who was acquired under the auspices of replacing Jackie Robinson at the end of Jackie’s career… allows the author to give a special perspective of the legendary NUMBER 42.
To me… the most amazing part of Randy’s life story… and almost hard to believe… “AND”… additionally… how the author tells this part of his life story with such humility… is mind blowing to any true sports fan… especially one like myself… who played a lot of ball in his life.
Randy… after having played no organized baseball or football in high school… during World War II enlists in a Naval program that takes him to TCU. There after having never played in the aforementioned organized sports makes the college baseball and football team. When the war ends he has to go to the University of Texas to finish his education… and he plays both sports there as well. And here comes the Forest Gump part… in baseball he leads the Southwest Conference in hitting three years in a row… he becomes the only football player in HISTORY… to play in the Cotton Bowl two years in a row… WITH TWO DIFFERENT TEAMS! At TCU he started off as the backup punter… then also became a running back and averaged fifty-five-minutes-per-game! And then Major League Baseball came calling.
So Forest… oops… I mean Randy… plays college football on the same team as legendary Hall of Famer Bobby Layne… plays Major League Baseball on the same team as “Mr. Cub”… Ernie Banks… plays on the legendary “BOYS-OF-SUMMER-BROOKLYN-DODGERS” with Jackie-Duke-Gil-Campy-Carl-Newk-Oisk-Pee Wee-Clem… someone named SANDY KOUFAX… and Hall of Fame manager Walt Alston… and yet his modesty is always front and center. Oh by the way… here’s a little trivia for you… the last homerun ever hit by a Brooklyn Dodger… was my personal Forrest Gump… Handsome Ransom Jackson!
A personal note to the author: The touching letter you have included from an old Brooklyn fan is very close to what I have raised my family on also. I pray that when my time comes… that my heaven will be a warm summer Saturday at Ebbets Field for a Brooklyn Dodger doubleheader… and my parents will be there who raised me Brooklyn born to love the Dodgers… and my son and Grandkids will be there so they can meet my parents… we’ll all be standing and cheering when Jackie creates “HEAVENLY-HAVOC”… as he dances off third… daring the pitcher to throw… before he dashes… pigeon-toe style… towards the plate… and at the last second… hooks to the side… and slides across safely at home… as four generations of Goldstein’s… all wearing #42 jerseys… rise as one!
Randy… thanks for a trip back to the good old days!
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As a born and raised Brooklyn Dodger Fan… I attended my first Big League game with my Dad on September 30, 1956 at Ebbets Field my families Field of Dreams. It was the last game of the regular season and “Our Bums” won… to win the National League Pennant by one game. I got two souvenirs as a child at that game… (See pictures below).. one was a WORLD CHAMPION BROOKLYN DODGER PENNANT (They were reigning World Champs after winning the World Series in 1955)… and I took that pennant everywhere I moved as a child… including moving from New York to Los Angeles with the Dodgers at the end of 1957… and moved it everywhere my entire life up through my current role as a Grandfather. The pennant was starting to get frayed not only from age… but from all the different thumb tacks that were put in and out at each residence… so I had it custom made into a plaque. The second souvenir I got was one of those packets of twelve 5 x 7 individual pictures of the Brooklyn Dodger players. I had that also made into a beautiful custom frame that I have on my wall in my living room (See picture below) by my treadmill. Every single day I look over at that picture and say hello with a wink to my childhood and adulthood idols. Pee Wee… Jackie… The Duke of Flatbush… Campy… The Reading Rifle… Big Gil… Big Newk… Oisk… Little Johnny… Clem Labine… Smokey Alston (Who my Dad and I didn’t care for)… and then there was one player who I always just looked at… but didn’t wink or say hello… because I knew almost nothing about him… and I knew he wasn’t one of my hallowed “BOYS OF SUMMER”… his name is Randy Jackson.
Then I got this book. And before I continue with my review… let me tell you Randy… I’m glad you wrote it… and you will be getting a double wink from me each day… to make up for lost time!
If you want to relive some of the pure love and magic of the 1950’s golden age of baseball this is a wonderful book to pursue that nostalgia. In addition to the facts of that era themselves… a potential reader… will also be blessed with the story told from a pure gentlemanly point of view. From the introduction through the very end… the author tells his tale without any of the current nauseating “third-person” inflated braggadocio that is almost commonplace nowadays. Even the acknowledgements area is tender and caring… as compared to the thousand that I’ve read that seem simply like a teletype printing names and titles.
Randy aka Handsome Ransom had a ten year major league career… mostly with the Chicago Cubs… but also two years with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956 and 57… and part of 1958 with the Los Angeles Dodgers… and a pit stop with the Cleveland Indians. What really made me feel good… is that despite only playing two years in Brooklyn… Randy exudes the love of… and descriptions of… the Brooklyn fans… that are infamous… and will live on forever. A microcosm of the wonderful person you will learn that Randy was… and is… is in how he describes how happy and honored he was to even get to play on such a storied team… and how he felt privileged just to be able to be among the Hall of Fame lineup that awaited him at Ebbets Field. As a man who was acquired under the auspices of replacing Jackie Robinson at the end of Jackie’s career… allows the author to give a special perspective of the legendary NUMBER 42.
To me… the most amazing part of Randy’s life story… and almost hard to believe… “AND”… additionally… how the author tells this part of his life story with such humility… is mind blowing to any true sports fan… especially one like myself… who played a lot of ball in his life.
Randy… after having played no organized baseball or football in high school… during World War II enlists in a Naval program that takes him to TCU. There after having never played in the aforementioned organized sports makes the college baseball and football team. When the war ends he has to go to the University of Texas to finish his education… and he plays both sports there as well. And here comes the Forest Gump part… in baseball he leads the Southwest Conference in hitting three years in a row… he becomes the only football player in HISTORY… to play in the Cotton Bowl two years in a row… WITH TWO DIFFERENT TEAMS! At TCU he started off as the backup punter… then also became a running back and averaged fifty-five-minutes-per-game! And then Major League Baseball came calling.
So Forest… oops… I mean Randy… plays college football on the same team as legendary Hall of Famer Bobby Layne… plays Major League Baseball on the same team as “Mr. Cub”… Ernie Banks… plays on the legendary “BOYS-OF-SUMMER-BROOKLYN-DODGERS” with Jackie-Duke-Gil-Campy-Carl-Newk-Oisk-Pee Wee-Clem… someone named SANDY KOUFAX… and Hall of Fame manager Walt Alston… and yet his modesty is always front and center. Oh by the way… here’s a little trivia for you… the last homerun ever hit by a Brooklyn Dodger… was my personal Forrest Gump… Handsome Ransom Jackson!
A personal note to the author: The touching letter you have included from an old Brooklyn fan is very close to what I have raised my family on also. I pray that when my time comes… that my heaven will be a warm summer Saturday at Ebbets Field for a Brooklyn Dodger doubleheader… and my parents will be there who raised me Brooklyn born to love the Dodgers… and my son and Grandkids will be there so they can meet my parents… we’ll all be standing and cheering when Jackie creates “HEAVENLY-HAVOC”… as he dances off third… daring the pitcher to throw… before he dashes… pigeon-toe style… towards the plate… and at the last second… hooks to the side… and slides across safely at home… as four generations of Goldstein’s… all wearing #42 jerseys… rise as one!
Randy… thanks for a trip back to the good old days!
May 9, 2020
Interesting? Sure but far from perfect. This book isn’t terrible but it’s far from a must read. Baseball fans will enjoy but the book itself is kind of all over the place and in my opinion could be shortened by 3-4 chapters. If you are interested in how baseball was in the 1940-1950’s check it out, if not I’d probably pass.
July 10, 2019
An interesting baseball book from a player who had a good career but not an outstanding one. The book is best enjoyed if you think of each chapter as a conversation with Jackson. There is not an even flow through the book and the chapter are like different visits with Jackson over time.
November 25, 2016
A fun read with plenty of great anecdotes though the writing could have used a bit of an upgrade. Although relatively unknown today, Jackson played on the Cubs and Dodgers alongside the likes of the greats like Ernie Banks, Duke Snider, etc. on those teams. He did have some solid seasons and made the All-Star team several times. He was a quality college football player and appeared in the Cotton Bowl for two separate Texas teams and baseball was more of an afterthought. Probably not really a 4 for the rating, more of a high 3, but still a lot of good lore from the Golden Era of Baseball.
June 24, 2016
Ultimately a disappointment, because there just aren't many detailed stories or vivid descriptions of Jackson's teammates and managers. But at least the book's well-footnoted and -indexed, and the ghostwriter's breezy style makes this a quick, easy read. Plus, Jackson actually invites the reader to send him autograph requests - granted, he doesn't also include his address - and so I'm inclined to be generous. I just can't help yearning for more depth.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews