Urban Shocker: Silent Hero of Baseball's Golden Age

by Steve Steinberg

2018 SABR Baseball Research Award Winner

Baseball in the 1920s is most known for Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees, but there was another great Yankee player in that era whose compelling story remains untold. Urban Shocker was a fiercely competitive and colorful pitcher, a spitballer who had many famous battles with Babe Ruth before returning to the Yankees. Shocker was traded away to the St. Louis Browns in 1918 by Yankees manager Miller Huggins, a trade Huggins always regretted. In 1925, after four straight seasons with at least twenty wins with the hapless Browns, Shocker became the only player Huggins brought back to the Yankees. He finally reached the World Series, with the 1926 Yankees.

In the Yankees’ storied 1927 season, widely viewed to be the best in MLB history, Shocker pitched with guts and guile, finishing with a record of 18‑6 even while his fastball and physical skills were deserting him. Hardly anyone knew that Shocker was suffering from an incurable heart disease that left him able to sleep only while sitting up and which would take his life in less than a year. With his physical skills diminishing, he continued to win games through craftiness and well-placed pitches. 
Delving into Shocker’s baseball career, his love of the game, and his battle with heart disease, Steve Steinberg shows the dominant and courageous force that he was.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Biography, History, Nonfiction

352 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2017

Reviews

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the lesser-known members of the famous 1927 New York Yankees was a pitcher who was on his second tour of duty with the Yankees. Urban Shocker was one of the pitchers for the team after several outstanding seasons for the St. Louis Browns. His career and life is captured in this terrific biography by Steve Steinberg.

The book covers much more than Shocker’s life before the game, his career highlights and game-by-game accounts (there is very little of the latter). The reader will learn much about Shocker’s mindset when pitching. This is evident by his use of a spitball or “wet ball”, allowed when he began his career and one of the pitchers who was allowed to keep using it after it was banned from the game in 1920. Another passage in which the reader gets into Shocker’s mind is when he threw this pitch as a rookie to two star Yankee teammates in an intra-squad game. He was gutsy and did what he wanted.

This was also true throughout his career. He was bitter about being traded to the St. Louis Browns, especially because he was considered a troublemaker because of who he befriended on the team. He always wanted the ball against the Yankees to show how wrong they were to trade him. However, when the Yankees reacquired him, he was very excited to be playing for the same manager who he thought wanted to get rid of him, Miller Huggins. The book does a great job of illustrating this relationship between the two men.

Shocker also wanted to keep his health problems as secret as possible, in which he succeeded as it was a surprise to many when he died months after retiring as a pitcher. He had cardiac issues and it would case him many issues on the field late in his career, including sudden collapse. It was the main reason he had to retire, but he was a fighter to the end.

This biography provides a lot of information on Shocker, a pitcher whose contributions to the Yankees are often overlooked. The book even mentions Bill James’ proclamation that Shocker was one of the best pitchers of the era. Written in a manner that gives readers a clear picture of Urban Shocker, both the man and the baseball player, it is a book that all baseball fans should add to their libraries.

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully written book written about a forgotten old time pitcher by the name Urban Shocker. The story follows his life into the minor leagues to the majors and when he finally makes it to the Yankees he is then traded to the St. Louis Browns where he would have four consecutive 20 win seasons and for a three year period was the pitcher with the most wins. He did have his moments of suspensions, and fines from owners and managers not agreeing with keeping quiet on any issue. He especially enjoyed pitching against the Yankees whether he won or lost it would be a very good game. Also while with the Browns he did pitch both games of a double header. He was traded back to the Yankees and played 25, 26, 27, and one game in 28. He was part of the great 1927 Yankee team even though he was becoming sick he was still 18-6. When he passed away in 1928 the team rallied around and won again and even voted a share to his widow. The story was very interesting and well researched. I liked all of the games that he was involved in. one bit that was or could be fixed by the 60’s through an operation. A very good book and worth the read. I got this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

[Zach Koenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Behind every book written, there's a reason for its writing. In the case of "Urban Shocker", the title would have you believe it is because he was an overlooked "hero" of baseball's Dead Ball era (early 1900s). I never bought into that premise, but fortunately author Steve Steinberg tells Shocker's story interestingly enough to make it worthwhile for fans of such fare.

To be perfectly honest, even after reading I still don't think that Urban Shocker is any sort of "undiscovered gem". When I think about the greats of that early baseball time period, his name won't immediately spring to mind like that of others. He was a solid pitcher, to be sure, during his career with the St. Louis Browns and New York Yankees, and his personality made him stand out. But other than that (and his obvious stature as a major leaguer)? Not all that different from many other above-average players then and now.

What saves "Silent Hero", however, is the storytelling ability of Steinberg. No matter what the talent level, anyone who played professional sports has a story to tell (or be told), and Steinberg finds it here. From Shocker's assortment of pitchers (spitball included) to his feuds with the Yankees and ultimately untimely demise, the events of his life are indeed interesting.

Another quick note: this one is probably for the baseball history die-hards only. Granted, if you aren't one of those you probably aren't picking up a book about Urban Shocker to begin with, but this is pretty niche stuff.

So, I'll settle on a 4/5 ranking because I'm a sucker for baseball history (especially the era described here) and Shocker's life is indeed interesting as told by Steinberg. Epic or revelatory? Ehh. But interesting? Oh yes--for sure.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering there are almost 60 pages of notes, the book should have included Shocker's career record so the reader doesn't have to keep looking it up.

[Rob Neyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Assiduously researched, lovingly written.

[Kev Willoughby · Rating 4 out of 5]

The name of Urban Shocker is distinctive, and that alone was enough to make me curious to learn more of his life story, though the era in which he played baseball (1920s) is compelling enough to make for a great story, regardless of the teams or players being featured.

With that said, I found the delivery of this story to be unique in that the biggest personality of the era in which Urban Shocker's career took place (Babe Ruth) was relegated in these pages to being a minor personality, as the focus was on the subject, Shocker himself.

Shocker had quite a large personality in his own right, and early in his career, he had a reputation of having a wild, if not reckless, nightlife away from the baseball field. This may or may not have had an impact on his quality of play when he was at the stadium, but it certainly impacted his opportunity to remain with the Yankees at that time. In fact, Shocker's antics off the field were the prevailing factor, along with his outspokenness on the field, that led to his being traded to the lowly St. Louis Browns in 1918.

That trade served only to increase his motivation to become a better player, especially in the years that followed when he had the opportunity to pitch against the Yankees. He wanted to make them regret trading him as much as he wanted the opportunity to someday return to the Yankees. He enjoyed notable success in many of his games against the Yankees.

After spending what were arguably the best 7 years of his career with the Browns, he was eventually traded back to the Yankees in 1925, where he finally had the opportunity to experience a couple of World Series during 1926 and 1927. The 1927 Yankees are considered by many to be the greatest baseball team of all-time, and some consider Shocker to be the best pitcher from that team, although he did not pitch in the '27 World Series.

By 1928, Shocker was dead at the young age of 37.

One theme that the book brings out very well is the reality of mortality. By the time Shocker returned to the Yankees in 1925, he was no longer the same impulsive person, especially off the field. Influenced by the reality of his terminal condition, he wasn't as outspoken anymore and he was a better teammate, helping to teach the rookie pitchers and becoming more patient and consistent in what he brought to the game as a pitcher. He had discovered humility. Knowing his time was short, he conducted himself with maturity and expressed his gratitude with the opportunity to return to the team he loved in New York.

Regarding the format, I liked that the photographs of the players were placed within the specific pages in each chapter where they were mentioned instead of being all lumped together in the middle of the book. That's something not usually seen in biographies or sports books, and in this case, it enriched the story. I also enjoyed that most of the chapters started with the eloquent words of the premier sportswriter of Shocker's era, Grantland Rice.

In many ways, Urban Shocker's baseball career and lifestyle serve as an example of how people can change for the better over time. Most of us are not the same people in our last days that we were in our formative years. For many of us, our best years can pass by before we are able to ultimately discover how precious and finite our days are.

[Chris Maddix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's a bit of background on this baseball player - Urban Shocker was one unique individual. He was a fine baseball player. Reputedly a good hitter (.209 career batting average) who had some power but also an exceptional bunter, Shocker used his still-sanctioned spitball to go on an incredible run, posting a won-lost record of 91-51 from 1920-1923 while the Browns were 324-289. That means that, minus Shocker, in the best period of their existence, the Browns were a losing team (233-238). Shocker also marched to the beat of his own drum. For example, although the Browns were certainly competitive in 1921-22, they were headed for fifth place in 1923. Shocker voiced his preference to bring his wife along on the team’s final road trip. The Browns flatly disapproved. In response, Shocker refused to go, and the Browns fined him $1000 (no small fine – his annual salary was $9000) and suspended him. Shocker’s reply was to ask that he be granted free agency, claiming that the team had no right to interfere with his family affairs. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis was requested to be the arbiter of the case and there was no sure indication which way he would decide. Team owners were so uncertain that they reportedly met, discussed, and decided that if Landis ruled in favor of Shocker, he would either be fined or fired, or both. Shocker in turn threatened that he would take the case to court if Landis ruled against him. Browns great first baseman George Sisler had recently become manager and busied himself over the winter entertaining trade offers for Shocker, with whom Sisler did not get along anyway. The Yankees were interested and were said to have offered future Hall of Famer Waite Hoyt. In addition to desiring Shocker, the Yankees wanted to make up for their error from 1918, when Shocker was a throw-in as part of the deal that sent Del Pratt to New York. Finally, just days before the date that Landis’s decision was due, Shocker withdrew his claim, declaring himself completely satisfied and ready to pitch. Why? It was later revealed that the American League president Ban Johnson made up for the $1000. A year later, after a subpar 16-13 season and an ERA one run above his career numbers, Shocker was in fact sent to the Yankees. Urban was still in New York in 1927 with the historic Yankees, winning eighteen, losing six and arguably performing as the best pitcher on the staff, even though the Yankees had Hall of Famers Waite Hoyt and Herb Pennock. Amazingly, Shocker accomplished all of this even though he was hampered by constant, debilitating health concerns. Shocker lived with a heart condition so severe some books say he had to sleep either sitting or standing up. By the early fall of 1927, he was too ill to maintain his place in the starting lineup. He died of pneumonia in 1928.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

If history begins where memory fades (to paraphrase a quote Mr. Steinberg uses in the epilogue), then this book exemplifies biographical research. Urban Shocker was a genuine superstar throughout most of the 1920's, but poor timing -- culminating in his untimely death in 1928 -- has left his legacy mostly forgotten. (I knew a bit about him before I read this book, but I believe myself to be the rare exception.) His peers are all gone, and evidence of his existence has been relegated to faded photographs and newspaper articles. This book is as much about uncovering that lost personality as it is about the author's journey--spanning nearly two decades!--to find it. And the result is a marvelous weaving of storytelling and detective work that paints a picture of a hero from ages gone by that, at times, reads like a narrative. Just as Mr. Shocker refined his slowball, Mr. Steinberg has refined this story, clearly pushing and searching and pushing for any credible truths he could find (and when he couldn't find them, admitting it). The astute historian will note that the copious endnotes serve to further supplement Mr. Steinberg's journey, implicitly outlining how one would go about finding the obscure and the unknown. The reader learns about the history of the spitball, baseball during the Jazz Age, and, briefly, the intricacies of the heart disease that took Mr. Shocker's life at age 38. Each chapter is neatly bookended with contemporary poetry from the erstwhile scribe Grantland Rice that puts one in that era, and the author's own musings on what that particular period in his subject's life might actually have meant. Beautiful, touching, and perhaps the best sports book I've read in the past several years. 5*****

[Chuck Neumann · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Urban Shocker" is a very good book covering the career and life of Urban Shocker. He was one of the finest pitchers of the 1920's. While the author states he is forgotten today, I was quite aware of his story. (I guess I am more into baseball history than most people). Shocker was a star starting pitcher for the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Browns from the late teens to 1927. His career and life were cut short by a bad heart, he died less than a year after he helped the Yankees reach and win the 1927 World Series. Mr. Steinberg does a great job revealing Shocker's career and covers in some detail those who played a role in it. He gives less information about his private life - I am sure much information was not available. Even Shocker's nephew, still alive when the book was being written, knew very little about his life. At the time, Shocker's illness was a closely guarded secret, the writers who knew about it kept it to themselves long after Shocker's death. The author does a good job telling us what his illness must have been like. It is amazing the Shocker wanted to keep pitching, even as his heart was giving out. The author liked starting each chapter with lines from Grantland Rice. While the lines concerned baseball and were interesting, they really had nothing to do with the story being told and I found rather distracting. I wish the author had discussed what happened to Shocker's wife and stepson after his death. I also wish the author had Shocker's yearly pitching record shown, he had nearly 60 pages of interesting notes but not a career record. The book does include some interesting photos. This is a very good and very detailed account of the career of Urban Shocker, and I am so happy it has been told.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Steinberg's biography of the criminally forgotten pitcher Urban Shocker is a gentle and evocative masterpiece of historical research and storytelling. While I had certainly read the name Urban Shocker before, and knew from books that he had been a pitcher for the Yankees and the Browns, I had no sense of him as a man, or the immense influence he had in the time he pitched when he was perhaps eclipsed by more vibrant stars. Steve Steinberg is to be commended for writing a baseball book that is rigorously researched and is filled not only with accounts of great games and performances, but also the humanity of both the times and the people he writes about. I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves the history of baseball and I will eagerly look to read what Steve Steinberg writes next.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unjustly forgotten about pitcher from the "golden era" of baseball and an important part of the 1927 New York Yankees finally gets his due in a magisterial biography from baseball historian Steve Steinberg.
Steinberg does a marvelously through job of dissecting Shocker's life and doesn't flinch from reporting his arrogance and cockiness as well as showing his drive and smarts and studying hitters tendencies well before that became fashionable.
He also show us the Noble Shocker working while having a fatal heart condtion ( Mitral Valve failure- a treatable condition now but not tin the 20's) and gutting out a 18-6 record in 1927 even while his condition forced him to sleep sitting up.

A brilliant portrait of a marvelous pitcher and his time in the sun.

[RA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful exploration of the career of the doomed Urban Shocker, known as one of the smartest pitchers of his era (1920s). He had failure of a heart valve which predicted his death, yet he pitched through it, hid it for as long as he could, and was one of the most successful and respected pitchers at the time.


One of the last "grandfathered" spitballers allowed to use that pitch, but he successfully used it sparingly, putting it more into the hitters' psyches than actually throwing it' had a devastating "slow ball," which tantalized hitters consistently.


This is a wonderful baseball biography, with great detail about the 1920s, and especially the New York Yankees, where Shocker was traded from, until his return to them the last years of his career, before his tragic death.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Steinberg's excellent biography of baseball great Urban Shocker will delight fans of baseball and especially those readers interested in the New York Yankees and baseball during the 1920s. The story of Shocker takes the reader back in time to his development as a pitcher--with the Yankees, then the St. Louis Browns, and then again with the Yankee powerhouse teams of the mid-1920s. The book details--I won't provide any spoilers here--the health struggles that plagued Shocker throughout his career. It is a heart-warming story of an athlete's struggle to succeed despite a serious and life-threatening condition. Steinberg's writing and research are impeccable. Highly recommended.

[Gene Bernacki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised at what a well written and fun book this was. Urban kind of reminded me of Trevor Bauer of the Cincinnati Reds today. He was colorful, brash, well liked and a great pitcher for the few years he pitched.

[Mark Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good biography of the now largely forgotten pitcher of the 1910s and '20s, Urban Shocker. Shocker was called "the most consistent pitcher in baseball history" by stats guru Bill James. Can't recommend this book highly enough for all baseball fans.

[Katherine Wacker · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his book, Urban Shocker: Silent Hero of Baseball’s Golden Age, Steve Steinburg tells the story of one of the greatest pitchers in history, although few fans have heard of him. Shocker came to the New York Yankees in the late 1910’s but, much to the chagrin of his manager and to Shocker himself, he was traded away to the St. Louis Browns because he had been a “bad teammate.” Determined to show the Yankees their mistake, Shocker saved his best stuff for his outings against his opponents in pinstripes. He considered the epic battles with Babe Ruth some of the best of his career.

Impressed with his ability, competitive nature, and knowledge of the game, the Yankees re-traded for Shocker, and he played a pivotal role on the Bronx Bombers’ 1927 Championship team. Shocker pitched at the highest level of competition while battling a serious heart condition, which would lead eventually to an early retirement and an untimely death.

Urban Shocker is a well-written account of a man who would put himself at risk if it meant that his team would win. Steinburg does an admirable job of piecing together the rare historical record and presents a picture of a courageous competitor of whom even serious baseball fans rarely hear.

Urban Shocker is a great read for any baseball fan. It is the forgotten story of one of the greatest pitchers of the game. He may have been the indispensible piece to one of the amazing teams in history of baseball. I highly recommend Urban Shocker.



I was given a free copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I consider myself a strictly amateur and informal student of baseball history. I am not a baseball scholar by any means. I am also a fan of the New York Yankees. It's nearly impossible to be a student of baseball history and not at least be aware of the Yankees, and what is indeed a storied history. One of their most storied seasons occurred in 1927, and one of the mainstays of the pitching staff that year was Mr. Urban Shocker. He ranks as a fascinating story based on his name alone.

In those days, offense was king, and the newspapers rang with stories of the daily heroics at the plate by the likes of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, each of whose stories is well documented. Urban Shocker, and the rest of his mound mates that year, have been largely overlooked. This biography sheds SOME light on the pitcher with one of the most uncommon names...but not much. A good deal of what the author reports is information that could be sussed from the box scores of the day. Readers learn precious little about his life--especially as compared to the life of Ruth--and only a little bit more about his early, sad passing.

I seriously doubt that anyone other than readers just like me will find much of interest in this book, and the amateur baseball historian will come away from it with a shrug.

[Paul O'Grady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steinberg does a service in the book in re-introducing baseball fans to Urban Shocker. Like so many near Hall of Famers, Shocker went from prominent star to forgotten very quickly. The story of his baseball life was quite compelling, and he literally left it all on the field. Steinberg relies almost exclusively on newspaper accounts for his sources but it provides an interesting profile of Shocker. My only real criticism of this book is that at times it dragged as I felt I was being provided one synopsis of a Shocker start after another. While it may not appeal to a broad audience, anyone interested in baseball in the early part of the twentieth century, New York Yankees history or cultural history generally may find it a worthwhile read.

[Pocosnoopy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written book about a forgotten baseball player from the 1920's. Too many recent baseball biographies try to tell the story of a ballplayer through statistics. Those books are uninformative and, usually, poorly written. This biography tried to get beyond the day to day statistics of a season and looked at what was happening off the baseball field. It made the biography more well rounded and more in depth. I recommend this biography to any baseball fan, particularly fans of early baseball and the New York Yankees.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free Kindle copy of this book from Net Galley and the University of Nebraska Press, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my history book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book because I am a die-hard New York Yankees fan and read most anything that I can get my hands on. This is not the first book by Steve Steinberg that I have read.

The book is well researched and well written. The author's style makes this a pleasureable and fairly quick read. The book does a very good job of covering how the personality of Urban Schocker was developed by his parents who were somewhat polar opposites in their approach to child rearing. He was intensely focused on winning , but at times it did not take much for him to fly off the handle early in his career.

He started out with the New York Yankees, but was traded to the St. Louis Browns and wanted to face his former team as often as he could. He particularly enjoyed his battles with Babe Ruth. Late in his career he was traded back to the Yankees just as his health started to impact his pitching. He used guile and knowledge of hitters to make up for the loss of array of pitchers. He was one of the last legal spitball pitchers, but faked it more than he used it to throw hitters off balance.

He eventually won a World Series, but did not appear in any of the games. He died in 1928 from a heart condition shortly after retiring from professional baseball.

I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of baseball and in particular the New York Yankees.