The High Hard One

by Kirby Higbe, Martin Peter Quigley

The High Hard One intimately portrays the rough-and-ready life of a bush-league ballplayer during the Great Depression. Kirby Higbe broke into the big time with the Chicago Cubs in 1938, showed his talent for striking out batters while pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1940, and led the National League in victories for the pennant-winning Brooklyn Dodgers in 1941. He was with the Dodgers when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier and integrated the team in 1947. That year was, for Higbe, €œthe end of what you might call the Babe Ruth era and the beginning of modern professional baseball.€

Genres: Baseball

189 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1998

Reviews

[Justin]

He sure was an unrepentant racist.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

An oral history of a major league ballplayer active in the decades surrounding World War II. Mostly his story was one of having wasted significant athletic ability on a lifetime of poor choices and muddled thinking. In the current political environment, this was a very interesting read. Like so many today, he clearly sees that somewhere along the way, he got off the boat. But, even now looking back, he doesn't seem to have much of an idea exactly where he was put ashore.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read some crazy exploits from the point of view of Kirby Higbe in Bums, Peter Golenbock's masterpiece oral history of the Dodgers, and assumed that his autobiography would be as filled with F-bombs and questionable romantic and imbibing choices as well. It was sadly not the case. There was a little bit about Leo Durocher, a little good ol' boy racism about Jackie Robinson, but not an F-bomb in sight. A brief and ultimately unsatisfying read.

[Spiros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kirby Higbe was a kind of proto-Nuke Laloosh; until developing a knuckle ball late in his career, he basically just rared back and gave you the heat, not a lot of thinking involved. He had one speed, both in his pitching and his life outside the lines. Definitely an enjoyable read, with some pathos towards the end, after the cheering stopped.