Beauty at Short: Dave Bancroft, the Most Unlikely Hall of Famer and His Wild Times in Baseball's First Century

by Tom Alesia

Dave Bancroft should not be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He emerged from his Iowa hometown as an undersized shortstop without batting skills. Signed by one of the 300-plus minor league teams at age 17 in 1909, he lasted only three weeks before being cut, then joined another team and was released again. His rise to become enshrined in Cooperstown as one of baseball's all-time greats was unfathomable.
More importantly, baseball placed Bancroft at the game's best vantage point across nearly one century. This view allowed him to observe the modern evolution of the game through international travel, the fallout of two world wars, racism, women's rights and the Great Depression. He met practically every renowned person connected to pro baseball . . . and countless others with astounding backgrounds and fates. He greeted royalty and presidents, film stars and music sensations, boxing champs and snake oil chumps, needy kids and spoiled moguls.
Along the way,
--Changed how shortstop was played
--Became a groundbreaking switch hitter
--Earned the flattering but bizarre nickname "Beauty"
--Delivered the most precise support of the designated hitter 50 years before it happened
--Played in a 51-minute, 9-inning game
--Managed three women's professional baseball league teams
--Suffered one the sport's most vicious attacks from another player during a game
--Appeared on what may have been baseball's first TV broadcast
--Played every inning in four World Series, including three extraordinary matchups between the New York Giants and New York Yankees in the early 1920s
--Attended several of the earliest night-game experiments
--Holds the longest-standing season record for fielding chances by a shortstop
--Remains the only player to hit six singles in a nine-inning game and score in four straight innings.
Bancroft thrived as a major New York sports hero and languished on dangerous bus rides as manager of the minor league St. Cloud Rox. With his health failing on January 31, 1971, he ate a chicken dinner with his devoted wife, Edna, of 60 years when the phone rang at their modest northern Wisconsin home. Dave listened and spoke softly. "Oh, my God," he told the caller, "that's the nicest thing I've ever heard." He made the Hall of Fame.

Genres: Baseball, Sports

160 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 22, 2022

Reviews

[Gary Anderson]

Beauty at Short is Tom Alesia’s biography of Hall of Fame shortstop Dave Bancroft. What? You’ve never heard of Dave Bancroft? Me neither, until this book came on my radar.

Bancroft was a stellar shortstop who still holds the record for most chances in a season (984). Before his major league career, Bancroft sputtered in the minor leagues in the early years of last century before getting his break with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1915. Bancroft’s major league career as a player and player-manager lasted until 1930, including campaigns with the New York Giants, Boston Braves, and Brooklyn Robins, followed by another stint with the New York Giants as an assistant coach.

Bancroft’s baseball life after his years in the majors was fascinating. He managed minor league teams from 1933 to 1947, and then managed in the women’s professional leagues from 1948 to 1951 when he was sixty years old. He then retired and lived a fairly quiet life in Superior, Wisconsin with his wife Edna who had been at Bancroft’s side throughout his career, and who was arguably more colorful than her husband. Bancroft got the call that he had been voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971 at age eighty. Because Bancroft didn’t live long after that, and because his induction was something of a surprise, his signed memorabilia is rare and valuable.

The story behind the story of Beauty at Short is the author’s research. Because Bancroft’s story was a hundred years old and lacked a certain flamboyance, Tom Alesia was working with scant material. I would love to know more about how Alesia dealt with the challenges involved in researching the life of one of the lesser-known Hall of Famers.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love biographies like this. Especially how the author decided to write about Dave Bancroft. It's a nice, shorter read but still full of information. He did a great job pulling it all together for this book. I knew of Bancroft but not in this much depth. Excellent for any fan of baseball history. I will say that I don't believe Bancroft was really Hall of Fame worthy. He stats don't back it up (hitting .300 in that era wasn't as big a deal and advanced stats show he was below average offensively), he was mainly elected due to the cronyism that was going around in the 60's and 70's with older players. But the Hall of Fame has many worse players than him in it. He was still a very good baseball player and I enjoyed this book.

[Aldon Rachele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than good as it was great!

Better thàn good as it was great!

It was a
Super duper book! Dave Bancroft was a better shortstop than Derek Jeter, Tony Kubek, Robin Yount, George Davis of the Cleveland Spiders in 1890, Alan
Trammel, Barry Larkin, Luke Appling_batted .388 in 1936, Cal Ripken, Honus Wagner of Louisville Colonels\Pittsburgh Pirates,
Ozzie Smith, Gene Michael, Bucky Dent, who hit home run to beat RedSox in a New York Yankees p!ayoff win in 1978!
Yankees beat Dodgers in World Series.

[Bill Caldera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

I love books about old time baseball and this was one of the best. Before reading this book I never heard of Dave Bancroft definitely worth reading.

[bob bursey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart warming story.

Fun read. I hardly knew anything on Bancroft. I’ve read thousands of baseball books in my life but he got overlooked.Kinda like his career.Dave wasn’t a showboat or a big hitter. He was a great shortstop and a true baseball man his whole life.A small town guy who never lost his love for his wife,town,or the game. Nice to hear of this.

[Dean Krebs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

I thought I had a pretty good idea of old ballplayers of old having read many bios about many old players, but I has never heard of him. He was a very good player and now I will know .who Dave Bancroft is.

[Jeffrey Granat · Rating 4 out of 5]

solid book

I enjoyed this book about a guy who is a hall of famer, but one of the more unknown players unless you are a big baseball fan. Interesting career as a player and coach. Nothing earth shattering but definitely a good read.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for any baseball fan!

"beauty at Short" was entertaining and filled with interesting historical facts, without getting bogged down. It took me on a great adventure through baseball's storied past.

[Don Paske · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an good book about someone I had never heard of previously. Apparently Dave Bancroft was a heck of a shortstop and pretty decent hitter. Well-written,

[Eames · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining book about baseball Hall of Famer Dave Bancroft, whose rise to Cooperstown is unbelievable. Snappy writing, enjoyable and interesting stories. The man lived an incredible life and learned he was a Hall of Famer at age 80!

[Eames · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snappy and fascinating bio of an obscure Hall of Famer! Enjoyed it!