Leo Durocher, Paul Dickson
Leo Durocher, Paul Dickson
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Leo Durocher
Baseball's Prodigal Son

Author: Paul Dickson

Narrator: Barry Abrams

Unabridged: 13 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/25/2017

Synopsis

Leo Durocher (1906–1991) was baseball's all-time leading cocky, flamboyant, and galvanizing character, casting a shadow across several eras, from the time of Babe Ruth to the Space Age Astrodome, from Prohibition through the Vietnam War. For more than forty years, he was at the forefront of the game, with a Zelig-like ability to be present as a player or manager for some of the greatest teams and defining baseball moments of the twentieth century. A rugged, combative shortstop and a three-time All-Star, he became a legendary manager, winning three pennants and a World Series in 1954.

Durocher performed on three main stages: New York, Chicago, and Hollywood. He entered from the wings, strode to where the lights were brightest, and then took a poke at anyone who tried to upstage him. On occasion he would share the limelight, but only with Hollywood friends such as actor Danny Kaye, tough-guy and sometime roommate George Raft, Frank Sinatra, and his third wife, movie star Laraine Day.

As he did with Bill Veeck, Dickson explores Durocher's life and times through primary source materials, interviews with those who knew him, and original newspaper files.

About Paul Dickson

Paul Dickson is the author of more than sixty nonfiction books, including Sputnik: The Shock of the Century and The Bonus Army: An American Epic (with Thomas B. Allen), and books on electronic warfare and war slang. He concentrates on writing about the American language, baseball, and 20th century history. He lives in Garrett Park, Maryland.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Harold

He began his professional career when Cal Coolidge was President. he played with Babe Ruth and against Ty Cobb. He was a manager until his last gig with Houston in 1975. He was a rogue, a character, one of the best defensive shortstops in his era, and one of the most controversial persona of all tim......more

Goodreads review by Steven

This is a very fine biography of one of baseball's prodigal sons, Leo "the Lip" Durocher. Between playing and managing, he lived in the eras of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb up through Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Ernie Banks. He managed three teams for fairly long stretches--Dodgers, Giants, and Cubs. A......more

Goodreads review by Josh

Book 53 of 2024: The life of the man known as "Leo the Lip." Leo Durocher lived a baseball life, he played with Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth and managed Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays. He was one of the most infamous managers who ever laced them up. He was hated by opponents, umpires, some of his players......more

Goodreads review by Dave

A really good biography about one of the controversial figures in American Sports, in the first half of the last century. Leo is best known as a competitor who said he would trip his own mother if it would mean winning a ballgame. Durocher was in the middle of such events as the 27 Yankees, the Gash......more

Goodreads review by Andrew

I had already read Paul Dickson's outstanding biography of Bill Veeck, the controversial owner of several baseball franchises, including my Chicago White Sox. While Veeck was a pain in the neck to many people, he was a really good man. Leo Durocher, every bit as controversial as Veeck as a player an......more

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