Gil Hodges
The Brooklyn Bums, the Miracle Mets, and the Extraordinary Life of a Baseball Legend
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4.8 • 4 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
A legend during the Golden Era of the 1950s, Brooklyn Dodgers baseball player and New York Mets manager Gil Hodges is at the center of this masterful sports biography, which delves into the life, achievements, and sterling character of one of baseball’s most overlooked stars.
Gil Hodges was the Brooklyn Dodgers’ powerful first baseman who, alongside Jackie Robinson, helped drive his team to six pennants and a thrilling World Series victory in 1955.
Dutifully following the Dodgers to Los Angeles in 1958, Hodges longed to return to New York City, and in 1962, joined the original Mets. He took over the manager’s spot on their bench in 1968 and transformed the team from a joke to World Champions in 1969—thus creating the Miracle Mets. Yet behind his stoic demeanor lay a man prone to anxiety and scarred by combat during World War II. His sudden death in 1972 shocked his friends and family and left a void in the hearts of baseball fans everywhere.
Acclaimed authors Tom Clavin and Danny Peary deliver a thoroughly researched and poignant view of one of baseball’s hidden treasures, shedding light on a fascinating life and career that even his most ardent fans never knew.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Clavin and Peary (Roger Maris) add to the hagiography of the Brooklyn Dodgers from the perspective of star first baseman Gil Hodges. Hodges signed with the Dodgers in 1943, and then left for the Marine Corps to serve in the South Pacific. He returned to the Dodgers and become a fan and media favorite through the early 1960s. He ended his playing career with the Mets, and later managed them to the 1969 World Series title. The story is as much about the Dodgers success as it is about Hodges; the authors portray them as one and the same. Clavin and Peary, however, avoid wallowing in statistics or sugary accolades in a tale of the final years of the beloved Brooklyn team, the rise of baseball in the West, and the resurrection of the National League in New York, but end with an unabashed yet legitimate plea for his Hall of Fame election.
