Description
Book SynopsisHere is the life story of Horace Stoneham, who inherited the New York Giants Major League Baseball franchise in 1936 and owned and operated the organization until 1976.
Trade Review"Steve Treder makes an important contribution to the field of baseball history with
Forty Years a Giant. Readers will soak up the fascinating story of Horace Stoneham, who, at long last, receives the attention he so richly deserves."—Jason Cannon,
NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture“No one better understands the Giants of the mid-twentieth century than Steve Treder, so I knew this was a perfect pairing of author and subject. I was not disappointed. This is an absorbing look at one of baseball’s most fascinating teams.”—Mark Armour, author of
Joe Cronin: A Life in Baseball“Masterful. . . . This richly contextualized book rescues Stoneham from the sidelines of New York City’s baseball world and places him alongside Walter O’Malley in the story of the sport’s success in California, where he belongs. It is a delight.”—Roberta Newman, author of
Here’s the Pitch: The Amazing, True, New, and Improved Story of Baseball and Advertising“Horace Stoneham [was] a true baseball pioneer. . . . Giants fans especially will enjoy both Treder’s thorough narrative of the Stoneham years in New York and in San Francisco—the players, the games, the seasons—and his extensive and balanced portrait of the man most responsible for that history.”—Robert F. Garratt, author of
Home Team: The Turbulent History of the San Francisco Giants“Horace Stoneham may be one of the most underappreciated baseball executives of the twentieth century. Thanks to Steve Treder we now have a book that recognizes his significance and reflects the Giants’ prominence in many of the fascinating and consequential moments of more than five decades of baseball history.”—Daniel R. Levitt, author of
Ed Barrow: The Bulldog Who Built the Yankees’ First Dynasty“Sometimes you just don’t know what you were missing until you’ve got it. More than players, more than coaches, more than anyone else really, it’s always been the owners who determine the fates of baseball franchises. Which makes it all the more surprising that Steve Treder’s outstanding book is the first comprehensive biography of Horace Stoneham, who owned one of baseball’s titanic teams through forty years of revolutionary change.”—Rob Neyer, author of Casey Award–winning
Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game"Treder's biography of long-time New York/San Francisco Giants owner Horace Stoneham is a thorough exploration of his 40-year tenure in baseball ownership between 1936 and 1976."—Charlie Bevis,
Bevis Baseball ResearchTable of ContentsIntroduction
Prologue: Sunday, September 21, 1975
1. Horrie, I Bought You a Ball Club
2. Roaring into the Twenties
3. Hard Truths
4. Brooklyn Is Still in the League
5. War, Peace, and Nice Guys
6. We Knew Segregation Was Wrong
7. Horace Stoneham Has Finally Got a Winner
8. We Have No Chance to Survive Here
9. Open Your Golden Gate
10. It’s Bye-Bye Baby
11. No Cigar
12. Certainly the Move Will Hurt Us
13. Resilience
14. I Never Thought I Would Trade Willie
15. You Can’t Get Discouraged
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
