Description
Book Synopsis One of the most popular players in Cincinnati Reds history, Ernie Schnozz Lombardi played 1931-1947 as an eight-time All-Star catcher. A big man with huge hands, a cannon for an arm and a namesake nose, he held two National League batting titles and a career average of .306. Yet he was so famously slow a runner that the infielders took to the outfield, where they could still throw him out. Fastballs not thrown hard enough were caught barehanded and fired back to the mound.
One unfortunate play in the 1939 World Series dogged Lombardi for the rest of his life and kept him from the Hall of Fame until long after his death. This first full-length biography gives a complete account of this outstanding player.
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1. The Early Years
- 2. Brooklyn
- 3. Cincinnati
- 4. "The Giant Italian Catcher"
- 5. The Crosley Era
- 6. Night Baseball
- 7. An All-Star Year
- 8. Back to Last Place
- 9. MVP
- 10. Pennant
- 11. Tragedy and Triumph
- 12. Letdown
- 13. Boston
- 14. New York
- 15. The War Years
- 16. Backup
- 17. Back to the Minors
- 18. Aftermath
- 19. Later Years
- 20. The Hall of Fame
- Appendix: Ernie Lombardi's Statistics
- Chapter Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
