The Postwar Yankees: Baseball's Golden Age Revisited

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments Writing this book was truly a team effort. I’ve been helped by the kindness of friends as well as that of strangers. I thank Phil Greiner for his help in compiling Yankees/Athletics trade data. John Kuenster, editor of Baseball Digest, generously allowed me to browse through the magazine’s back issues and make copious photocopies of useful articles. The staff at the Chicago Historical Society and Notre Dame library supplied me with the Sporting News. George Rugg, curator of the Joyce Sports Collection at Notre Dame, was particularly helpful. He suggested using scorecards as primary materials, and the suggestion paid off. In addition, we would often go to lunch and commiserate as only fellow Red Sox fans can. The University of Oregon library staff, including Mark Watson, Ted Smith, and Thomas Stave, helped me locate important government documents . The Multnomah County Public Library in Portland, Oregon, contained several useful reference works on the Minor Leagues, and the staff was helpful in photocopying material. Professor Louis Cain advised and encouraged me to switch research agendas from the American Civil War to the economics of professional sports. His advice was certainly fruitful. Mike Haupert’s thorough reading and comments have greatly improved the manuscript. Participants at a number of conferences, including the Illinois Economic Association, Southern Economics Association, and Western International Economics Association, and workshops at the University of Northern Iowa, Northwestern University, Bowling Green State University, University of Oregon, and University of Chicago economics departments made sagacious comments. Columnist George Will provided encouragement along the way. Professors Paul Gabriel, David Galenson, John Hoag, Jerome Klinkowitz, Anthony Krautman, Richard Lindholm, Sandy Mazzola, and Kevin Quinn provided useful comments. Attendees at the Learning-in-Retirement program at the University of Oregon were attentive and supportive. Several anonymous referees made excellent suggestions for revisions. The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business provided funding throughout the research and writing stages of the book. Loyola University of Chicago Graduate School of Business also provided support during the early stages of research. The economics faculty at the University of Northern Iowa offered encouragement during the final stages of this project. While the members of my dissertation committee at the University of Chicago—Robert Fogel, David Galenson, and the late D. Gale Johnson—did not supervise this effort, I thank them for instilling the unquenchable thirst for more data to analyze and willingness to reconsider entrenched historical ideas. The late sportswriter Leonard Koppett’s articles and books inspired a lasting interest in sports statistics, an interest whetted by my experiences playing Strat-O-Matic Baseball. The game’s creator, Harold Richman, provided me with many hours of amusement and started my investigations and analysis of baseball statistics. In addition, the Springfield, Oregon, public library had a copy of the first edition Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia, a true treasure trove. I thank Robert Taylor, acquisitions editor at the University of Nebraska Press, for his encouragement and support of this book. Sara Springsteen, project editor, and Elizabeth Gratch, copy editor, were enjoyable to work with and helped improve this work. I would also like to thank Roger Buchholz, designer; Kim Essman, compositor; and Alison Rold, production manager, for their efforts. Sarah Statz Cords compiled yet another excellent index and, as always, was a pleasure to work with. I remain grateful to two mentors: my “surrogate” grandfather, Bryan O. Wilson, who long encouraged me to study mathematics, and my high school accounting teacher and longtime friend, Bert Kronmiller, who helped foster my interest in sports statistics. Mary Bogard urged me to get on National Public Radio to publicize my ideas, an idea viii t Acknowledgments whose time has yet to come. I also thank my Robert D. Clark Honors College senior thesis committee: Professors Paul Speckman, Richard Koch, and the late Edward Diller. Their advice and encouragement of my thesis, “Baseball Run Production,” fueled my interest in sports statistics a quarter of a century ago. My parents, George and Thelma, have long tolerated and even spurred my interest in baseball statistics and history. I dedicate this book to Gary Lewis, the best friend a fellow could ever have. Gary and Paul Dowdy were gracious Yankees fans who did not gloat after the unfortunate incident in October 1978. Acknowledgments t ix The Postwar Yankees ...