cover image On the Run: The Never Dull and Often Shocking Life of Maury Wills

On the Run: The Never Dull and Often Shocking Life of Maury Wills

Maury Wills. Carroll & Graf Publishers, $19.95 (334pp) ISBN 978-0-88184-640-9

Although he's been retired for 18 years, Wills's cleats left indelible marks on baseball history. His speed and record-breaking number of stolen bases excited legions during his 1960s stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In this choppy yet entertaining autobiography, Wills tries to contrast his shining moments on the field with the bleakness that later took over his personal life. With Celizic, a sports columnist for the Bergen County (N.J.) Rec ord , he tells of his rise from humble origins on the black side of the tracks in Washington, D.C., to celebrity status when he counted Frank Sinatra among his friends and Doris Day and Edie Adams as intimates. A near-fatal attraction to yet another blonde, identified only as Judy, drew Wills into a long period of cocaine addiction from which he slowly recovered. This bluntly told story of life in the fast track is an irresistible read for the fan. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)