cover image The First Fall Classic: The Red Sox, the Giants, and the Cast of Players, Pugs, and Politicians Who Reinvented the World Series in 1912

The First Fall Classic: The Red Sox, the Giants, and the Cast of Players, Pugs, and Politicians Who Reinvented the World Series in 1912

Mike Vaccaro, . . Doubleday, $25.95 (304pp) ISBN 978-0-385-52624-1

Vaccaro, sports columnist for the New York Post , recreates the excitement of the 1912 World Series, complete with a hotly contested presidential campaign, an assassination attempt on Roosevelt and a grisly national murder trial. Two superb teams, the Boston Red Sox and New York Giants, reflect the bitter rivalry between the American and National Leagues, with several players destined for the Hall of Fame among them: Christy Mathewson, John McGraw, Tris Speaker and “Smokey Joe” Wood. Vaccaro tells the reader every riveting detail leading up to the games: death threats, gangster pressure, parents and truant officers seeking young boys with baseball fever. He pulls out all the stops through the series' competitive seven games, with the incredible tie-breaker and its aftermath. Informative yet entertaining, Vaccaro's extraordinary baseball chronicle renders the early days of our national pastime in all its grit and glory. (Oct.)