100 Years of Baseball on St. Petersburg's Waterfront: How the Game Helped Shape a City

by Rick Vaughn, Tim Kurkjian (Foreword by)

Overview

Step onto the field and bear witness to baseball's outsized impact on Florida's Sunshine City.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781439675809
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	08/01/2022
Series:	Sports
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Rick Vaughn is a veteran in the sports communications field having served more than 30 with baseball's Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays and the NFL's Washington Redskins. He served as the lead PR executive for the closing of Baltimore's beloved Memorial Stadium and the opening of the iconic Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and the launch of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays expansion franchise and its rebranding to Rays in 2008. He is presently the executive director of Los Angeles Angels Manager Joe Maddon's Respect 90 Foundation.

Table of Contents

Foreword Tim Kurkjian 9

Introduction 13

1 Godfather of Florida Baseball 27

2 A Brief Beginning 35

3 Waterfront Park 38

4 Braves Become the First and Add to St. Pete's Boom 42

5 The "Discovery" of St. Petersburg 48

6 Al Lang vs. the Great Depression 58

7 Farewell 64

8 A Sixty-Year Romance 70

9 War! 78

10 Al Lang Field…Finally 86

11 Breaking Barriers 94

12 Year-Round Ball 107

13 Under One Roof 112

14 Meet the Mets 123

15 The Dream Season 129

16 Al Lang II 134

17 Paradise Lost 139

18 The Last Pass of the Bat(on) 145

Epilogue 153

Works Cited 155

About the Author 159

Editorial Reviews

"While 100 Years of Baseball on St. Petersburg's Waterfront is packed with stats, facts, quotes and anecdotes - all related in a breezy, enjoyable style - it is, more than anything, a testament to the will and charisma of Albert Fielding Lang." St. Petersburg Catalyst

"A baseball book with Rick Vaughn and Tim Kurkjian on the cover? Put me down for a dozen! This is an essential addition to any fan's sports library."

Mark Hyman, Director Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism

"As a baseball fan who loved my days at Al Lang, thank you Rick for pulling this work together. An obvious labor of love. Well done."
Scott Reifert
Senior Vice President, Communications,Chicago White Sox

"A love letter to spring training."— Andrew Maraniss is a New York Times-bestselling author

"Love this book by Rick. The facts and stories he dug up are amazing. But of course they are. It's Rick!" Jayson Stark

"Love this book by Rick. The facts and stories he dug up are amazing. But of course they are. It's Rick!" Jayson Stark

From the Publisher