Wicked Curve: The Life and Troubled Times of Grover Cleveland Alexander

by John C. Skipper

Overview

When in 1911 Phillies pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander set the National League record for wins by a rookie (28), it was a sign of things to come. Alexander went on to win 373 games over his 20-year career, the third highest total in major league history, and he would lead the league in ERA four times, shutouts seven times, complete games six times, and wins six times. But he also became a deeply troubled man. After the Shell-Shocked pitcher returned from World War I, he would battle alcoholism, epilepsy, and personal demons that damaged his reputation and proved disastrous for his life outside of baseball.

This biography sheds new light on the pitcher and the man, focusing on Alexander's personal life, especially his complex relationship with his wife, Aimee, as well as their marriages and divorces. His Hall of Fame career, wartime service, and long decline are also documented.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786424122
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	06/01/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	244
Sales rank:	320,765
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.49(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John C. Skipper, a political reporter for the Mason City (Iowa) Globe Gazette, has written numerous books on politics and baseball, including a history of the The Iowa Caucuses and acclaimed biographies of Grover Cleveland Alexander, Dazzy Vance and Charlie Gehringer.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface     

1. Alone in a Crowd     
2. A Stone’s Throw Away     
3. A Big League Pitcher     
4. A Pennant Flies in Philadelphia     
5. Nobody Does It Better     
6. The Changing of the Uniforms     
7. The Cub Years     
8. Managerial Merry-Go-Round and McCarthy     
9. A Strikeout for the Ages     
10. Forty Years Old and Counting     
11. The End of the Road     
12. When the Cheering Stopped     
13. The Long Road Downhill     
14. Brother Can You Spare Me a Dime?     
15. The Last Hurrah     
16. Coming Home     
17. Bottom of the Ninth     

Appendix: Lifetime Statistics     
Notes     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

absorbing...Skipper has done an admirable job...Wicked Curve deserves its place on the bookshelves of the serious lover of baseball history. The book is thoroughly researched and...is written with the aplomb expected from a professional journalist. Most of all, Skipper writes with sympathy about a man who lived during an unforgiving era with ‘the epilepsy that he tried to hide and the alcoholism that he could no longer hide’”—Nine; “Skipper is a seasoned baseball researcher and writer...an easy read...worthy”—The Inside Game (SABR Deadball Era Committee Newsletter).

From the Publisher

"Skipper is a seasoned baseball researcher and writer...an easy read...worthy"

SABR Deadball Committee Newsletter

absorbing...Skipper has done an admirable job...Wicked Curve deserves its place on the bookshelves of the serious lover of baseball history. The book is thoroughly researched and...is written with the aplomb expected from a professional journalist. Most of all, Skipper writes with sympathy about a man who lived during an unforgiving era with 'the epilepsy that he tried to hide and the alcoholism that he could no longer hide'

Nine