Zack Wheat: The Life of the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Famer

by Joe Niese

Overview

Zack Wheat was long considered the greatest player in Dodgers history. The Missouri native parlayed his tenacious work ethic and raw skills into a major league career. For almost two decades, the mild-mannered outfielder was a mainstay for the Dodgers, bringing stability to a team that was at times unhinged. To this day, Wheat is the franchise leader in several batting categories.

Greatly respected by his peers and adored by fans, Wheat served as Brooklyn's captain for several years, leading the club to two pennants (1916 and 1920). After his playing days, Wheat found difficulty working his way back into the game and was nearly killed in an automobile accident as a member of the Kansas City police force before finding redemption in election to the Hall of Fame in 1959.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476641829
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	11/19/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	206
File size:	9 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Joe Niese is an award-winning author and a library director in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
Joe Niese is an award-winning author and a library director in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Prologue
 1. Off the Prairie, Birth to 1909
 2. A Star in the Making, 1910–1912
 3. Uncle Robbie, 1913–1915
 4. A Pennant for Brooklyn, 1916
 5. Uncertain Times, 1917–1919
 6. A Whole New Ball Game, 1920
 7. Captain Wheat, 1921–1923
 8. A Season to Remember, 1924
 9. Calm Amidst the Storm, 1925–1927
10. A Baseball Man Through Thick and Thin
Appendix: Major League Statistics
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

According to Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, Zack Wheat said hello in April, goodbye in October and in between let his bat do his talking. Perhaps Wheat’s self-effacing nature explains why one of the Dodgers greatest players has never been the subject of a full length biography. Fortunately, Joe Niese has more than filled the gap with a work that tells us what Wheat did and who he was. It is a book that is long overdue.”—John Zinn, author, Charles Ebbets: The Man Behind the Dodgers and Brooklyn’s Beloved Ballpark

From the Publisher