A three-time World Series winner and an early inductee into the Hall of Fame, lauded by Babe Ruth as the finest defensive outfielder he ever saw and described as "perfection on the field" by the great Grantland Rice, Tris Speaker enjoys the peculiar distinction of being one of the least-known legends of baseball history. Tris Speaker: The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Baseball Legend is the first book to tell the full story of Speaker’s turbulent life and to document in sharp detail the grit and glory of his pivotal role in baseball’s dead-ball era.
Playing for the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians in the early part of the twentieth century, Tris “Spoke” Speaker put up numbers that amaze us even today: his record for career doubles—792—may never be approached, let alone broken. Tris Speaker explores the colorful life behind the statistics, introducing readers to a complex and contradictory Texan whose cowboy mentality never left him as he brawled his way through two decades in the big leagues.
Speaker’s career put him in the company of Ty Cobb and Christy Mathewson, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Honus Wagner, and in describing it Timothy M. Gay gives a rousing account of some of the best baseball ever played—and some of the darkest moments that ever tainted a game and hastened the end of a career. His four years of research on Speaker unearthed a document that suggests that cheating induced by gambling was far more widespread in early baseball than officials have acknowledged. Gay’s book captures the bygone spirit of the big leagues’ rough-and-tumble early years and restores one of baseball’s true greats—and a truly larger-than-life personality—to his rightful place in the American sports pantheon.
“Gay, who spent four years researching Speaker’s life, has crafted a rugged, no-holds-barred look at a player who encompassed all the complex magic of early twentieth century baseball. Speaker’s story exemplifies why baseball holds such an important place in the American imagination. It is our story—a story of sin and expiation, of loyalty and love, of courage and dignity. This should be required reading for any serious baseball fan.”—Sport Literature Association
"There are many passages where Gay captures the spirit of the Gray Eagle as he describes a moment of Speaker in action. These are effective because they are done selectively; this book is anything but prone to monotonous game by game summaries."—The Inside Game
"[A] richly detailed biography, the first on Speaker to succeed in situating him within an epoch of great promise and of great shame. . . . The ultimate value of this biography resides in its portrayal of personal redemption. . . . This warts-and-all account is true to a rugged individualist and offers insights to a general public often dismayed by the lack of values found in the sports world."—Library Journal
"[C]arefully researched and documented, engagingly written, and very illuminating. . . Gay has filled a serious gap in baseball history, and his effort compares favorably with Charles Alexander's acclaimed biographies of John McGraw and Ty Cobb."—Booklist
"Tristam ‘Spoke’ Speaker sits, statistically, alongside baseball’s greatest sluggers and fielders, but his story and name have largely been forgotten. . . . Gay has insured the righting of history with this biography. A worthwhile read for any sports fan."—Publishers Weekly
"An eye-opening look at baseball’s now seemingly prehistoric ‘dead ball’ era, which also was rife with gambling scandals, grudges, amoral team owners and spring training in Hot Springs, Ark., where training regimens included mandatory hikes through the woods.”—Ed Bark, Dallas Morning News
“Fans of the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians will likely enjoy this book. . . . Timothy Gay’s thoughtful biography lays bare the ugly fact that many players were often involved in sketchy gambling arrangements. . . . Speaker is now largely forgotten, and this well-told story bridges the gap between baseball before World War I and its more modern form.”—Mark E. Hayes, The Miami Herald
“The on-field brilliance and off-field shortcomings of Hall of Fame centerfielder Tris Speaker are recounted . . . Warren native Timothy Gay.”—Times-Observer
“[C]ompellingly depicts Speaker’s life on and off the diamond, a life that was not without its less attractive side. . . . The writing is excellent, the research is competent, and the balance of baseball and non-baseball topics is just right. . . . More importantly, Gay treats the subject of the book, Tris Speaker, the way a conscientious author should. . . . It’s a story of toughness and tenderness, of transgression and redemption. It’s not preachy; just well told. And well worth reading.”—David Shiner, Elysian Fields Quarterly
“[Gay] has done an admirable job of bringing to life this powerhouse hitter and fielding spectacle. . . . A meticulously researched gem of a biography. . . . A wonderful read—and an important read as it becomes the definitive account of this nearly forgotten legend.” —Hal Benjamin, Aethlon
Timothy Gay, a journalist and essayist, has done an admirable job of bringing to life this powerhouse hitter and fielding spectacle. Gay presents a meticulously researched gem of a biography, full of colorful anecdotes of the baseball legends of Speaker’s early century career. . . . This is a wonderful read—and an important read as it becomes the definitive account of this nearly forgotten legends.”—Hal Benjamin, Aethlon