"Kluck's biography of Harry Dalton is a rare breed in the baseball literature, given the relative paucity of works examining the life of a general manager. . . . Kluck's biography of Dalton is sure to inspire the development of many more biographies of baseball executives."—Bevis Baseball Research
“Front office executives in baseball are too often overlooked as crucially important figures in the history of the sport. Chief among them would be Harry Dalton, extraordinarily impactful as the general manager of three American League franchises over the period of a quarter century. But he is overlooked no longer, as Lee Kluck’s deeply researched biography gives Dalton’s remarkable career the prominence it deserves.”—Steven Treder, author of the Seymour Medal–winning
Forty Years a Giant: The Life of Horace Stoneham“Providing an in-depth examination of Harry Dalton’s career in Major League Baseball, Lee Kluck masterfully shows Dalton’s link to baseball’s past and the continuing impact Dalton has on today’s game.”—Willie Steele, editor of NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. An All-American Son of the Commonwealth: 1928–54
2. Present at the Creation for Forty-Five Dollars a Week: 1954
3. Competing Philosophies and Losing Baseball: 1954–61
4. The World of Harry Dalton: 1960–65
5. Changes: Winter 1965
6. Can You Believe It? 1966
7. A Different Reality: 1967–68
8. The Best Team in Baseball: 1969–71
9. The Daltons Go West: Fall 1971
10. Getting His Hands in the Dirt: 1971–72
11. Looking for the Right Combination: 1973–76
12. New World, New Dalton, Same Results: Winter 1976–Fall 1977
13. Working on His Terms: November 1977–October 1978
14. Laying the Foundation for a Winner: 1979–80
15. A Taste of Things to Come: 1981
16. The Wallbangers: October 1981–October 1982
17. Reversal of Fortune: Winter 1982–October 1985
18. Streaking: Winter 1986–Fall 1988
19. The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang: Winter 1988–Fall 1991
20. Exile, Carefree Days, and Living Nightmares: 1992–2005
Epilogue: Legacy
Notes
Index