Bridging Two Dynasties

The 1947 New York Yankees

Edited by Lyle Spatz

Associate Editors: Maurice Bouchard and Leonard Levin

Memorable Teams in Baseball History Series

368 pages
63 photographs, 39 stat tables

Paperback

April 2013

978-0-8032-4094-0

$29.95 Add to Cart

eBook (EPUB)

(Requires Adobe Digital Editions)

May 2019

978-1-4962-1018-0

$29.95 Add to Cart

eBook (PDF)

(Requires Adobe Digital Editions)

April 2013

978-0-8032-4609-6

$29.95 Add to Cart

about author bio praise table of contents media awards

About the Book

Of all the New York Yankees championship teams, the 1947 club seemed the least likely. Bridging the gap between the dynasties of Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel, the team, managed by Bucky Harris, was coming off three non-pennant-winning seasons and given little chance to unseat the defending American League champion Boston Red Sox. And yet, led by Joe DiMaggio, this un-Yankees-like squad of rookies, retreads, and a few solid veterans easily won the pennant over the Detroit Tigers and the heavily favored Red Sox, along the way compiling an American League–record nineteen-game winning streak. They then went on to defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers in a dramatic seven-game World Series that was the first to be televised and the first to feature an African American player.

Bridging Two Dynasties commemorates this historic club—the players, on the field and off, and the events surrounding their remarkable season. Along with player biographies, including those of future Hall of Famers DiMaggio, Bucky Harris, Yogi Berra, and Phil Rizzuto, the book features a seasonal timeline and covers pertinent topics such as the winning streak, the Yankees’ involvement in Leo Durocher’s suspension, and the thrilling World Series.

Author Bio

Lyle Spatz’s many books include 1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York (with coauthor Steve Steinberg), winner of the 2011 Seymour Medal, and The Team That Forever Changed Baseball and America: The 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers, both published by the University of Nebraska Press.

Praise

“1947 was something else. Being twenty-one and in my first season, it felt marvelous to be on the Yankees, playing in Yankee Stadium with all those guys. Then winning the World Series against the Dodgers—that was awfully exciting.”—Yogi Berra

“For all people interested in baseball and the Yankees, this book should be an enjoyable one. Virtually all these players were products of ‘The Greatest Generation.’ The vast majority of us were in the service of our country in World War II. . . . It was a team without rancor or discord. Ownership consisting of Larry MacPhail, Dan Topping, and Del Webb were supportive and balanced effectively the needs of being accessible but not intrusive. . . . It was a terrific Yankee year.”—Robert W. “Bobby” Brown, MD, former Yankees player and president of the American League 1984–94

"[Bridging Two Dynasties is] an intense and evocative study. . . . The pieces are written in the lively voices of writers deeply instilled with Yankees lore. Fans of the historical Yankees are likely to love this. For every Yankees collection."—Library Journal

"This is a well-researched, informative book that puts a pivotal year of Yankees history into proper perspective. New York had flashier stars, better pitchers and hitters and gaudier statistics in other years, but the 1947 squad deserves some respect, too."—Bob D'Angelo, Tampa Tribune

"An exceptional piece of work."—C70 at the Bat

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Marty Appel
1. The Yankees' Ownership
Mark Armour and Dan Levitt
2. How the 1947 Team Was Built
Lyle Spatz
3. The Hiring of Bucky Harris
Art Spanjer
4. Yankees Spring Training in 1947
Walter LeConte and Bill Nowlin
5. Yankees Involvement in the Suspension of Leo Durocher
Jeffrey Marlett
6. Bucky Harris
John Contois
7. Charlie Dressen
Mark Stewart
8. Red Corriden
C. Paul Rogers III
9. Timeline, April 14<EN>April 29
Lyle Spatz
10. Yankee Stadium
Chris Kemmer
11. Spud Chandler
Mark Stewart
12. Don Johnson
Nicholas Diunte
13. George McQuinn
C. Paul Rogers III
14. Allie Reynolds
Royse Parr
15. Timeline, April 30<EN>May 22
Lyle Spatz
16. Ray Mack
Joseph Wancho
17. Bobby Brown
Mike Huber
18. Rugger Ardizoia
Bill Nowlin
19. Ken Silvestri
Joseph M. Schuster
20. Mel Queen
Marc Z Aaron
21. Timeline, May 23<EN>June 12
Lyle Spatz
22. Al Lyons
Mike Richard
23. Tommy Henrich
Rob Edelman
24. Frank Colman
Tom Hawthorn
25. Tommy Byrne
Jimmy Keenan
26. Aaron Robinson
Mark Stewart
27. Timeline, June 13<EN>June 30
Lyle Spatz
28. Billy Johnson
Cort Vitty
29. Randy Gumpert
Steve Ferenchick
30. Charlie Keller
Chip Greene
31. Ted Sepkowski
Jack V. Morris
32. Frank Shea
Don Harrison
33. Johnny Lucadello
Richard Riis
34. Timeline, July 1<EN>July 21
Lyle Spatz
35. Vic Raschi
Lawrence Baldassaro
36. Reynolds and Raschi, Building Blocks of a Dynasty
Sol Gittleman
37. New York Yankees in the 1947 All-Star Game
Lyle Spatz
38. Bobo Newsom
Ralph Berger
39. Bobo in New York
Mike Ross
40. The Yankees' Nineteen-Game Winning Streak
Brendan Bingham
41. Timeline, July 22<EN>August 7
Lyle Spatz
42. Johnny Lindell
Rob Neyer
43. Karl Drews
Peter Mancuso
44. Yogi Berra
Dave Williams
45. Johnny Schulte
James Lincoln Ray
46. Allie Clark
Rick Malwitz
47. Joe DiMaggio
Lawrence Baldassaro
48. Timeline, August 8<EN>August 28
Lyle Spatz
49. Ralph Houk
John Vorperian
50. Dan Topping
Dan Levitt and Mark Armour
51. Del Webb
Dan Levitt and Mark Armour
52. George Stirnweiss
Rob Edelman
53. Jack Phillips
Charles F. Faber
54. Phil Rizzuto
Lawrence Baldassaro
55. Timeline, August 29<EN>September 19
Lyle Spatz
56. Sherman Lollar
John McMurray
57. Butch Wensloff
Christine L. Putnam
58. Dick Starr
James Lincoln Ray
59. Lonny Frey
James Forr
60. Timeline, September 20<EN>September 28
Lyle Spatz
61. Bill Wight
Bill Nowlin
62. Frank Crosetti
Tara Krieger
63. Joe Page
Mark Stewart
64. Mel Allen
Warren Corbett
65. Russ Hodges
Curt Smith
66. The 1947 World Series
Tom Hawthorn
67. Bill Bevens
Peter M. Gordon
68. Bill Bevens's Almost World Series No-Hitter
Joe Dittmar
69. Larry MacPhail
Ralph Berger
70. George Weiss
Dan Levitt
71. American League Most Valuable Player Award
Lyle Spatz
72. American League Rookie of the Year Award
Lyle Spatz
73. American League Cy Young Award
Lyle Spatz
74. Yankees Attendance in 1947
Gary Gillette
Epilogue
Lyle Spatz
Notes and References
Contributors

Bridging Two Dynasties

The 1947 New York Yankees

About the Book

Author Bio

Praise

Table of Contents

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