Larceny and Old Leather
Reviewed by Sanjeev A. Rao, Jr, Monmouth University and Brookdale Community College
MAY 7, 2005 archive
One of the many attractions of baseball is its history of tradition recounted in a plethora of books. Larceny and Old Leather falls into this category. Eldon Ham's premise is that one of the traditions of baseball is that "Baseball thrives on trickery and deception. And this larcenous legacy of our oldest major team sport goes much deeper than the field of play" (ix).
Given the current controversy surrounding steroids in sports, especially baseball, the publication of this book is timely as it shows that steroids are just the latest in an on-going attempt for players, managers, coaches, and management to seek a competitive edge. All the usual suspects from the Black Sox scandal to Ty Cobb to Bill Veeck to Pete Rose are discussed.
The author, a lawyer and professor, has a true passion for baseball, which shows throughout his book. He has great knowledge and understanding of his subject. Most, if not all, of the material in the book will be familiar to those who follow baseball. Unfortunately, the book often digresses from the subject at hand. Part of this can be attribute to the author's exuberance about the sport and part to poor editing. For example in the chapter Lumber, the author moves from a discussion of how players have tried various ploys such as corking their bats to the origin of bats. Although interesting, the information is not essential to the main idea of the chapter.
Chapter 3, Grass, Monsters and the Yankee Curtain, would be stronger if Mr. Ham had explained a little more of the reasoning behind why some of the ballparks that he cited were constructed in the way they were. He explains, "Both Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park were intentionally designed to gain advantages for their team superstars." Yet, there is nary a mention of the rationale behind Wrigley Field, the Astrodome, and Ebbets Field, which he also discusses.
Chapter 9, Stealing Radio, does not present a clear point related to the author's theme. Yes, it is interesting how many owners first feared radio as competition but eventually accepted it. More to the point for the author's premise might have been an account of how early announcers often used sound effects to recreate the drama of a game, which was based on a delay from the wire services. Ronald Reagan, for one, got his start in entertainment this way. In fact, once in 1934, during a game between the Cubs and Cardinals, the wire went dead. Reagan was able to improvise a fictional account of the action (foul balls) until the wire connection was reestablished.
The strongest chapter is the last one, Searching for Mudville. It is a wonderful summary of the charms of the game. In particular, his use of the Gould Paradox to explain the steroid issue is clearly explained and shows the macro picture of how the game has evolved. The Gould Paradox is "in a healthy, affluent society more and more of the population approaches the outer limit of the human body's physical capabilities" (238).
Perhaps it is picky but I do not see how the story of Jackie Robinson, in Chapter 20, is "stealing history." I have trouble reconciling Jackie Robinson with the likes of Pete Rose, Gaylord Perry, or even Ty Cobb. Also the author's diatribe on Bowie Kuhn, in chapter 15, The Village Idiot had me scratching my head.
Better editing and fleshing out of certain points would have made this book much better. Despite these deficiencies, the work is entertaining and chock-full of anecdotal information.
Ham, Eldon. Larceny and Old Leather. Chicago: Academy Chicago Publishers. 2005. 243 pages. Hardcover, $25.00.
Copyright © 2005 by Sanjeev A. Rao, Jr.