Robert Weintraub, Larry Ruttman & John Rosengren

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The Big Leagues

Moderated by IJ Rosenberg, President, Score Atlanta



The Victory Season: World War II, the Homecoming, and the Birth of Baseball's Golden Age
Robert Weintraub

In the spring of 1946, Americans were ready to heal. WWII was finally over, and hundreds of players, including stars like Ted Williams, Stan Musial, and Joe DiMaggio returned home to get back to baseball. A thrilling seven-game World Series capped one of the sport’s most memorable seasons. And a new era dawned, as Jackie Robin-son made his professional debut. In addition to the on-field action, Robert Weintraub brings to life little-known tales of ballplayers at war. Of special note is the first description in book form of a “World Series” played among European Theater troops. The games were played at the conquered Hitler Youth Stadium in Nuremberg, where the Nazis had rallied until the Yanks took over.

WITH



American Jews and America's Game: Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball
Larry Ruttman

The Jewish presence in baseball extends beyond a few famous players such as Greenberg, Rosen, Koufax, Holtzman, Green, Youkilis, and Braun. In fact, that presence extends to the baseball com¬missioner Bud Selig, labor leaders Marvin Miller and Don Fehr, owners Jerry Reinsdorf and Stuart Sternberg, officials Theo Epstein and Mark Shapiro, sportswriters Murray Chass, Ira Berkow, and Roger Kahn, and even famous Jewish baseball fans like Alan Dershowitz and Barney Frank.

The life stories of these and many others, on and off the field, have been compiled from nearly fifty in-depth interviews and arranged by decade in this edifying and entertaining work of oral and cultural history. In American Jews and America’s Game each person talks about growing up Jewish and dealing with Jewish identity, assimilation, intermarriage, future viability, religious observance, anti-Semitism, and Israel. Each tells about being in the midst of the colorful pantheon of players who, over the past seventy-five years or more, have made baseball what it is. Their stories tell the history of the larger-than-life role of Jews in America’s pastime.

AND



Hank Greenberg: The Hero of Heroes
John Rosengren

Delving into the life and career of America’s first Jewish superstar, author John Rosengren brings us a definitive portrait of a man who overcame the prejudices of a world in turmoil to achieve baseball immortality and become a hero to a generation of Jewish-Americans. As an outsider who rose to the top of the nation’s quintessential game, no one represents the American experience quite like Greenberg.

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