Perfect: Don Larsen's Miraculous World Series Game (55 page)

Like other nonfiction books, this project could not have survived without the generous assistance and support of many other people. First and foremost I have to thank my agent, Jim Donovan. He shared my enthusiasm for the project and maneuvered the shoals of the publishing industry to find the perfect home for it (no pun intended). The team at New American Library has proved to be as good as any author could hope to find. Brent Howard, my editor, was not only adept at proposing changes that made the manuscript more focused but also displayed a keen sense for marketing matters—not to mention an excitement in the project that made the experience that much more enjoyable. Brent was ably assisted by Tiffany Yates, who did a superb job in copyediting, Peter Horan, who handled publicity, and Melanie Koch, who managed subsidiary rights.

Much of the impetus for doing the book evolved from my two sojourns at a baseball fantasy camp in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that was originally called the Mickey Mantle Memorial Week of Dreams (managed by Mickey Mantle’s sons) and then became Heroes in Pinstripes under the watchful eyes (and boundless collegiality) of Hank Bauer and Bill Skowron (affectionately known as Moose), both of whom were perennial coaches at the camp when Mickey was alive. There I was able to meet and have almost daily conversations with several of the players who would figure prominently in the book, including Hank Bauer, Enos Slaughter, and, of course, Don Larsen.

Over the course of time, I was able to talk at length (and often on more than one occasion) with other players as well as family members of those who have passed on and others who had watched the players who would ultimately be profiled in the book. Those interviewed include Marty Appel, Bea Bauer, Hank Bauer, Hank Bauer Jr., Buzzie Bavasi, Dale Berra, Yogi Berra, Bobby Brown, Ken Burns, Roy Campanella Jr., Andy Carey, Susie Carey, Jim Cartelli, Peter Casciato, Joe Collins Jr., Chuck Diering, Carl Erskine, Whitey Ford, Carl Furillo Jr., Fern Furillo, Nancy Gollnick, Joan Hodges, Dave Kaplan, Jerry Koosman, Tony Kubek, Clem Labine, Don Larsen, Ray Mantle, Marty Marion, Doris Maglie, Joe Maglie, Billy Martin Jr., Gil McDougald, Bo Mitchell, Dale Mitchell Jr., Johnny Podres, Mark Reese, Bobby Richardson, Rachel Robinson, Bill Skowron, Gaye Slaughter, Helen Slaughter, Sharon Slaughter, Duke Snider, Bob Turley, and Bob Wolff.

Those interviews were supplemented by tapes provided to me by Peter Golenbock of interviews he had done with many of the profiled players (now deceased) in conjunction with his books on the Yankees and Dodgers. Peter was also prompt in responding to my many questions about some of the comments made by players in those interviews. For all that, I am very grateful. Frances Eddy ably transcribed all the tapes provided by Peter.

Still others were helpful in facilitating many of the interviews— which was sometimes a challenging experience (because some players were difficult to locate and because, in this Internet age, many former players have been forced to limit their access to the public). Those helpful intermediaries include Buzzie Bavasi, Susie Carey, Dave Kaplan (who oversees the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Montclair, New Jersey), Mark Langill (the Dodgers’ resident historian), Lucille McDougald, Bev Snider, Barbara Tribble (in Rachel Robinson’s office), Wanda Greer and Dale Whittenberger (with Heroes in Pinstripes), Rick Wolff, and Jason Zillo (in the Yankees’ public relations office).

Words would be inadequate to express my appreciation to the staff at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and especially Tim Wiles, the research director there. Tim and his colleagues, including Freddy Borowski and Jeremy Jones, were unfailingly responsive to my many inquiries and eager to assist in ways large and small. Jenny Ambrose, who handles photos in the Hall of Fame’s vast collections, was equally prompt in locating photos that could be included in the book.

The personnel at the Montgomery County Public Library in Potomac, Maryland, were similarly responsive to my many requests for books and articles that have long since been placed in archives and other locations that were not easily accessible.

The book also benefited immeasurably from the comments of those who took time from busy schedules to read the manuscript in draft. Those readers include Marty Appel, Peter Casciato, Peter Golenbock, Doug Katz, Dan Okrent, and Charley Phelps. All errors, however, are my responsibility alone.

In all of this, Doug Katz holds a special place. In addition to taking time to review the manuscript, he not only spent untold hours talking with me about every aspect of the project but also provided advice and assistance that, in time, proved to be invaluable.

Marty Appel likewise deserves special recognition. Marty has an encyclopedic memory of players and events that proved immensely useful and, beyond that, expended considerable and much-appreciated effort on the marketing front.

But no one deserves more thanks than my wife, Jan. She shared my interest in the concept for the book from the beginning, read the manuscript in its entirety (and some chapters more than once), and never tired of discussing—and even debating—the many issues that inevitably arise in telling a dramatic story that focuses on the lives of the participants. Whatever success the book has in telling that story of Don Larsen’s perfect game—and the players on the field that day—is due in no small part to her involvement.

ENDNOTES

Many of the quotations and stories captured in
Perfect
rely on the memories of players and other observers, which are not always (dare I say it?) perfect. Books, articles, and interviews often include conflicting recollections—sometimes even by the same person. Making choices among those conflicting accounts was not easy, but I have generally tried to select those quotations which are more contemporaneous and, if possible, have the support of another source. One example is Don Larsen’s last pitch to Dale Mitchell. Allen Barra’s excellent biography of Yogi Berra (
Yogi Berra: Eternal Yankee
) quoted the long-time Yankee catcher from a 2006 event in which he indicated that he called for a fastball even though he thought Larsen’s better pitch of the day was his slider. That may be correct, but other sources (including one of Yogi’s earlier books and a contemporaneous comment from Larsen) indicated that the fastball was the better pitch, and I have therefore gone with that latter assessment.

Another point concerns articles obtained from the National Baseball Hall of Fame (referred to here as “HOF”). Many of them did not include complete identification. In those situations, I have provided as much detail in the citation as is available in the hope that any interested reader can obtain the article in the appropriate files.