Carl Furillo, Brooklyn Dodgers All-Star

Former Miami Herald reporter, Ted Reed is a business and labor writer. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“illuminating look into Furillo’s career”—Examiner.com; “this book needed to be written and Ted Reed has done his homework”—Carl Erskine, Brooklyn Dodgers; “This book offers something unique, something that even the most prominent sportswriters of the past were unable to obtain: extensive, in-depth interviews with Carl Furillo. The author has given him the voice and the venue he never had when he was alive.”—Judith Testa, author of Sal Maglie, Baseball’s Demon Barber; “Reed is at his best in analyzing and clarifying the two specific incidents that diminished Furillo’s image when his playing days ended. He uses Furillo’s own words along with the testimony of teammates, to refute the charge that he was opposed to Jackie Robinson joining the Dodgers in 1947. The more significant ‘rap’ against Furillo concerns his 1960 departure from the Dodgers. The roles of Marvin Miller, Andy Messersmith, Dave McNally, and Curt Flood have been well covered in the literature of baseballs labor-management relations. But Furillo’s case, which appears to be a gross injustice, has not.”—Lyle Spatz, baseball historian.

• Table of ContentsPreface      Introduction      1. The Early Years      2. Home from the War      3. The Arrival of Jackie Robinson.      4. The Reading Rifle      5. The Team Takes Shape      6. Forced to Grow Up      7. The First Bad Year      8. The Worst Bad Year      9. “I Couldn’t Even See the Ball”      10. Batting Champ      11. Next Year Finally Arrives      12. “We’re All Dagos in Here”      13. “I Should Never Have Moved Out There”      14. Number Six Passes On      15. The Game Turns Sour      16. Outside Looking In      17. Back Home for Good      .16218. The Right Way to Leave      Appendix: Furillo’s Career Statistics      Chapter Notes      Selected Bibliography      Index