Bob Gibson, Denny McLain, and the End of Baseball’s Golden Age
The story of the remarkable 1968 baseball season. “Seldom does an era, and do sports personalities, come alive so vividly, and so unforgettably.” —The Boston Globe
In 1968, two remarkable pitchers would dominate the game as well as the broadsheets. One was black, the other white. Bob Gibson, together with the St. Louis Cardinals, embodied an entire generation’s hope for integration at a heated moment in American history. Denny McLain was a crass self-promoter. He eschewed the team charter. He abandoned his Detroit Tigers teammates to zip cross-country in his own plane. For one season, the nation watched as these two men played remarkably. Their teams swept their respective league championships. They met at the World Series. Gibson set a major league record that year with a 1.12 ERA. McLain won more than 30 games in 1968, a feat not achieved since 1934 and untouched since. Together, the two have become iconic symbols. They gave the fans “The Year of the Pitcher.” Their performances changed the game. This is the story of a great sports rivalry. It evokes a nostalgic season and its incredible characters. It provides an indelible portrait of the national pastime during a turbulent year. It also tells about the two men who electrified fans from all walks of life.
“Explores so much more than the battle between two pitchers and their teams . . . A fine history of a vital period in the history of not only baseball, but America.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A compelling tale of all that America was in the turbulent year of 1968, told through a (mostly) baseball prism.” —New York Post
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