Fifty years after they played their last baseball game, the Brooklyn Dodgers are still remembered by millions of people. From 1947 to 1956 the Dodgers captured six out of ten National League pennants and they defeated the mighty New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series. The year 1957, however, is recalled mainly for the decision by Dodger president Walter O'Malley to move his team to Los Angeles the following year.

Author John Nordell tells the story of the Dodgers' mid-season surge in the standings during that last year in Brooklyn. Using research from a variety of sources, Nordell recreates the excitement of following the Dodgers and their National League rivals in the daily drama of a five-team pennant race. The author also draws on his own youthful memories of that year and describes the unforgettable thrill of seeing a game at Ebbets Field. The book includes numerous photographs and a concluding chapter that discusses the outcome of the 1957 pennant race, the major factors and personalities involved in the Dodger move west, and the end of an era in baseball.

REVIEW

John Nordell's tribute to one of baseball's most storied and inspirational teams, reaching its zenith in one of the sport's greatest eras, has lots to recommend it to the aficionado. Brooklyn Dodgers, The Last Great Pennant Drive, 1957, is a work of art on a couple of levels. Precisely and painstakingly researched - the sense of "play by play" is both engaging and eerie - it has at least as much charm, never losing sight of the fact that this book speaks to both history and American folklore. The Bums - that is the boys - from Brooklyn: Gil, Duke, Junior, Carl, and Johnny - well, all of them, are nothing if not folklore.
His attention to statistics could cause a CPA to nod appreciatively, but Mr. Nordell's book is also personal narrative. He includes numerous photos of the team in action, on and off the diamond, many of which he took with his family at one big game. All this adds to the charm of a book that will stand alone as the quintessential telling of one magical year in the sport.

Reviewed by: A. McMaster

EXCERPT

As major league baseball observed its annual All-Star game break, the defending National League champion Brooklyn Dodgers found themselves mired in fifth place.

It was July 1957.

That was my first year as a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was destined to be my last. The brevity of the experience and the enduring nature of childhood impressions may explain why my recollection of it remains so vivid a half century later. To this day, no baseball summer is as memorable for me as that July when the Dodgers began a winning streak in a suddenly torrid, topsy-turvy National League pennant race. It was also the month when I saw my first major league baseball game at Ebbets Field, which was the most exciting thing I had ever experienced.