Take Two and Hit to Right

by Hays, Hobe

• ISBN13: 9780803273207
• ISBN10: 0803273207
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-03-01
• Publisher: Bison Books

Summary

Not so long ago every town in the United States that had an ounce of pride had a baseball team. The cities had their big leagues, and the bigger towns had their minor league clubs. The whistle stops and crossroad market towns had their teams too, and they were treasured institutions. This was the golden age of local baseball, and it was remarkable while it lasted. Hobe Hays has written a careful, warm, and evocative account of his days as a serious player on serious teams in middle America. His sketches bring alive a vanishing era.

Author Biography

Hobe Hays was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, and played baseball for the University of Nebraska as well as for semi-pro teams in various Nebraska towns. Hays has also been an artist, art director, and teacher in the New York City area.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Take Me into the Ball Game	1	(14)
Smokey Molden and Turning Semi-Pro	15	(8)
The Tony Sharpe Era	23	(10)
The Hired Guns Audition	33	(8)
Beginning Our Life in the NIL	41	(14)
Designated Drivers and Sinking Spells	55	(12)
The Left-Handed Legend of Lexington and Other Moundsmen	67	(6)
Box Scores, Base Hits, and Special Assignments	73	(12)
Baseball or a College Education--or Both?	85	(10)
Nebraska's Other Semi-Pro Leagues	95	(6)
Who Are Those Guys Anyway?	101	(6)
The Grand Island Incident	107	(10)
Nobody Had Seen That Kind of Power Around Here	117	(10)
You Can't Always Judge a Baseball Bum by Its Cover	127	(20)
Windy City Blues	147	(10)
The North Platte Years	157	(12)
Sand Hills, Sunshine, and Hard Slides	169	(14)
Roaring to Bankruptcy	183	(10)
The Party's Over	193	(8)
Stirring Some Hot-Stove Coals	201	(10)
The Big East and the Return to NILville	211	(16)
Appendix: Nebraska Semi-Pro Leagues Team Standings and Starting Lineups, 1948	227