Ranking the best sports novels
In recent weeks, I’ve ranked my top 10 baseball books and I’ve ranked all the OU football books. Today, sports novels. Here are the top five:
5. Little League Heroes, by Curtis Bishop. A nod to my youth. This book, one in a series about a well-organized Little League in Austin, focused on a player who broke a color line as a 12-year-old. It’s been 35 years since I’ve read those books, and I still can remember characters’ names and positions and plots. Amazing, the power of a book.
4. The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop., by Robert Croover. Fascinating psychological look at a man who gets lost in the world of a dice game that simulates major-league baseball. Sounds goofy. It is goofy. It also is scary, where the human mind can take us.
3. Bang the Drum Slowly, by Mark Harris. Made into a 1973 movie starring Michael Moriarty and Robert De Niro, this simple novel is drop-dead funny and wonderfully poignant, about a dying catcher and the pitcher who looks out for him.
2. Shoeless Joe, by W.P. Kinsella. This book begat “Field of Dreams,” which was a decent movie, but like most books, it beats the film by a tape-measure home run.
1. If I Never Get Back, by Darryl Brock. An absolute gem of a book. What a novel is supposed to do; transform you into another place, in this case, the world of Sam Fowler, a modern character who suddenly finds himself shipped back to 1869, where he hooks on with the Cincinnati Redlegs, the first professional team in baseball history. One of the best books I’ve ever read, any genre. Simply superb. It’s got drama, mystery and romance. You will not soon forget Sam Fowler and those ‘69 Reds.
Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel.
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Comments
[...] a novel aproach 15 11 2008 The Oklahoman’s sports columnist Berry Tramel offers this list of five favorite baseball novels, which does not contain many of the “usual [...]
I read “The Universal Baseball Association…” about 25 years ago and still remember it. One of the most fascinatingly bizarre books I’ve ever read. Creepy, but in a good way — maybe even brilliant. I got it when I graduated college from a friend who was the biggest baseball fan I ever knew, who knew my fondness for board games. A good choice for your list, Berry.
Insightful. I like this. Will try to see whether the information provided herein is useful or not by the specific outcome after putting into use in real world practice. Thanks.
Hello! I love your picks and agree wholeheartedly with every one of them. Terrific! The above site I posted shows off an incredible recent book you may not have heard of. The best I can do is post my review of the book I put on Amazon. You obviously know your baseball stories so I think you’ll love this one. It’s called Innings Through Time; The Greatest Baseball Story Ever Told. Here is my review: I’m usually very skeptical about claims of being the greatest of anything so I stayed away for about a day or so then I finally made the plunge. Glad I did. If this isn’t made into a movie I’d be very surprised. I am very familiar with every baseball title referenced in the description and most are my favorites. So I was floored when I finished this book to have learned that every claim held up specifically. This was also the quickest I’ve read a book in a while and I think that says something. Bravo to author Valenti! I think he has something here and gave us something to truly enjoy. I am very tough on things and was planning on being tough here too, but I can’t. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this might be the greatest baseball story I’ve ever read or known. I give it 5 stars!
Nice list. I applaud adding some new titles to the usual choices, such as the Southpaw Trilogy by Mark Harris or The Natural by Malamud or the shorter works of W.P. Kinsella.
A few of other worthy but overlooked titles: The Celebrant by Eric Rolfe Greenberg; The Great American Novel by Philip Roth (a great departure from his usual somber topics); and Brittle Inning by Michael Bishop, a fantasy tale that’s a cut above the rest.