The Long Season
For the first half of the twentieth century, baseball biographies tended to be written with boys in mind, with all the depth and complexity of comic strips. Then, in 1960, Brosnan, a relief pitcher of little fame, published his account of the 1959 season, which he started with the St. Louis Cardinals and ended with the Cincinnati Reds. Though he omitted the prurient details that would mark later sports books, his unvarnished record of the mundanities of a ballplayers’ existence was a revelation to the world at large. Fans were amazed that an athlete could write, and athletes were upset that he would write. Many were angry that they had been portrayed as actual human beings. Brosnan (dubbed “The Professor” because he enjoyed reading for pleasure) went on to write other books, but, more importantly, his example encouraged other athletes to write honestly as well. Funny, candid, and even more interesting because it doesn’t chronicle an exceptional season (something Brosnan reserved for his second book, Pennant Race, 1962), this book was a game changer. --Keir Graff