Fouled Away: The Baseball Tragedy of Hack Wilson
Hack Wilson drove in 191 runs for the Chicago Cubs in 1930, a record that may never be broken. Yet four years later, at age 34, his major-league career was over. Squat by today's standards, Wilson, who grew up wielding a sledgehammer in the Pennsylvania steel mills, was surprisingly speedy and strong enough to knock in more than 100 runs in five consecutive years. But he was a heavy drinker and a free spender--a perfect match for freewheeling Prohibition Chicago. Booze took its toll, and when Wilson died penniless in 1948, his son refused to claim the body. Parker recounts Wilson's rags-to-riches-to-rags life in carefully researched detail, noting that, by the standards of the day, Wilson's behavior was perfectly appropriate: ballplayers were expected to drink as hard as they played. Wilson, a star who burned brightly but too briefly, is usually overlooked when the great ones are discussed. Parker's informative and insightful biography may not change public opinion, but it helps to set the record straight.Wes LukowskyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved