The Gashouse Gang: How Dizzy Dean, Leo Durocher, Branch Rickey, Pepper Martin, and Their Colorful, Come-from-Behind Ball Club Won the World Series--and America's Heart--During the Great Depression
Heidenry (The Boys Who Were Left  Behind) offers a thorough if occasionally dry account of the  "immortal, implausible, impossible gang of ballplayers known officially as the  1934 St. Louis Cardinals." The author draws on a wealth of books and  publications to tell how a visionary named Branch Rickey invented the idea of  using a farm system of minor league baseball clubs to develop talent, and then  forged an unlikely, low-budget contender in a city far from the sport's Eastern  power base. Rickey's team became known as the Gashouse Gang, owing to its role  as a ragamuffin bunch with an indomitable spirit to whom Americans in the  Depression could relate. The straightforward, detailed storytelling can make  for some dull reading, particularly in the beginning, when Heidenry  meticulously lays out the background of Rickey and the club. But anecdotes  about the Cardinals' memorable characters, who included Leo "the Lip" Durocher,  Casey Stengel, Pepper Martin and brothers Dizzy and Paul Dean, liven things up  considerably. Dizzy takes center stage in the book, whether scheming new ways  to get more money from management or mouthing off to the press. Baseball fans  will appreciate this comprehensive look at the oddball pitcher and the team he  led to glory.(Apr.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.