Ted Williams: A Biography ~ Hardback ~ Bruce Markusen

The last player to hit .400 in the Major Leagues, Ted Williams approached hitting as both an art and a science. Through his discipline, drive, and extraordinarily keen eyesight, "The Splendid Splinter" became the best hitter in baseball. From his early days as a cocksure rookie for the Boston Red Sox, through his two Triple Crown seasons, six batting titles, his service in two wars, and his tenure as a Major League manager, Ted Williams forged an indelible image in the minds of baseball fans. Yet Williams's public resentment toward fans and, especially, the media, made him few friends. Bruce Markusen presents the brilliant and often embittered career of the man whose mission was to become the greatest hitter of all time. A timeline, bibliography, and narrative chapter on the making of Williams' legend enhance this biography. It has been said that hitting is the hardest thing to do in professional sports. Baseball's All-Time Greatest Hitters series presents biographies on Greenwood's selection for the twelve best hitters in Major League history, written by some of today's best baseball authors. These books present straight forward stories in accessible language for the high school researcher and the general reader alike.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Chronology of Ted Williams' Life and Career Introduction The Boyhood of a Hall of Famer The Pro Game Donning the Sox War First, Baseball a Distant Second Back to Baseball War is Hell-Part Two Controversy Replaces Comeback A Final Season Beyond the Ball Field The Managerial Chair Managing the Sophomore Jinx Mr. Williams, Meet Mr. McLain The Lonely Ranger Retirement, Respect, and Requiem for a Legend Appendix: Ted Williams' Career and World Series Statistics Bibliography IndexAuthor BiographyBRUCE MARKUSEN was the Manager of Programs at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York from 1994 to 2004. He is the author of Baseball's Last Dynasty: Charlie Finley's Oakland A's (which won the prestigious Seymour Award from the Society for American Baseball Research), Roberto Clemente, and The Orlando Cepeda Story. For the Hall of Fame, he has written numerous articles for publication, edited the Hall of Fame's Yearbook and quarterly newsletter, narrated Hall of Fame video productions, and interviewed most of the current living Hall inductees. Markusen is the regularly featured co-host (along with ESPN's Billy Sample) of the Hall of Fame Hour on MLB Radio.