The Yankees and the personalities who donned the pinstripes are some of the most documented figures in sports history, and former manager Casey Stengel is no exception.
Richard Creamer published a thorough biography of Stengel in the 1980s, but New York Times bestselling author Marty Appel’s latest account of the Yankee skipper is absolutely worth the read, as Casey Stengel: Baseball’s Greatest Character hit bookshelves yesterday.
Armed with a fresh angle thanks to an unpublished memoir by Stengel’s wife Edna, Appel uses his lengthy experience with the Yankees’ organization and descriptive writing to capture the “Ol’ Perfesser” in a new light, especially in his upbringing and playing days in empty ballparks as a member of the Kankakee Keys, a team that eventually disbanded and left Stengel unpaid for a half month’s work.