Comeback Pitchers
The Remarkable Careers of Howard Ehmke and Jack Quinn
Steve Steinberg author Lyle Spatz author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:University of Nebraska Press
Published:1st Apr '21
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
2022 SABR Baseball Research Award
Finalist for the 2022 SABR Seymour Medal
The careers of pitchers Jack Quinn and Howard Ehmke began in the Deadball Era and peaked in the 1920s. They were teammates for many years, with both the cellar-dwelling Boston Red Sox and later with the world champion Philadelphia Athletics, managed by Connie Mack.
As far back as 1912, when he was just twenty-nine, Quinn was told he was too old to play and on the downward side of his career. Because of his determination, work ethic, outlook on life, and physical conditioning, however, he continued to excel. In his midthirties, then his late thirties, and even into his forties, he overcame the naysayers. At age forty-six he became the oldest pitcher to start a World Series game. When Quinn finally retired in 1933 at fifty, the “Methuselah of the Mound” owned numerous longevity records, some of which he holds to this day.
Ehmke, meanwhile, battled arm trouble and poor health through much of his career. Like Quinn, he was dismissed by the experts and from many teams, only to return and excel. He overcame his physical problems by developing new pitches and pitching motions and capped his career with a stunning performance in Game One of the 1929 World Series against the Chicago Cubs, which still ranks among baseball’s most memorable games. Connie Mack described it as his greatest day in baseball.
Comeback Pitchers is the inspirational story of these two great pitchers with intertwining careers who were repeatedly considered washed up and too old but kept defying the odds and thrilling fans long after most pitchers would have retired.
"As one would expect from authors as experienced and decorated as Spatz and Steinberg, Comeback Pitchers is a well-researched, well-documented, well-illustrated, and well-written account of the up-and-down baseball lives of two accomplished moundsmen, Howard Ehmke and Jack Quinn, whose careers spanned the last years of the Dead Ball Era and the first decade of the Lively Ball Era. Though largely forgotten today, Spatz and Steinberg seek to restore the reputations of Quinn and Ehmke by offering ample evidence of the character and talent which helped each earn the admiration of not only their baseball peers but also contemporary fans and press."—Frank G. Houdek, NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture
"A fascinating look at two pitchers who made their mark, particularly during the free-swinging 1920s. Spatz and Steinberg lift both pitchers out of the haze and obscurity and show them for what they were—very good pitchers in an era that focused on hitters."—Bob D'Angelo, Sports Bookie
“I might read a book about Jack Quinn himself; I might read a book about Howard Ehmke alone. But a book about both men who beat million-to-one odds and set longstanding records? Written by our leading chroniclers of 1920s-era baseball? Sport, there’s just no might about it.”—Rob Neyer, baseball author and analyst
“Steinberg and Spatz—meticulous researchers who spin a riveting yarn while getting their facts right—have pitched a perfect double-header with this dual biography of two of baseball’s least known but most fascinating characters. We will never again see the likes of John Picus Quinn and Howard Ehmke in the game.”—Norman L. Macht, author of the three-volume biography of Connie Mack
“I had the good fortune of playing Major League Baseball and having my name attached to Jack Quinn. I became aware of Jack’s story in the latter part of my career when I broke his record of the oldest to start and win a Major League game. The more I learned about him, the more connected I felt. We were both continuously told what we couldn’t do. Jack’s impressive fortitude paved the way for me and others. Read this book about a great man and great pitcher.”—Jamie Moyer, oldest pitcher to win a Major League game, breaking Jack Quinn’s record
ISBN: 9781496222022
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
512 pages