Happy Felsch: Banished Black Sox Center Fielder - Softcover

Thomas Rathkamp

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786494875 ISBN 13: 9780786494873

Publisher: McFarland & Co, 2016

Synopsis

Oscar ""Happy"" Felsch was a rising star weaned on sandlot fields of Milwaukee who threw away his promising career for a few bucks after participating in the throwing of the 1919 World Series. Did Felsch really play to lose the series, or just say that he did for fear of retribution from crooked gamblers?

None of the banned eight talked about the scandal more than Felsch, and this book analyzes how his three interviews revealed his ultimate gullibility, and why getting drawn into futile greed was easier than chasing down a fly ball. His rampant contradictions on the subject served as a metaphor for the entire scandal. Felsch's jovial, child-like exuberance for the game served him well as a player, but his lack of formal education became his downfall.

On the field, Felsch was hitting his peak as a ballplayer in 1920, the year the scandal hit the newspapers. His speed, run-producing power, and stellar defensive prowess earned comparisons to the great Tris Speaker; all attributes that might have garnered him Hall of Fame consideration. Instead, he settled on playing fallen hero to far away, remote baseball enclaves of Montana and Canada.

About this title

About the Author:

Thomas Rathkamp, a Senior Technical Writer, has covered high school sports for local newspapers and written an online sports column for the Greenwich Village Gazette. He lives in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, USA.

About this edition

• Publisher: McFarland & Co
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0786494875
• ISBN 13: 9780786494873
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 277