Baseball: When The Grass Was Real and the photos were black & white

Published in 1975, Donald Honig's oral history of 1920s to 1940s baseball collects terrific stories of the game and life playing the game by Lefty Grove, Johnny Mize, Ted Lyons, Billy Herman, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Bob Feller, and many others. Inspired by Lawrence Ritter's legendary The Glory of Their Times, Honig spent the spring of 1974 traveling the country and interviewing players who came of age after Ritter's book. As good as the remembrances are, equally powerful are the many photographs Honig collected for the book which evocatively document the game in an earlier era.

Wes Ferrell

Charlie Gehringer

Nevin Field (Detroit). 1934 World Series

Lefty Grove

Al Simmons

"Gas House Gang." Cardinals.

Grover Cleveland Alexander and George Pipgras

James "Cool Papa" Bell

Jackie Robinson

Pepper Martin

Frank McCormick