Tremendous, Superb, Wonderful ... Perfect, Once Removed

September 28, 2006

It was 50 years ago -- October 8, 1956, to be exact -- that Yankee pitcher Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in World Series history: 27 men up to the plate and 27 men set down. No errors. No walks. It was a perfect game from the unlikeliest of sources -- a pitcher who had developed a somewhat wild reputation in both his professional and personal life.

Larsen and his unmatched World Series performance are central to a new and delightful baseball memoir, Perfect, Once Removed: When Baseball Was All the World to Me, by Phillip Hoose (Walker & Co.).

Hoose's tale begins when, in an attempt to fit in at his new school in Speedway, Indiana, he sets out to learn how to play baseball. Soon after, his parents inform him that Larsen, at the time an inconsistent Yankee pitcher, is his first cousin, once removed. As he writes in Perfect, Once Removed, Hoose found out about his relation to Larsen "almost by accident."

Phillip Hoose

Because neither his mother nor father knew anything about baseball, it was difficult to learn about the game, especially the skills to actually play it. "We moved [to Speedway] in the middle year of third grade, and I had never played baseball before," Hoose told Bookselling This Week in a recent telephone interview from his home in Portland, Maine. "I was desperate to learn, but I had to figure it out for myself."

Aside from regularly bouncing a ball against his garage and mimicking Mickey Mantle's batting stance in his front yard, Hoose also studied the game in ravenous fashion via the printed word. "I just read constantly," he said. "I tried to learn baseball by reading." In Perfect, Once Removed, Hoose describes how he was constantly poring over magazines like Baseball Digest, Sport, and the Sporting News. Sensing her son's frustration, Hoose's mother suggests that he ask his cousin for some baseball pointers: Yankee pitcher Don Larsen.

Hoose begins a correspondence with the affable Larsen, his father's first cousin. Larsen responds with signed postcards and photos and even an invite to a Yankee-White Sox game in Chicago.

"What I remember about that day is how disappointed I was -- the [Yankee-White Sox] game was clearly going to get rained out," Hoose said. "But Dad made a call to Don's number at the hotel -- back then, ballplayers hung out in lobbies, because they had nothing to do. I was surprised I got a chance to meet Don. This was incredible." And as it turned out, his cousin was a really good guy, too. "He gave me a hug -- he was a huge guy and he seemed to get a kick out of introducing me to the Yankees."

While following the Yankees and Larsen through every game and pitch, Hoose was also improving his baseball play -- and while at first he longed to mimic the batting stance of Mantle, it wasn't long before he was pushing his little league coach to let him pitch, just like his cousin.

Naturally, Hoose's memoir culminates in game five of the 1956 World Series between the Yanks and Brooklyn Dodgers -- Larsen's perfect game, of which Hoose only saw a portion since it was played during a school day. It is a feat that, of course, could be duplicated, but as Hoose points out, can never be surpassed.

Coming into Game 5, both teams had won only their home games -- if the Yanks lost the game, they would be heading back to Brooklyn down three games to two with the daunting task of winning two games at Ebbet's Field. "It was all or nothing," said Hoose. Larsen, who hadn't fared too well pitching Game 2 of the series, came to the Stadium prior to Game 5 and was surprised to find the ball stuck in his shoe -- the Yanks' way of letting a pitcher know he was starting the day's game.

"There was so much pressure -- Larsen's game was the best pitched game in history," Hoose said. "He was facing a [Dodger] lineup of immortals: Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges (who should be in the Hall of Fame). It was a mighty, mighty lineup, and the pressure was enormous."

Although Hoose has never seen his cousin's perfect game in its entirety (a complete copy of the NBC-TV broadcast of the game does not exist), he has heard the game audio (from both the television and radio broadcasts). One very interesting aspect of the play-by-play, he noted, is how the announcers danced around the fact that Larsen was in the process of pitching a perfect game for fear they might "jinx" his effort. "You can listen to the radio announcers struggle with the superstition," he said. "They'd say just bizarre things." And at one point during the TV broadcast, between silent gaps where the listener could hear the roar of the crowd, famed Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully stated simply, "I guess I don't have tell you what's going on."

Today, Hoose is still as passionate about playing the game as ever. "It's also my 50th anniversary of being a ball player," he said. "I still play shortstop [in a softball league] on Sundays." He even plays softball in the winter, in a league that uses an orange ball so it will show up in the snow.

And despite the game's recent controversies, Hoose said he still loves the game. "The steroid scandal doesn't dim it for me. I hope they put a stop to it, but I love to watch baseball." His favorite team these days is the Portland Sea Dogs, the Double-A minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.

As the 50th anniversary of Larsen's perfect pitching performance draws near, Hoose, whose other works include National Book Award finalist We Were There Too! Young People in U.S. History, and Hoosiers: The Fabulous Basketball Life of Indiana, will be commemorating the event and promoting his memoir with book signings at Big Hat Books in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Thursday, September 28; Bookends in Ridgewood, New Jersey, on Friday, October 6; and in the Bronx, New York, at Paperbacks Plus, on Saturday, October 7. At Bookends and Paperbacks Plus, Hoose will appear with Don Larsen.

In Indianapolis, where Hoose's memoir begins, Big Hat Books will be holding a "tented party" in the parking lot for its Perfect Once Removed event. "We've invited people, and [Hoose] will read, and we're even bringing guitars, just in case he's in the mood to play [Hoose is also a musician]," said store owner Liz Houghton. The store will also raffle off a 50th anniversary commemorative baseball signed by Don Larsen.

Overall, Houghton said she's excited about the event. "He's a big guy here," she said, and regarding his new book, she added: "How can you not be taken by it? I'm giving one to each of my four brothers. It's the perfect guy book."

Walter Boyer of Bookends said he's pleased to be able to welcome Hoose and Larsen to his store, just two days prior to the 50th anniversary of the perfect game. "We do a lot of sports events here, and this fits perfectly," Boyer said. "[Walker & Co.] was great to work with. I know that Larsen was in great demand that weekend, and I credit the publisher for persevering. They were very professional."

Paperbacks Plus' Fern Jaffe said the Larsen-Hoose event is going to be a grand slam. "I'm delighted to have Don Larsen and Phillip Hoose here," she told BTW. "Between having the perfect pitcher and his cousin, we're expecting a huge crowd.... We're very proud ... about the Bronx and its assets, and Perfect, Once Removed is wonderful."

Both Bookends and Paperbacks Plus do a lot of events with Yankee players, and Boyer noted, "If you can get them here on an anniversary, it's a special time." --David Grogan

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