Sign-In
Cart
Charlie Dressen: A Baseball Odyssey
Paperback
ISBN13: 9781476695143
Publisher: McFarland & Company
Published: Apr 1 2026
Pages: 255
Weight: 0.99
Height: 0.54 Width: 7.00 Depth: 10.00
Language: English
Charlie Dressen was a true baseball character. A scrappy, undersized infielder with the Cincinnati Reds during the 1920s, Dressen became a manager with a reputation as the greatest sign-stealer in baseball. He honestly believed that he could win games by out-managing and out-strategizing the other team, no matter how much talent they had. His regard for his own baseball intelligence can be summed up in his famous phrase, Hold 'em for seven innings, boys. I'll think of something.
He enjoyed many successes, but also presided over the epic collapse of his 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers, who lost a 131/2 game lead to their most hated rivals, the New York Giants. Bobby Thomson's playoff home run handed Dressen perhaps the most devastating defeat in baseball history. But Charlie bounced back, as he always did. He was an eternal optimist, talkative and opinionated in the Casey Stengel mold. He lived and breathed baseball, made more friends than enemies, and played a key role in the rivalry between the Dodgers and the Giants during the 1950s. This is the first-ever biography of the man who reigned as one of baseball's most colorful personalities for more than 40 years.
Also from
Fleitz, David L.
Rowdy Patsy Tebeau and the Cleveland Spiders: Fighting to the Bottom of Baseball, 1887-1899
Fleitz, David L.
Paperback
Shoeless: The Life and Times of Joe Jackson, 25th Anniversary Revised Edition
Fleitz, David L.
Paperback
Also in
Baseball & Softball
Dick Bremer: Game Used: My Life in Stitches with the Minnesota Twins
Bruton, Jim
Bremer, Dick
Hardcover
The Magical Game: The Spirit and History of Baseball's Superstitions, Rituals, and Curses
Baird, Addy
Hardcover
Fans First: Change The Game, Break the Rules & Create an Unforgettable Experience
Cole, Jesse
Paperback
The Bosses of the Bronx: The Endless Drama of the Yankees Under the House of Steinbrenner
Vaccaro, Mike
Hardcover
Unhittable: How Technology, Mavericks, and Innovators Engineered Baseball's New Era of Pitching Dominance
Friedman, Rob
Hardcover
The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball
Miller, John W.
Hardcover
It's a Numbers Game! Baseball: The Math Behind the Perfect Pitch, the Game-Winning Grand Slam, and So Much More!
Buckley
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
Royal Treatment: Jackie Robinson, Montreal, and the Breaking of Baseball's Color Barrier
McLaughlin, Sean J.
Hardcover
True Blue: The Dramatic History of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Told by the Men Who Lived It
Delsohn, Steve
Paperback
The Pressure Code: How Elite Performers Align Their Energy, Emotions, and Environment
Stacy, Jason
Hardcover
Brain Games - To Go - Facts & Fun: Baseball: Info, Stats, Puzzles, Quizzes & More
Publications International Ltd
Brain Games
Paperback
The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II
Keene, Anne R.
Paperback
October Men: Reggie Jackson, George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, and the Yankees' Miraculous Finish in 1978
Kahn, Roger
Paperback
The Chosen City, The Owner, the Players, and the New Hampshire City that Integrated Baseball in the United States
Ranauro, Bill
Paperback
Fenway Punk: How a Boston Indie Label Scored Big on Baseball's Greatest Rivalry
Wrenn, Chris
Hardcover
Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball
O'Brien, Keith
Paperback
The Franchise: San Francisco Giants: A Curated History of the Orange and Black
Pavlovic, Alex
Paperback
Out of This World: How the Los Angeles Dodgers Captured Back-To-Back World Series Championships
Los Angeles Daily News
Paperback
In the Japanese Ballpark: Behind the Scenes of Nippon Professional Baseball
Fitts, Robert K.
Hardcover
One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season
Ballard, Chris
Paperback
Baseball as a Road to God: Seeing Beyond the Game
Schwartz, Peter J.
Sexton, John
Oliphant, Thomas
Paperback
L.A. Story: Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and a Season for the Ages
Plunkett, Bill
Hardcover
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City
Mahler, Jonathan
Paperback
The Rocket That Fell to Earth: Roger Clemens and the Rage for Baseball Immortality
Pearlman, Jeff
Paperback
Weird Moments in Cleveland Sports: Bottlegate, Bedbugs, and Burying the Pennant
Guerrieri, Vince
Paperback
America's Classic Ballparks - Revised Edition: Celebrating Parks Past and Present
Buckley Jr, James
Hardcover
We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball: How the Czech Republic's Amateur Underdogs Became World Baseball Classic Heroes
Clair, Michael
Hardcover
The National Baseball Hall of Fame Collection: Celebrating the Game's Greatest Players
Buckley Jr, James
Hardcover
The Last Best League, 10th Anniversary Edition: One Summer, One Season, One Dream
Collins, Jim
Paperback
A Year of Playing Catch: What a Simple Daily Experiment Taught Me about Life
Bryan, Ethan D.
Paperback
Summer of the Cheap Wieners: What the 1941 Phillies Were Up to While Joe Dimaggio Was Making History
Klugh, Justin
Paperback
The Complete Book of Baseball Trivia: Test Your Knowledge with 750 Questions
Chandler, Matt
Paperback
Coaching with Purpose: The Game Plan That Helps Coaches Build Winners on and Off the Field
Madison, Keith
Paperback
Legendary Ballparks: Moments and Memories from America's Most Storied Stadiums
Enders, Eric
Hardcover
America's Ballparks: A Trip Across the Country to Visit Baseball's Playing Fields, Old and New
Hajeski, Nancy J.
Hardcover
They Said It Couldn't Be Done: The '69 Mets, New York City, and the Most Astounding Season in Baseball History
Coffey, Wayne
Paperback
The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty: The Game, the Team, and the Cost of Greatness
Olney, Buster
Paperback
Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History
Murphy, Cait N.
Paperback
The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It
Ritter, Lawrence S.
Paperback
Hot Foot: My Hijinks and Upside-Down Life with the World Champion New York Mets
Feldmann, Doug
McDowell, Roger
Hardcover
The Baseball Book of Why: The Answers to Questions You've Always Wondered about from America's National Pastime
McCollister, John
Paperback
Slider: A baseball story that throws love, murder, drugs and corruption into the game.
Alderman, Peter
Paperback
Back When We Were Colored, Helping Black Athletes During Segregation, and Being Helped By Some 'Decent White Men' Along the Way
Woolfolk, Virgal Tyrone
Paperback
Tenacious and True: Coastal Carolina's 2016 Championship and the Rise of a Baseball Power
Pleasant, Scott
Hardcover
The Incredible Philadelphia Phillies Trivia Book: 300 Questions for the Super-Fan
Reavy, Kevin
Spaeder, Ryan
Paperback
Glory Days in Tribe Town: The Cleveland Indians and Jacobs Field 1994-1997
Pluto, Terry
Hamilton, Tom
Paperback
Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's
Turbow, Jason
Paperback
Our Team: The Epic Story of Four Men and the World Series That Changed Baseball
Epplin, Luke
Paperback
The Ultimate Baseball Trivia Challenge: Over 600 Quiz Questions for Die-Hard Baseball Fans
Patton, Hank
Paperback
Second to None: A Coach's Message of Love & Selflessness Propels Tiny El Segundo to a Dramatic Little League World Title
Coonan
Boehle, Danny Joseph
Paperback
Brain Games - Baseball Goats (Greatest of All Time) Word Search: Players, Managers, Games, Mascots, & More!
Publications International Ltd
Brain Games
Paperback
Ron Shandler's 2026 Baseball Forecaster: And Encyclopedia of Fanalytics
Kruse, Brandon
Murphy, Ray
Hershey, Brent
Paperback
The Texas Rangers and Me: A Baseball Writer's Thirty-Two Years in Arlington
Sullivan, T. R.
Hardcover
Bleacher Seats and Luxury Suites: Democracy and Division at the Twentieth-Century Ballpark
Tannenbaum, Seth S.
Paperback
Baseball as It Was: Building Champions Before Free Agency Changed Everything
Ferling, John E.
Hardcover
Baseball in Paradise: A Century of Spring Training in Bradenton, Florida
Carlucci, Pasquale A.
Hardcover