Vernona Gomez

I had an advanced copy of this book, which is now in the research library of Jon Dunkle, Baseball Historian.
Vernona Gomez and Lawrence Goldstone hit a home run when they wrote this book. It could be one of the best sports biographies ever written, and a sure bet for the bestseller list.

I knew I would enjoy reading this book because Lawrence Goldstone was one of the authors. I'm familiar with his writing, having read several of the books about book collecting he coauthored with his wife. But in this case, I think Goldstone only played a minor part, fine tuning Vernona Gomez's manuscript.

This book is written from the heart –– the heart of Lefty Gomez's daughter, Vernona Gomez's heart. Bleeding through the words is a father's personality as witnessed by his daughter and viewed by the rest of the world.

I had the advance uncorrected proof of this book, but I ordered a hardcover copy as well because the Index is lacking in the uncorrected proof. I want to readily find the many anecdotes regarding Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and all the other Yankees that fill the pages of this book. A most enjoyable read! Moi recommends!… (mehr)

I grew up in Novato, and was one of the lucky kids who got to meet this wonderful man and look at all the memorabilia in his home! This story is an amazing look at a man who's life spanned the depression to the first President Bush, and who's playing career spanned from Babe Ruth to Joe D. And along the way he seemed to rub shoulders with a who's-who of everyone else in that era! Fidel Castro, Papa Hemingway, Kurt Russell, James Michener and too many others to mention here! Read this book to learn more, just like I did! I just wish I knew then, what I know now about him!… (mehr)

I thoroughly enjoyed this terrific biography of baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Vernon (Lefty) Gomez that was written by his daughter. Normally, baseball biographies, especially of old-timers (Lefty quit playing in the 1940s and died in the late 1980s) are dry. Typically, little information is available to the author, outside of statistics, newspaper reports, and teammate remembrances, in rare cases.

However, this terrific biography is chock full of personal anecdotes and family stories. Though his nickname was Goofy, Lefty was a smart, interesting guy. He was a good friend of Babe Ruth's and was a long-time friend of Joe DiMaggio's. His wife was a star on Broadway. Lefty loved to travel and had plenty of entertaining stories to tell.

This is a very interesting biography with as much information about his life outside of baseball as it has about his baseball career.

Highly recommended!!… (mehr)