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In the mid-1940s, the post-war United States was a prosperous country, and baseball had its own share of this prosperity. An expanding minor league led to unprecedented competition for young baseball talent. The ill-conceived idea of a signing bonus quickly introduced an element of financial competition into the sport of baseball, much to the discomfort of many minor league teams. Unable to compete with major league teams, the minor leagues pressed for restrictions on the bonuses paid to players. Bonus rules--the first enacted in 1946 and the second implemented in 1953--attempted unsuccessfully to curb ever-rising bonuses and limit the damage this policy ultimately did to both teams and players.
Containing 24 interviews, this volume focuses on players signed under the strict bonus rule of 1953-1957, which required that players signed to a bonus of $4,000 or more remain on the big league roster for two full seasons before being sent to the minor leagues. Organized chronologically, these interviews explore the lives and careers of the bonus babies with emphasis on their early big-league experience and its effect on their careers. Players interviewed in this volume include Harmon Killebrew, Reno Bertoia, Tommy Qualters, Jim Pyburn, John DeMerit, Von McDaniel, Don Pavletich, Mel Roach, Steve Boros, Dick Schofield, Jim Derrington, Mike McCormick, Jim Pagliaroni, Paul Giel, Buddy Pritchard, Jerry Walker, Jim Brady, Wayne Causey, Lindy McDaniel, Jim Small, Don Kaiser, Tommy Carroll, Jerry Kindall and Frank Zupo. An appendix provides a complete chronological listing of players signed under the bonus rule of 1953-1957. The work is also indexed.
List of contents
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1953 1. Reno Bertoia
2. Tom Qualters
3. Mel Roach
4. Dick Schofield
1954 5. Paul Giel
6. Harmon Killebrew
1955 7. Jim Brady
8. Tom Carroll
9. Wayne Causey
10. Jim Derrington
11. Don Kaiser
12. Lindy McDaniel
13. Jim Pagliaroni
14. Jim Pyburn
15. Jim Small
1956 16. Jerry Kindall
17. Mike McCormick
1957 18. Steve Boros
19. John DeMerit
20. Von McDaniel
21. Don Pavletich
22. Buddy Pritchard
23. Jerry Walker
24. Frank Zupo
Appendix: Players Signed Under the Bonus Rule of 1953-1957 Index
About the author
Brent Kelley, a retired equine veterinarian from Lexington, Kentucky, is the author of numerous McFarland baseball books.
