The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
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The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
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Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford was the dominating left-handed pitcher for the New York Yankees from 1950-67, a 17-year period that coincided with the team's greatest success. Manager Casey Stengel nicknamed Ford "Slick," with good reason: Ford, born and raised in New York, was a city slicker who often relied on guile—and perhaps a scuffed ball on the mound—and liked to take a drink now and then. "The Chairman of the Board," as he was known, chalked up a career record of 236-106, the highest winning percentage for any twentieth-century pitcher, and came to hold a nearly unsurpassable World Series record for wins, strikeouts, and consecutive scoreless innings. Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle, and Billy Martin constituted a New York trio in the 1950s that shared a public passion for baseball, drinking, and women. They did much to establish the image of the baseball player as an overgrown boy: silly, crude, and outrageous, but basically harmless.
Ford, Whitey, and Phil Pepe. Slick: My Life in and Around Baseball. New York, William Morrow, 1987.