Harvey Frommer: Writing From His Passion

Author Harvey Frommer is a living, walking, breathing encyclopedia of baseball. He has written over 40 books, a great number of them on the subject of baseball. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Harvey spent most of his life in New York until 7 years ago when he moved to the wilds of New Hampshire. He and his wife are presently in New Hampshire teaching at Dartsmouth College. Frommer has been writing since he was a kid, churning out books on sports, oral history and travel. "I have written books about the Catskills, Broadway, Jewish history and otherwise. One of my favorite books is on Jackie Robinson entitled, "Rickey and Robinson: The Men Who Broke Baseball's Color Line." The book is also about Branch Rickey, who became the Brooklyn Dodger general manager in the 1940's."
Frommer enthusiastically discussed his book, his passion for Jackie Robinson and his respect for Branch Rickey. "Jackie Robinson has always been one of the great symbols in Sports," claims Frommer. "I admire Robinson for his perseverance, dedication and for doing something against all odds." Robinson had to keep a cool head while suffering a nation's hatred in the 1942 United States of America. "I have written a lot about Robinson over the years through various sources, articles, columns, etc. My wife, Myrna Katz Frommer, and I, wrote a book together, entitled: "It Happened In Brooklyn," Robinson runs throughout that book as kind of a motif of Brooklyn in the 1940's, 50's and 60s."

Frommer's fascination with Robinson began as a youth. "My father was a cab driver and sometimes as a kid I used to ride around with him. My father took me to East Flatbush to show me Jackie's house. It was a summer morning and a lucky day for me because Jackie Robinson came out of his house for the newspaper and milk and there I was standing in front of him. It was a great moment for me. Robinson shook my hand. I asked if he thought the Dodgers were going to win the pennant and he said: "If we have kids like you rooting for us, we will definitely win." Robinson looked to be much stronger and bigger than when I saw him on the baseball field. It was really one of my greatest moments as a kid and something I will always remember."

Hard as it may be to believe, in 1997, a number of baseball players were polled during the fiftieth anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking the baseball color line and many of the players didn't even know who Robinson was. They definitely didn't know who Branch Rickey was, despite the fact, the meeting of these two men of sports, changed baseball history for all time to come. "I definitely feel that Robinson has yet to get the credit he deserves for his endeavors. It took a very special kind of person to do what Jackie Robinson did. How many men could keep a cool head every time they walked out onto the baseball field knowing they were going to be booed and jeered? Robinson had to live with that reality constantly, as well as realize he represented his entire race. Robinson, an educated man, did it with dignity day-after-day. I noticed, however, in later days, he looked much older than his age. It was clear, that Robinson paid a price for his accomplishments," stated Harvey.

Without a doubt, it took two extraordinary men to change the course of baseball history. It was Branch Rickey who invented baseball's minor-league system that continues to this day. Rickey had a social conscious and felt a deep moral obligation to change the color of sports, which at that time, was white washed. It was Rickey that had the courage to break baseball's color line when he signed Jackie Robinson with the Brooklyn Dodgers, making history and Robinson, the first African American player in the major leagues. Rickey also invented the farm system, which promoted a new way of training and developing players and pioneered the use of baseball statistics.

Frommer depicts the life stories of both men in his book, "Rickey and Robinson: The Men Who Broke Baseball's Color Line," with a warmth and sensitivity that allows a personal glimpse into the lives of two men; one black, one white, each man different, yet cut from the same moral and heroic cloth. "Some people like to say that Rickey broke the color line for economics so he could get a monopoly on Black talent. But that is a total fabrication," claims Frommer. "Had Rickey wanted to monopolize Black talent, he could have signed several African Americans. Instead, he referred, other African Americans to other teams so that they could open up baseball throughout the baseball world. For instance, he could have signed Willie Mays to the Brooklyn Dodgers but Rickey pushed the San Francisco Giant owners to acquire Mays. Same thing applied to Monty Irving who joined the Giants in 1949. The New York Yankees were very much against getting a Black player in those days and were one of the very last teams to sign African Americans when they opened their doors to them in 1955. Robinson broke the color line in 1947. The Yankees very first Black player was Elston Howard. However, it was the Red Sox who were the last team to bring in a Black player and that was in 1959; 12 years after Robinson broke the color line. That player's name was Elijah "Pumpsie" Green," explained the well informed baseball scribe.

A prolific writer, Frommer has written several book including: "Willie Mays and the Month of May;" "New York City Baseball: Once Upon A Time;" "The First World Series;" "Remembering Irving Rudd;" "Subway Series;" "Satchel Paige: World's Greatest Pitcher;" "The Yankee Mystique;" "The Most Memorable Moments in Major League Baseball History: Sports Book Review;" Remembering the Yankee Clipper: Joe DiMaggio" and so many, many others. His latest book "Red Sox vs. Yankees: The Great Rivalry" recently debuted in book stores.

Interested parties can acquire the paperback of "Rickey and Robinson: The Men Who Broke Baseball's Color Line," at Barnes & Nobles, Amazon Books or call 1-800-462-6420.

Having grown up in the slums of Brooklyn and of Jewish heritage, Frommer knows full well the slings and arrows of discrimination. "I had a deprived childhood. I grew up in the slums of Brooklyn, so I know all about running fast," chuckled Harvey. "I am very proud of my book "Rickey and Robinson: The Men Who Broke the Color Line." And, as I said, I think people should also have more pride in what these two men accomplished because they did create a revolution."

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