Cincinnati's Crosley Field presents the field's history through text and more than 150 photographs. The Cincinnati Reds played at Crosley Field from 1912 through 1970, and the ballpark holds an iconic place in the city's history as well as throughout Reds Country. One of the most beloved ballparks in Major League history, Crosley Field played host to the first night game and the first of Johnny Vander Meer's back-to-back no-hitters, as well as four World Series and two All-Star games. From the outfield terrace to the "Moon Deck," from Lombardi's "snooze" to Big Klu's biceps, Blackwell's "whip" to Rose's belly-flop slides, the Redlegs to the Big Red Machine, Cincinnati's Crosley Field has them covered in words and pictures. Greg Rhodes and John Erardi also present the great Negro Leagues teams that played at Crosley, as well as the field's many colorful characters, such as longtime announcer Waite Hoyt and the top-hatted vendor known as Peanut Jim. In April 2009, the Reds' Hall of Fame and Museum opens this season's key exhibit, Crosley Field Remembered, and Cincinnati's Crosley Field will be sold at the team's gift shop as a souvenir.
About the Author: In the Crosley era, Greg Rhodes played shortstop for the Crosley Management Indians of Richmond, Indiana. (Powel Crosley's refrigerators and automobiles were manufactured in Richmond in the 1950s.) He attended his first major league game at Crosley Field in the mid-1950s. Rhodes served as the first director of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, which opened at Great American Ball Park in 2004. He's currently the Cincinnati Reds team historian. He has resided in Cincinnati since 1985, with his wife, Sally Westheimer. Growing up in Syracuse, New York, John Erardi was touted as "the next Frank McCormick." The touter was Erardi's Irish mother, who has a 12-year-old girl was captivated by McCormick's glorious 1937 season for Cincinnati's top farm club of Syracuse. Unlike McCormick, Erardi never made it to Crosley Field, but eventually made it to first base, scooping up throws for the Syracuse Moose All-Stars, Christian Brothers Academy, and later at Annapolis and Murray State University. The "Enquirer" reporter and columnist is a three-time Ohio Sports Writer of the Year, and has won the Associated Press award for best sports feature paper story in the country, and the state AP award for best feature in an Ohio newspaper (: Cincinnati and the Negroe Leagues"). He's the No. 5 starter in a family rotation of wife, Barb, son, Chris, daughter, Gina, and dog, Milkshake.