The Glory of Their Times Audiobook By Lawrence S. Ritter cover art

The Glory of Their Times

The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It

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The Glory of Their Times

By: Lawrence S. Ritter
Narrated by: Lawrence S. Ritter, Fred Snodgrass, Sam Crawford, Hans Lobert, others
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About this listen

Baseball's Golden Age comes alive through the voices of men who were there. Selected from the original tapes on which Lawrence S. Ritter based his classic book of baseball history, The Glory of Their Times is a collection of wonderful tales that paint a vivid and evocative picture of a lively young America and the giants who starred on her ballfields, legends like Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson, and many others. From the wildly hilarious to the achingly poignant, these stories tell it like it really was.©1998 Lawrence S. Ritter (P)1998 Neal McCabe, Henry W. Thomas, and Lawrence S. Ritter; 1961 -65 National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Inc. and the University of Notre Dame Library Recording; 16 9 Baseball & Softball Sports Funny Witty
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Critic reviews

"Almost perfect...vivid, gentle, and humorous." (The New Yorker)

Authentic Player Voices • Firsthand Historical Accounts • Captivating Baseball Stories • Rich Historical Context
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I had read the print copy of this book years ago. It’s a fantastic view into the early days of major league baseball. The beauty of the audiobook is hearing the players’ stories in their own voices. A real joy for a fan of the game!

Wonderful stories from the players who lived them

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The best cause you get to hear the ball players in there own words.

Great stories

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The best baseball book ever—made even better with Lawrence Ritter’s brilliant and illuminating interviews available for listening. WONDERFUL experience!

The best made better!

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If you could sum up The Glory of Their Times in three words, what would they be?

A time forgotten

Who was your favorite character and why?

"Wahoo" Sam Crawford. The story of how the author found him in a laundromat and Sam's personality are highlights of the book.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Having read the book also I can tell you it is great. Here in the audiobook, you hear the player voices and the author is there introducing the interviews, asking questions, etc. but is only present as much as you need him to be. He lets the ballplayers tell their story without getting in the way. I appreciate his style of interviewing. Ask a question, let them answer and tell their tales.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Baseball at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century, when men were men, and played ball for the love of the game.

Any additional comments?

I'm am a fan of baseball and history, so this book brings both together and I enjoyed it very much. I think anyone with an interest in both will appreciate this one. Certainly a must for any baseball fan. Theses ballplayers are long gone but their story and the story of their times lives on with this book. It really is a national treasure.

This Book is a National Treasure!

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Thank heavens for Larry Ritter, who for some odd reason was the only guy who thought of traveling around the country to interview these baseball greats from the early 1900’s before they all died. This isn’t a traditional audiobook, but rather a series of interviews that supplements the written book, you listen to the ballplayers tell it in their own words. Truly a treasure of oral history.

A Historical Treasure

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I thoroughly enjoyed this listen. Notably Crawford, Jones and O'Doul all with great stories ... I wish more of this style of first hand auditory baseball history was available.

Glory was Glorius

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Without doubt, one of the best Baseball books in existence. Great history, and brings out the humanity of the players interviewed, as well as many other players of the various time periods covered.

History at it's Finest!

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This is a one of a kind document of some of baseball’s all time greats telling their stories as if you were sitting in the room with them listening. I can’t recommend this enough to anyone who is a fan of the game. What a treasure.

Absolutely incredible

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This has to be one of the top two audio books that I have ever had the joy of listening to! (The other was Reagan in His Own Words.) If you love baseball and its rich traditions and history, you will love this audio book, guaranteed! It was so interesting just to listen to these men talk about their day in the sun. There were certain players that all of them talked about like Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Christie Mathewson. I came away with a lot more respect for these men and their brothers who played in the early 20th century. Another key point that comes across is how these men played for the pure enjoyment of the game and not the money as they do now. They didn't sit out a game even after getting what we would now call a serious injury. I don't see how the written book could even compare to the audio, because you can just hear the joy and enthusiasm that eminates from these guys even after 40 years! (This was recorded around 1964.)
My only regret is that the author couldn't find more players to interview for his book. Some of the men died within a year after his interview with them.
Buy it and enjoy it!

Fantastic!

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I read "The Glory of Their Times" a few years ago and enjoyed it considerably. I decided to revisit the book through Audible and got a big surprise: the audio book is a collection of the original interviews recorded by author Lawrence Ritter. This audio book doesn't just give you a narrator reading the stories that baseball players told Ritter. You hear the original players talking. Some of the recordings are a little murky. Most were recorded well over 40 years ago. But it's an absolute delight to hear the voices of the players (who played during the '10s, '20s, and '30s). I give this audio book my highest recommendation. Even if you've already read "Glory of Their Times" (maybe especially if you've already read it) you'll want to listen to this superb collection of interviews.

hear the ballpayers

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