Martin Gitlin
Author of The Great American Cereal Book: How Breakfast Got Its Crunch
About the Author
Martin Gitlin is a veteran author and sportswriter. He has had about 150 books published since 2006, including A Celebration of Animation: The 100 Greatest Cartoon Characters in Television History (Lyons Press, 2018) with Joe Wos and The Ultimate Cleveland Indians Time Machine Book (Lyons Press, show more 2019). His Powerful Moments in Sports: The Most Significant Sporting Events in American History earned critical acclaim. Gitlin won more than 45 awards as a sports journalist from 1991 to 2002, including first place for general excellence from The Associated Press for his coverage of the Indians-Braves World Series in 1995. AP also selected him as one of the top four feature writers in Ohio. Gitlin lives in North Olmsted, Ohio. show less
Series
Works by Martin Gitlin
World War II on the Home Front: An Interactive History Adventure (You Choose: History) (2012) 36 copies
The Stanley Cup: All about Pro Hockey's Biggest Event (Sports Illustrated Kids: Winner Takes All) (2012) 16 copies
A Celebration of Animation: The 100 Greatest Cartoon Characters in Television History (2018) 11 copies
Baseball Legends in the Making (Sports Illustrated Kids: Legends in the Making) (2014) 11 copies, 1 review
The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time: The Civil War, the Iron Bowl, and Other Memorable Matchups (2014) 8 copies, 1 review
Powerful Moments in Sports: The Most Significant Sporting Events in American History (2017) 7 copies
The Ku Klux Klan: A Guide to an American Subculture (Guides to Subcultures and Countercultures) (2009) 7 copies
Dream Jobs in Sports Finance and Administration (Great Careers in the Sports Industry) (2014) 5 copies
The Roaring 20s and Prohibition (21st Century Skills Library: American Eras: Defining Moments) (2021) 3 copies
Smart Cities (21st Century Skills Innovation Library: Exploring the Internet of Things) (2020) 2 copies
Combatting Discrimination Against Women in the Gamer Community (Combatting Shaming and Toxic Communities) (2016) 2 copies
Smart Vehicles (21st Century Skills Innovation Library: Exploring the Internet of Things) (2020) 2 copies
Giovanni Da Verrazzano: Explorer of the Atlantic Coast of North America (Spotlight on Explorers and Colonization) (2016) 1 copy
Smart Healthcare (21st Century Skills Innovation Library: Exploring the Internet of Things) (2020) 1 copy
Smart Farming (21st Century Skills Innovation Library: Exploring the Internet of Things) (2020) 1 copy
Smart Homes (21st Century Skills Innovation Library: Exploring the Internet of Things) (2020) 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Gitlin, Martin
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Ohio University (BA, Journalism)
- Occupations
- reporter
- Short biography
- [excerpted from author's Linked In page]
I have authored about 200 books for more than a dozen publishers since turning my attention to strictly freelance writing in 2006. Most of those works have been in the educational market in the realms of history, social studies, sports, science and biographies of notable people in all walks of life. But I have recently gained success as a trade historical pop culture and sports book author. I have also gained experience as a public speaker and presenter. I have done hundreds of fun and enlightening programs at libraries, senior centers and assisted livings. - Places of residence
- Beachwood, Ohio, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Ohio, USA
Members
Reviews
Summary: A collection of stories about baseball in Cleveland chronicling the up and down and strange history of the Indians (and their predecessor, the Spiders).
In 2016, my dream World Series happened. I had always wanted to see the Cleveland Indians play the Chicago Cubs. I was convinced that one of these star-crossed teams would have to win. Sadly, it wasn't the Indians I had rooted for since childhood, even though they pulled out to a 3-1 lead and were on the edge of winning in the show more seventh game. This has been the life of an Indians fan. Now there is a book that collects all the strange stories of this franchise, a walk down memory lane for many of us, and a way for others to understand the unique pain of being a Tribe fan.
In twenty-seven short, witty, and engaging chapters, Martin Gitlin tells the story of the high and low points of the franchise. We actually begin with the baseball team before the Indians, the Cleveland Spiders. For those of us who suffered the years of 100 loss teams and the race to the bottom, this team was even worse, chalking up a 20-134 season, the worst ever in major league baseball.
There are high points. The amazing pitching of Bob Feller. The Lou Boudreau-led teams including the 1948 World Series champions, the last time the franchise won a World Series. The Indians were the American League pathbreakers in knocking down racial barriers with Larry Doby on the playing field, and Frank Robinson as the first black manager in baseball. In 2017, they had the longest winning streak at 22 games since the New York Giants won 26 in 1916, propelling the Indians to a 100+ win season.
There are the heartbreaks. The meteoric career of Addie Joss that ended when he died of tubercular meningitis in 1911. The rise and fall of Herb Score, hit in the eye with a line drive never to be the same (although he became a consummate announcer of Indians games). The trade of popular Rocky Colavito and the "curse of Colavito" that followed. Thirty years of mediocre teams from the Sixties to through the Eighties. "Sudden Sam" McDowell who never realized his potential due to alcoholism, Tony Horton who broke down under the pressure to excel and had to leave baseball, and one-season wonder Joe Charbonneau. Saddest perhaps were the off-season deaths of Indians Steve Olin and Tim Crews from a freak boating accident in 1993.
And then there is the weird. The Cleveland Crybabies of 1940. Ten-cent beer night in 1974, and the riot that followed. Albert Belle's corked bat and the shenanigans that surrounded it. The invasion of the midges against the Yankees. The demise of Chief Wahoo, the politically incorrect logo beloved by generations of Indians fans.
All this and more is captured by Gitlin in words and photographs. It brought back memories of seeing many of the players, living through the seasons of hope and disappointment, and yet never in a heavy-hearted fashion. It was a great read on the treadmill, would make a great gift to the Indians fan in your life, or to anyone who loves America's pastime. And if your team is suffering through a mediocre season, this book will help you say with generations of Indians fans, "there's always next year."
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review e-galley of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. show less
In 2016, my dream World Series happened. I had always wanted to see the Cleveland Indians play the Chicago Cubs. I was convinced that one of these star-crossed teams would have to win. Sadly, it wasn't the Indians I had rooted for since childhood, even though they pulled out to a 3-1 lead and were on the edge of winning in the show more seventh game. This has been the life of an Indians fan. Now there is a book that collects all the strange stories of this franchise, a walk down memory lane for many of us, and a way for others to understand the unique pain of being a Tribe fan.
In twenty-seven short, witty, and engaging chapters, Martin Gitlin tells the story of the high and low points of the franchise. We actually begin with the baseball team before the Indians, the Cleveland Spiders. For those of us who suffered the years of 100 loss teams and the race to the bottom, this team was even worse, chalking up a 20-134 season, the worst ever in major league baseball.
There are high points. The amazing pitching of Bob Feller. The Lou Boudreau-led teams including the 1948 World Series champions, the last time the franchise won a World Series. The Indians were the American League pathbreakers in knocking down racial barriers with Larry Doby on the playing field, and Frank Robinson as the first black manager in baseball. In 2017, they had the longest winning streak at 22 games since the New York Giants won 26 in 1916, propelling the Indians to a 100+ win season.
There are the heartbreaks. The meteoric career of Addie Joss that ended when he died of tubercular meningitis in 1911. The rise and fall of Herb Score, hit in the eye with a line drive never to be the same (although he became a consummate announcer of Indians games). The trade of popular Rocky Colavito and the "curse of Colavito" that followed. Thirty years of mediocre teams from the Sixties to through the Eighties. "Sudden Sam" McDowell who never realized his potential due to alcoholism, Tony Horton who broke down under the pressure to excel and had to leave baseball, and one-season wonder Joe Charbonneau. Saddest perhaps were the off-season deaths of Indians Steve Olin and Tim Crews from a freak boating accident in 1993.
And then there is the weird. The Cleveland Crybabies of 1940. Ten-cent beer night in 1974, and the riot that followed. Albert Belle's corked bat and the shenanigans that surrounded it. The invasion of the midges against the Yankees. The demise of Chief Wahoo, the politically incorrect logo beloved by generations of Indians fans.
All this and more is captured by Gitlin in words and photographs. It brought back memories of seeing many of the players, living through the seasons of hope and disappointment, and yet never in a heavy-hearted fashion. It was a great read on the treadmill, would make a great gift to the Indians fan in your life, or to anyone who loves America's pastime. And if your team is suffering through a mediocre season, this book will help you say with generations of Indians fans, "there's always next year."
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review e-galley of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. show less
The Ultimate Boston Red Sox Time Machine Book by Martin Gitlin is a fun read that works well read cover to cover as I did or spread over a longer time with each chapter read as if an essay or short story.
The reason it would work well for those who love baseball but really just want something to read for a short time before bed is because this is not so much a single comprehensive history as it is a bunch of episodes from Boston Red Sox history. As the title implies, this is like a time show more machine trip, you go back in each chapter to a time, perhaps an important season or an important player. You get a little on either side of this specific time, but each chapter can easily be read as a short essay about that trip in time. Reading it straight through (as I did) it is still episodic but because it is both chronological and covers most of the history of the team it still works well as a cohesive work.
If anyone tries to tell you that none of the championships after 2004 get anything more than a sentence, just ignore them. They didn't actually read the book. The following championships didn't get the same amount of space, but the one that broke the "curse of the Bambino" deserved more space because it is far more important to the history of the Red Sox than the subsequent ones. But they are covered and even some games and winning pitchers and praise from teammates heaped on that pitcher. And trust me, that took well over one sentence. But someone skimming chapter titles to then comment on the book might not be able to recognize those other championships, though one of those titles is "Chicken and Championships" so even someone with mediocre reading comprehension skills should have been able to guess those other championships were mentioned in at least some detail. Sorry for the rant but irresponsible comments from the reading challenged really irritate me.
While Boston fans can either be reminded of or recall the history from this book, I think it works even better for those of us who are baseball fans first and fans of our teams second. I am not nor have I ever been a Red Sox fan and this was a great trip through the history I was somewhat familiar with and the more recent periods I remember very well, pretty much from Yaz until now. Frankly, I would love to find similar books about all of the teams with even 75 or 80 years worth of history. I'd probably enjoy books on newer teams than that but they would need to be much shorter books in order to avoid getting into the types of stories only diehard team fans would care about.
I recommend this to any baseball fan, not just Boston fans.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. show less
The reason it would work well for those who love baseball but really just want something to read for a short time before bed is because this is not so much a single comprehensive history as it is a bunch of episodes from Boston Red Sox history. As the title implies, this is like a time show more machine trip, you go back in each chapter to a time, perhaps an important season or an important player. You get a little on either side of this specific time, but each chapter can easily be read as a short essay about that trip in time. Reading it straight through (as I did) it is still episodic but because it is both chronological and covers most of the history of the team it still works well as a cohesive work.
If anyone tries to tell you that none of the championships after 2004 get anything more than a sentence, just ignore them. They didn't actually read the book. The following championships didn't get the same amount of space, but the one that broke the "curse of the Bambino" deserved more space because it is far more important to the history of the Red Sox than the subsequent ones. But they are covered and even some games and winning pitchers and praise from teammates heaped on that pitcher. And trust me, that took well over one sentence. But someone skimming chapter titles to then comment on the book might not be able to recognize those other championships, though one of those titles is "Chicken and Championships" so even someone with mediocre reading comprehension skills should have been able to guess those other championships were mentioned in at least some detail. Sorry for the rant but irresponsible comments from the reading challenged really irritate me.
While Boston fans can either be reminded of or recall the history from this book, I think it works even better for those of us who are baseball fans first and fans of our teams second. I am not nor have I ever been a Red Sox fan and this was a great trip through the history I was somewhat familiar with and the more recent periods I remember very well, pretty much from Yaz until now. Frankly, I would love to find similar books about all of the teams with even 75 or 80 years worth of history. I'd probably enjoy books on newer teams than that but they would need to be much shorter books in order to avoid getting into the types of stories only diehard team fans would care about.
I recommend this to any baseball fan, not just Boston fans.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. show less
In order to get BINGO in the adult summer reading program at the Utica Library, I had to read a biography, and I didn't really want to. AFter deciding that I probably was going to take a longer route to Bingo, I found this book staring at me on display in the children's area, and I thought I may check it out for my son who aspires to get his rudimentary comic books published for reals some day. Next thing I know, I'm fully engaged in the text (drawing outlines and graphic organizers on scrap show more paper in order to really solidify what I was learning), and I realized that I was not only bringing a great book home to my son, but I was going to get BINGO! I learned a great deal about the comic book industry, which was an excellent follow-up to the superheroes exhibit at the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester. My son (11) DID end up reading the whole book and enjoying (and understanding!) it, so it's indeed a good fit for, I'd say, grades 5-8. Simply written and well-illustrated (with a few carefully selected photographs), the format was attractive & easy to navigate. However, the sidebars on every page were annoying and disruptive, so I wouldn't say this is the greatest biography series for this age group, but the content & visual appeal overall made up for it. For adults who really aren't into comic books but would like to know enough to keep up with your kids or friends who ARE, this is an easy and worthwhile read. show less
The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time: The Civil War, the Iron Bowl, and Other Memorable Matchups by Martin Gitlin
There are rivalries and then there are rivalries. What was known for decades as “The Red River Shootout” between Oklahoma and Texas was one of those intense clashes. The game each October is not anywhere near as good these days no matter what they call it now, but the game at one time was the stuff of legend. Those details and the battle between Texas and Oklahoma for football supremacy each year is covered in detail in the fourth chapter of The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All show more Time: The Civil War, The Iron Bowl, And Other Memorable Matchups.
Dating back to the first meeting in 1900 when Texas defeated Oklahoma 28 to 2 the chapter recounts the history of this clash up until 2014. Over 26 pages the rivalry is analyzed and discussed in great detail. Along with plenty of history and anecdotes passed down during the years there is the final score list of the 108 games played through the 2013 season. Also included at the end of the chapter is a listing of bowl appearances for each team that details the year, the opponent, and the final score of that game.
That same format of detailed history is used for the other 13 rivalries covered in the book starting with Ohio State vs. Michigan. After opening with that one, author Martin Gitlin takes readers onward through Alabama vs. Auburn, Army vs. Navy, Norte Dame vs. Southern California, Harvard vs. Yale, Georgia vs. Florida, Layette vs. Lehigh, California vs. Stanford, Florida State vs. Miami, Grambling State vs. Southern, Utah vs. Brigham Young, Oregon vs. Oregon State, and Clemson vs. South Carolina. Following all the detailed histories of the rivalries is a 12 page “notes” section of footnotes, a five page bibliography, and a 13 page index. A short one page author bio brings this hardback to a close.
An interesting book of facts and history with the occasional black and white photograph, the book covers 14 rivalries extremely well. A notable missing rivalry was the legendary and long standing Texas vs. Texas A&M clash that recently ended due to television dollars, gargantuan egos of administrators on both sides as a result of conference shifting by Texas A&M. No doubt other readers will be aware of other rivalries they feel should have been included. Whether or not these fourteen are the greatest rivalries of all time would also be up to some debate.
Designed for the hardcore fan, The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time: The Civil War, The Iron Bowl, And Other Memorable Matchups by Martin Gitlin is a well done historical accounting of some of the greatest moments ever in college football.
The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time: The Civil War, The Iron Bowl, And Other Memorable Matchups
Martin Gitlin
Rowman & Littlefield
http://www.rowman.com
August 2014
ISBN# 978-1-4422-2983-9
Hardback (e-book also available)
354 Pages
$40.00
Material was picked up to read and review after I spotted it on the new arrivals table during a recent trip to the Haggard Branch of the Plano Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2015 show less
Dating back to the first meeting in 1900 when Texas defeated Oklahoma 28 to 2 the chapter recounts the history of this clash up until 2014. Over 26 pages the rivalry is analyzed and discussed in great detail. Along with plenty of history and anecdotes passed down during the years there is the final score list of the 108 games played through the 2013 season. Also included at the end of the chapter is a listing of bowl appearances for each team that details the year, the opponent, and the final score of that game.
That same format of detailed history is used for the other 13 rivalries covered in the book starting with Ohio State vs. Michigan. After opening with that one, author Martin Gitlin takes readers onward through Alabama vs. Auburn, Army vs. Navy, Norte Dame vs. Southern California, Harvard vs. Yale, Georgia vs. Florida, Layette vs. Lehigh, California vs. Stanford, Florida State vs. Miami, Grambling State vs. Southern, Utah vs. Brigham Young, Oregon vs. Oregon State, and Clemson vs. South Carolina. Following all the detailed histories of the rivalries is a 12 page “notes” section of footnotes, a five page bibliography, and a 13 page index. A short one page author bio brings this hardback to a close.
An interesting book of facts and history with the occasional black and white photograph, the book covers 14 rivalries extremely well. A notable missing rivalry was the legendary and long standing Texas vs. Texas A&M clash that recently ended due to television dollars, gargantuan egos of administrators on both sides as a result of conference shifting by Texas A&M. No doubt other readers will be aware of other rivalries they feel should have been included. Whether or not these fourteen are the greatest rivalries of all time would also be up to some debate.
Designed for the hardcore fan, The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time: The Civil War, The Iron Bowl, And Other Memorable Matchups by Martin Gitlin is a well done historical accounting of some of the greatest moments ever in college football.
The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time: The Civil War, The Iron Bowl, And Other Memorable Matchups
Martin Gitlin
Rowman & Littlefield
http://www.rowman.com
August 2014
ISBN# 978-1-4422-2983-9
Hardback (e-book also available)
354 Pages
$40.00
Material was picked up to read and review after I spotted it on the new arrivals table during a recent trip to the Haggard Branch of the Plano Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2015 show less
Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 195
- Members
- 951
- Popularity
- #27,066
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 22
- ISBNs
- 587