Bobo Newsom: Baseball's Traveling Man - Paperback

by Jim McConnell (Author)

For three decades, Louis Norman "Bobo" Newsom (1907-1962) was one of the most well-known pitchers in baseball. Frequently quoted by sportswriters, he appeared in all the popular sports publications as well as on Wheaties boxes and bubblegum cards, and was the undisputed star of the 1940 World Series.

Despite his success, he was sold or traded 14 times during his 20-year career. He pitched for nine of 16 Major League teams--including five stints with the Washington Senators--and made sports headlines nearly every year for holding out, being suspended or traded. In an era when players seldom changed teams more than once and rarely defied authority, Newsom seemed always at odds with the powers that be.

Drawing on interviews with family, friends and former teammates, this first full-length biography of Newsom takes an entertaining look at the life and career of one of sports' most memorable characters. Despite his nickname and nonstop antics, Bobo was much more than a clown, and gave more to the game than he ever got from it.

Author Biography

Sports journalist Jim McConnell has written Then and Now, a weekly sports history column for the Pasadena Star-News and its affiliates, for the past 20 years. He has won numerous writing awards, including those bestowed by The Associated Press, The California Newspaper Publisher's Association and the Greater Los Angeles Press Club. He is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Research Award. He lives in Covina, California.