Handsome Ransom Jackson

Millions of America's youth dream of playing major league baseball or in a college bowl game on New Year's Day. Growing up in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Ransom Jackson had no idea that one day he would not only play in back-to-back Cotton Bowls for two different colleges-the first and only player to do so-but that he would also become known as "Handsome Ransom," all-star third baseman for the Chicago Cubs. He was in Chicago in 1953 when Ernie Banks became the first African American to play for the Cubs. He was in Brooklyn in 1956, the year Jackie Robinson retired. In 1957, Jackson was the last Brooklyn player to hit a home run before the team moved to LA. Jackson's major league career spanned the entire decade of the 1950s, a time when the landscape of baseball changed dramatically as teams moved to new cities, built new stadiums, and integrated their rosters. Handsome Ransom Jackson: Accidental Big Leaguer is an autobiographical account of Jackson's fascinating journey from his boyhood days in Arkansas to playing in the major leagues, where many of his teammates were future Hall of Famers. It's a fun and nostalgic visit to the past, with Jackson sharing such memories as spring training with the Cubs on Catalina Island, befriending a Mafia boss in Massachusetts, batting behind Hank Sauer and getting knocked down by pitchers retaliating for Sauer's home runs, rooming with Don Drysdale on an historic baseball tour of Japan, and sitting in the dugout in LA with Dodger teammates looking for movie stars in the stands. In addition, Jackson remembers being brought to Brooklyn to take over third base for the aging Jackie Robinson, and quickly discovering that nobody replaces a legend like Jackie. While many of the players from the 1950s are no longer with us, Jackson's invaluable and timeless stories celebrate the greatness of the game and preserve a sliver of history from the heart of the golden age of baseball. Featuring many never-before-published photographs from Ransom Jackson's personal collection, including photos of Dodger and Cub greats Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Carl Erskine, Ralph Kiner, and Ernie Banks, Handsome Ransom Jackson will take the reader back to an era when baseball was truly the national pastime.

Ransom Jackson Jr. was a professional baseball player for twelve years, ten in the majors. He played for the Chicago Cubs (1950-55 and 1959), the Dodgers in Brooklyn (1956-57) and Los Angeles (1958), and the Cleveland Indians (1958-59). He played in two Major League Baseball All-Star games and the 1956 World Series. Jackson also played three years of college football at Texas Christian University and the University of Texas, during which he competed in two Cotton Bowl Classics. Gaylon H. White was a sportswriter for the Denver Post, Arizona Republic and Oklahoma Journal before working in the corporate world for nearly forty years. He is the author of The Bilko Athletic Club: The Story of the 1956 Los Angeles Angels (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014), called "one of the best sports books of 2014" by the Chicago Daily Herald.

Foreword by Roger Craig Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: Early Years and the Minor Leagues Chapter 1: Ransom as in Handsome Chapter 2: Adventures with Bubba Chapter 3: Accidental Big Leaguer Chapter 4: The Amazing Bobby Layne Chapter 5: From Conroe to the Cubs Chapter 6: Training with the Goats Chapter 7: Field of Dreams Chapter 8: Almost There Chapter 9: New Kid in Town Chapter 10: Big Nose Sam, the Baseball Fan Part II: The Big Leagues Chapter 11: Who's on Third? Chapter 12: The Power of Chocolate Donuts Chapter 13: Batting behind the Mayor Chapter 14: Hot Time in the Garden Chapter 15: Fire and Money Chapter 16: Making Waves on Waveland Chapter 17: One of a Kind Chapter 18: A History-Making Walk Chapter 19: Wasting Away in Wrigleyville Chapter 20: If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em Chapter 21: Jackie and Me Chapter 22: A Masterpiece (and a Fluke) Chapter 23: Kings in Japan Chapter 24: Bummer of a Season Chapter 25: The Day the Music Died Chapter 26: Star Watching in L.A. Chapter 27: Detour to Cleveland Chapter 28: Back Where I Started Part III: Life After Baseball Chapter 29: Where Can You Go from There? Chapter 30: I'm No Joe Chapter 31: My Friend, Dad Chapter 32: The Lady in the Yellow Tennis Dress Chapter 33: My First Love Chapter 34: Pilgrimage to Wrigley Field Part IV: Ransom Thoughts Chapter 35: One for the Book Chapter 36: The Man from Mars Chapter 37: My Roomies Chapter 38: Of Power Pitchers and Powder Puffs Chapter 39: The Cheating Game Chapter 40: Heaven on Earth Chapter 41: The Bat That Glowed Chapter 42: A Fishing Tale That's Mostly True Chapter 43: Remembering "The Galloping Ghost" Chapter 44: Shoeless Joe and Other Jacksons Chapter 45: Where Have All the Jackies Gone? Statistics Notes Bibliography Index About the Authors