The Bookshelf Conversation: Paul Dickson

Payl Dickson. Photo by Bruce Guthrie

In recent days, I’ve notice that a number of new baseball titles have “updated” nostalgia. By that I mean the subjects of these books are more recent than they used to be. Case in point, Scott Turbow’s Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s. When did the 1970s become the “new” 1950s?

So it is a sense of relief that I read Paul Dickson‘s latest biography, Leo Durocher: Baseball’s Prodigal Son.

Dickson’s contribution to baseball literature is immeasurable. Among his oeuvre:

He has also been honored with the Baseball Reliquary’s Tony Salin Award from the Baseball Reliquary (2011) for his work in preserving baseball history. And SABR’s Henry Chadwick Award (2012) which honors baseball researchers “for their invaluable contributions to making baseball the game that links America’s present with its past.”

I spoke with Dickson recently about Durocher’s legacy and why he chose to take on this project.

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