A forgotten star from the golden age of baseball
I doubt most baseball fans have ever heard the name, Urban Shocker. He is not in the hall of fame, despite winning more games than other pitchers in the early 1920s. Shocker debuted as a New York Yankee, but was traded to the lowly St. Louis Browns. As discussed in the book, it would be interesting to see where Shocker would stack up against baseball greats had he remained a Yankee.
In an interesting twist, it appeared the young Shocker was destination to be a Detroit Tiger, along side the legendary Ty Cobb. The Tigers owned his rights, but the organization decided to pass on him, and was claimed by the Yankees. The right-hander would be also be claimed by the Cleveland Indians, but the league ruled in favor of the Bronx bombers. After pitching with semi professional teams and playing in the minor leagues, he appeared ready to shine in the Majors, but was traded.
During World War I, Shocker was drafted, but he never lost his passion for baseball, and returned to the sport after admirably serving his country. Shocker was known as a bit of a trouble maker, which might explain him being shipped to St. Louis. However, in the “Gateway to the West”, Shocker shinned. He would win 91 games from 1920 to 1923, despite missing fourteen weeks of action due to injuries and suspensions. The hurler posted twenty win seasons in four consecutive seasons.
Shocker challenged the dreaded reserve clause, expressing the desire to explore his options as a free agent, However, the clause would remain in baseball until 1975, thus Shocker returned to St. Louis until he was traded back to the Yankees. In 1927, Shocker was a members of the greatest teams ever established, as the Yanks swept the Pittsburgh Pirates for the World Series championship.
Due to a heart condition, the Yankees were forced to release Shocker the following year. Sadly, Shocker died at the age of young of 37. Urban’s passion for the sports is overt in Steve Steinberg’s maliciously researched book. The process of searching old paper clippings and accessing microfiche at local libraries is described in the book. I want to thank Mr. Steinberg for taking the time to preserve Urban’s baseball legacy, and exploring his complexities. Steinberg also makes a valid argument for Shocker to one day being inducted into Baseball’s hall of fame in Cooperstown.
By: Steve Steinberg
Narrated by: David A. Nickerson
Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
Release date: 08-02-18
