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Baseball photography of the 1960s and 70s
Taschen
December 2007
On Sale: December 2, 2007
302 pages ISBN: 3822822078 EAN: 9783822822074 Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Photography
Ballet in the dirt: baseball photography of the 1960s and 70s Collector's edition limited to 1,000 copies worldwide,
numbered and signed by Neil Leifer To the baby boomers of the world, professional baseball
means the 1960s and 70s. Growing up near a city with three
major league teams, editor Eric Kroll lived and breathed the
Giants at the Polo Grounds, the New York Yankees at Yankee
Stadium, and the Brooklyn Bums (Dodgers) at Ebbets Field.
"What did Willie Mays do last night? How about the Duke? And
the golden boy, Mickey Mantle? Was that a thunderous
strikeout last night or what?" All this flavor and juice were captured on film by the
premier sports photographer of this generation, Neil Leifer.
Professional baseball for those two decades belongs to Neil.
In 1960, at age 17, Neil had the human drive to match his
new Nikon motor drive and he was on his way. With gumption
and an eye for the decisive moment in baseball, the
baby-faced kid from Manhattan's lower east side was soon
selling his baseball photos to Sports Illustrated and later,
working for Life and still later, staff photographer for
Time magazine. This superb collection of images reflects the total access
Neil had to the players on the field, in the dugout, and in
the locker room. All the pathos, elation, disappointment,
and celebration are etched upon the faces of the ball
players and mercurial fans. Neil and his camera never sat
still. He is up in the nosebleed section of the grand stands
in Yankee Stadium, in the ceiling of the Astrodome in
Houston, or in a helicopter high above. Many of the old
stadiums he photographed are gone, replaced by modern
convenient structures to ease and increase commerce. From the 1960 World Series between the Yankees and the
Pirates, decided in the 9th inning of the 7th game by a Bill
Mazeroski home run, to the 1977 World Series between the
Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Neil Leifer never
stopped shooting. Who won the games isn't important--it's
how the game was played. The blood, sweat, and grace. It's
all about the game, and Neil Leifer's photographs create a
topographical map to the very heart and soul of baseball.
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