Dizzy: Dean of Baseball and My Podnah

“Dizzy – Dean of Baseball & My Podnah” – Cool Cat Communications

FWAA member Bo Carter and journalist Mark McDonald, a former Dallas area media member, have tri-authored a book with the late Gene Kirby (the play-by-play voice for Army football for several seasons) called “Dizzy: Dean of Baseball and My Podnah.”

Somewhere between heaven and second base, a tall skinny kid from the cotton fields of Arkansas —or was it Oklahoma?-- emerged with a white-hot fastball and country cool. Meet Jay Hannah Dean. Folks called him “Dizzy.”

Dizzy Dean was a plain-spoken but colorful athlete who showed up on the big stage of professional baseball when the nation needed a light moment. Dizzy’s baseball and total persona were a high-wire act without a script, providing Americans relief from the struggles of everyday life during the Great Depression.

A Hall of Fame baseball career was just the start. Once Dizzy migrated to the broadcast booth he teamed with the likes of Pee Wee Reese and producer Gene Kirby to deliver the wildly popular CBS Game of the Week.

Here, at long last, is a book that takes you behind the scenes and behind the television cameras.

Of the many books written on Dizzy, none is told from such an intimate perspective, nor with the shared sense of playful mischief. Gene Kirby’s text and photo collection show why the pitcher was a baseball phenom, but more importantly, show why Dizzy remains an enduring legend.