Urban Shocker: Silent Hero of Baseball’s Golden Age

By: Steve Steinberg

Narrated by: David A. Nickerson

Baseball in the 1920s is most known for Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees, but there was another great Yankee player in that era whose compelling story remains untold. Urban Shocker was a fiercely competitive and colorful pitcher, a spitballer who had many famous battles with Babe Ruth before returning to the Yankees. Shocker was traded away to the St. Louis Browns in 1918 by Yankees Manager Miller Huggins, a trade Huggins always regretted. In 1925, after four straight seasons with at least 20 wins with the hapless Browns, Shocker became the only player Huggins brought back to the Yankees. He finally reached the World Series with the 1926 Yankees.

In the Yankees’ storied 1927 season, widely viewed to be the best in MLB history, Shocker pitched with guts and guile, finishing with a record of 18-6 even while his fastball and physical skills were deserting him. Hardly anyone knew Shocker was suffering from an incurable heart disease that left him able to sleep only while sitting up and that would take his life in less than a year. With his physical skills diminishing, he continued to win games through craftiness and well-placed pitches.

The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2017 Steve Steinberg (P)2018 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“Steve Steinberg makes history come alive.” (Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, sports radio and TV personality)

“Urban Shocker deserved better, and thanks to Steve Steinberg and his meticulous research, his fascinating story is finally told.” (Brian Kenny, MLB Network studio host)

“I would rather read Steve Steinberg on Urban Shocker than just about anyone else on anything else.” (Rob Neyer, author, commentator, and analyst for ESPN, SB Nation, and Fox Sports)

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. Steinberg also makes a valid argument for Shocker to one day being inducted into Baseball's hall of fame in Cooperstown.