Steve Steinberg - Urban Shocker: Silent Hero of Baseballs Golden Age

Youve shown the fickleness of Fame,

But with it the eternal worth

Of one who dares to Play the Game

Beyond the scorers of the earth;

Who sees above the maudlin roar

Something beyond the final score.

from New Years Dedication by Grantland Rice

I first connected with Urban Shocker in 1998. I found him on an old baseball card, when my ten-year-old son and I were frequenting card shows and shops. Shockers pitching accomplishments, key role with the great 1927 New York Yankees, and untimely death all intrigued me. I soon came across a quote in The Yankee Encyclopedia: Quite possibly Urban was the most courageous man in sports history. Ill with a swollen heart, Urban fought bravely in his last few years to play baseball and indeed for life itself. I was now completely hooked and chose to follow my curiosity, to embark on a search for this forgotten star.

In early 1999 my correspondence with baseball historian Robert Creamer (19222012) provided me with encouragement from the start. On March 19, 1999, he wrote,

If youre fascinated by Shocker and are crazy enough to want to do a book on him, sure.... Its tedious work, going through microfilm day after day, looking for nuggets of information, but it can be marvelously rewarding.... Dont depend only on the New York Times, microfilm of which seems to be in every library in the country. Other papers often had more sports detail. Look at as many papers in the same city as you can.... I wish I could give you specific leads on Shocker, but I cant.... Even though he was one of the best pitchers of his era, he seems remarkably unknown.

I was going through a period of immense change and turmoil at the time. I had recently sold my retail company, which had been a central part of my life for more than twenty years. I was lost without it. I was also approaching the age of fifty and suddenly realized I was no longer young.

I began researching Shockers life and writing his story. Originally a creative work, it had dialogue between the personalities, as well as my search for Urban and his story, a memoir of sorts. After more than three years, in the fall of 2002, I had written almost 200,000 words. It was long and unwieldy. The story wasnt ready. Neither was I.

I revisited the Shocker manuscript in 2009. At that same time, I was diagnosed with heart failure. It was a complete and inexplicable surprise. My family history is one of great genes and longevity. I had been feeling fine, and none of the symptoms of the disease were present, even at my annual checkups. My cardiologist, who could find no medical explanation for my heart failure, said it may have been caused by a virus.

Had my regular doctor not run an EKG during my 2009 annual physical and noticed an irregularity, I might not have lived to finish this book. I might have simply died in my sleep later that year. For the third time in my life, I had come close to death. The other two were a near-drowning and a very bad car accident decades earlier. For the third time, I have moved forward, in this case because we have been able to treat the disease so successfully.

My illness provides me with a stronger understanding of and connection to Shockers story. From my first meeting him back in 1998 in a baseball card shop with my son, Shocker and I have reconnected ever more strongly on the same playing field. The discovery of my own heart failure has added another dimension to my understanding of him.

Now more than ever, after collaborating on two books on the Yankees of the 1920s with Lyle Spatz, it is time for Urban Shockers story to be told. He has been waiting for almost ninety years.

In my correspondence with Shockers nephew, Roger Shockcor (19202003), I was able to pique his interest, and he wrote me on April 19, 1999, Thank you so much for the articles, cards, etc. about Urban Shocker, which you enclosed with your letter of 3.29.99. I did not realize what a great pitcher Uncle Urb was until after I read and digested the material you sent me. In addition, he was also quite a guy and someone we can be proud of. You have sparked my interest in the story you are trying to put together, and it could have more potential than I originally thought.

Baseball has a unique beauty and rhythm. By understanding this and Urbans story, I have gained perspective on life. I have learned to experience time and make the most of it. By taking the time to go back in time, within the timeless framework of baseball, I have discovered that it is possible to slow time down and savor it. For more than fifteen years, this perspective has guided my life and enriched it immensely.

I have reshaped this book as a traditional nonfiction biography. It is a story of courage, love of the game, and passion for life. Back on April 4, 1999, baseball historian Donald Honig wrote me, You have picked out one of the more silent stars of baseballs past. During my journey with this book, I have often been asked, Who? Whos Shocker? People more familiar with the game and its history have been equally puzzled and asked, Why? Why Shocker?