The title is so simple, yet so complex. Before beginning reading this book, I sat and contemplated that title: Boston’s 100 Greatest Gamers. One hundred? One hundred! One single city has one hundred memorable, notable, great players in its sports history. Just think about that, let it resonate. It’s pretty difficult for me, a 17-year-old, to comprehend such a vast amount of greatness. That is a very intimidating word when you think about it. At the same time, Boston is a very intimidating sports city. Again, I’m only 17. A 17-year-old spoiled Boston sports fan. I’ve seen a lot of greatness in my extremely short lifetime, but even for me, it’s difficult to grasp. I obviously know that Boston has the longest list of sports history quite possibly on the entire planet but still, just wow.
Boston’s 100 Greatest Gamers by fellow New Hampshire resident Rob Sneddon is a one-of-a-kind book. When he reached out to me about a month ago offering to send me a review copy of his latest book, I was ecstatic. I recall purchasing one of his other works, Boston’s 100 Greatest Games, back in 2015 because he had just revised it and added in the Patriots-Ravens 2014 Divisional Round game, AKA the Julian Edelman Touchdown Pass Game. It was splendid, and his latest book is nothing short of that.
Right from the beginning, the intro reels you in as a Boston sports fan, whether you’re a casual or a diehard. The book opens with a 2004 WEEI segment in which none other than Dennis Eckersley was live on the air on the phone with hosts Rico Petrocelli (please unblock me on Twitter, Rico, I love you) and Dick Radatz. I don’t want to spoil the fantastic story, so I’ll let you, reader, purchase the book to find out the rest. Any Boston sports fan is aware of how big sports radio is around here. Whether we love it or hate it, most of us can confess to listening to it more often than not. It truly is like a never-ending soap opera, and I love it. Anyways, the point is, right off the bat this book intrigues you as a Boston sports fan because you can relate to the dialogue from the very start. Whether you’re a teenaged fan like me or 100 years old and suffered through those 86 years of pure torture, you’re guaranteed to relate to the content of this book, for lack of a better term.
While reading through the introduction, you’re quickly handed the idea of what the criteria is in order to be one of Boston’s greatest gamers. While the author has his own rational criteria, it’s fun to prepare to critique his placement of your favorite Boston athletes and understand why he placed an individual where he did, considering how there is no actual criteria set in stone. That’s probably one of the best parts about being a Boston sports fan: you can have arguments and discussions about where handfuls of generations of athletes should be ranked and the fact that there is no set ranking. That’s insane to think about. I found myself thinking about this throughout my reading of the book. You know, we really are spoiled. And that’s okay!
The little footnotes after each player’s ranking explanation are another one of my favorite parts about this book. Not only is the individual’s time in Boston highlighted, but their post-Boston careers and lives are looked at, as well. I, for one, don’t exactly think too much about any famous Boston athlete’s lives after their time here, rather focusing on probably a very short period of time in their lives, and the fact that they probably did much more with their lives and careers that should be recognized, too. The primary explanations of the ranking typically provide background into their lives and careers before Boston, which are also extremely insightful, but I do enjoy learning at least a snippet about what the individual did post-Boston. After all, these are human beings, not just Boston athletes for a few years.
Once again, I am a 17-year-old fan. While I have heard of probably 95 percent of the names in this book, I either wasn’t around to watch them play or were very little when they did play.
Names like Don Nelson, Tris Speaker, Sam Jones, Smoky Joe Wood, Derek Sanderson, Gino Cappelletti and more I have heard plenty before, but knew very little about. I absolutely feel much more knowledgeable about the history I guess I’m not necessarily expected to know, but regardless, I feel much more of an educated fan than I was before reading this book. Some of the athletes in here I had never even heard of before, like Francis Ouimet, “the father of amateur golf”. Sneddon included a handful of athletes who were not “typical” Boston gamers, per se, such as Ouimet, Bobbi Gibb, Dick Hoyt and John L. Sullivan. It was particularly interesting to learn about those lesser-known gamers who are flown under the radar.
As for the names in this book that I was lucky enough to at least sort of remember watching like Corey Dillon, Richard Seymour, Bill Mueller, Johnny Damon, Troy Brown, Curt Schilling among others, I very much enjoyed refreshing my memory on those early 2000’s players. I remember certain plays and games here and there and vividly recall hearing their names on TV or seeing them, but they don’t have a place in my heart the way those like Tom Brady, Mookie Betts, David Ortiz, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara do. Reliving great moments ingrained in my head by those athletes I faintly recall watching and those I have the privilege of watching today was a blast for a fan like me.
Whether I ever got to watch the gamer play or not, with each description of their Boston careers, I felt connected to them. Sneddon kept each athlete’s ranking explanation short and sweet, to about two pages per player but captured their biggest feats and most memorable moments whether they occurred on or off the field, well, quite effectively. The imagery of each moment was quite effective, as well. I felt like as I was reading the story, that I was there in attendance or on the sideline listening in on or watching whatever he was retelling.
Naturally, I was very enthralled by the stories of the old old Boston athletes, like before the ’60s and ’70s. I hardly know a thing about those breakthrough 50’s and 60’s Celtics teams, let alone any of the individual players. I felt like I was in Red Auerbach’s shoes learning about the likes of Satch Sanders, Bill Sharman, Frank Ramsey and John Havlicek. Knowing about Bill Russell is a start, but I certainly feel more enlightened now that I’m at least somewhat aware of who his teammates were and what they were like.
This particular book is especially unique because it isn’t cut and dry, black and white facts and stats, there are fun, unique stories and quirky facts that keep the short but sweet plot of each individual’s Boston career. I highlighted some of my favorite facts and quotes and a couple of my personal random takeaways throughout the book and thought I would share them to give you a sense of some of the things you’ll gain knowledge about beyond the obvious.
John Hannah had 33-inch-thick thighs (!!!) (THICCCCCCC)
Logan Mankins is one of my favorite gamers in this list. We don’t talk enough about him as a person and his Patriots tenure and how important of a role he played on those New England teams.
In 1947, Joe DiMaggio won MVP over Ted Williams. Williams, of course, won the Triple Crown that year, but what’s even more staggering is that he had a 9.9 WAR that season compared to DiMaggio’s 4.8 WAR
Fenway Park used to hold a “Ladies Day” once a season – a day where women would be admitted into the game for 50 cents instead of 75 cents, and even got their own turnstiles and “special reception room”. BRING THIS BACK! I need it.
Isaiah Thomas getting a spot on this list is spectacular. He did more for the Celtics than most realize or would like to admit.
(page 13) “A team’s best bullpen pitcher was called a ‘fireman.’ Managers would use him to extinguish a rally whenever it flared up, often as early as the sixth inning.” Why didn’t that term stick and stand the test of time?! I’m going to start calling mop-up guys “firemen” from now on.
(page 138) “…Gronk’s full-speed play, often leaves Pats fans holding their breath. It seems absurd – like watching a high-schooler romp through a bunch of pee-wee-leaguers and worrying that he’s the one who’s going to get hurt.”
(page 105) “Mike Vrabel, a linebacker, had more receiving touchdowns for the Pats than Reche Caldwell, Donte Stallworth, Aaron Dobson, Kembrell Thompkins, Brandon Lloyd, Shane Vereen, Danny Woodhead, and Curtis Martin, to name a few.” Oh, wow. That is a fascinating factoid yet it stings a little at the same time. Not mad about it
Probably my favorite fact that I learned while reading this book is that Red Auerbach essentially created the concept of the sixth man. Who knew? …unless that’s a well-known fact, then I’ll feel stupid.
To summarize, this book is just plain cool to take a day to read through no matter what type or level of Boston sports fan you are. You’re guaranteed to learn something new and even learn about an athlete you’ve never heard of before. Reading this book is a great way to expand your Boston sports knowledge and to relive some great memories us fans hold near and dear to our hearts as well as learn some new moments you had no idea were a thing, from a unique perspective. Boston is truly the greatest sports city on the planet and in the history of sports and this book simply reaffirms that statement.
Purchase Boston’s 100 Greatest Gamers here: https://www.amazon.com/Bostons-100-Greatest-Gamers-athletes/dp/179018469X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546125582&sr=8-1&keywords=boston%27s+100+greatest+gamers
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