Gordon H. Fleming
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
and professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
who specialized in the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
. Outside of academia he was best known for several "clippings books" he published about various baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
teams and seasons. These books used selections from newspapers of the time to create a day-by-day record of particularly interesting seasons in baseball history.
Life
Fleming was born in China, moving to San Francisco at the age of four. He graduated in English Literature from Berkeley, studied law for a year, and then joined the US Navy on America's entry into World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After the war, he taught English in Istanbul, where he met and married his wife. He returned to Berkeley, taking an MA and PhD, and then working in several universities. He retired as professor emeritus of English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
at the University of New Orleans
University of New Orleans
The University of New Orleans, often referred to locally as UNO, is a medium-sized public urban university located on the New Orleans Lakefront within New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is a member of the LSU System and the Urban 13 association. Currently UNO is without a proper chancellor...
. He died of a brain tumor in Chicago, Illinois.
Academic work
Fleming published several scholarly books about VictorianVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
and literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, such as Rossetti and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (1967), That ne'er shall meet again: Rossetti, Millais, Hunt (1971), The Young Whistler, 1834-66 (1978), Lady Colin Campbell: Victorian "sex goddess" (1989), James Abbott McNeill Whistler: A Life (1991). John Everett Millais: a Biography (1999).
Baseball writings
His first clipping book, The Unforgettable Season (1981), remains his most admired. Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
selected it as one of the top 100 sports books ever, and a new paperback
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
edition was published in 2005 with a foreword by baseball historian Lawrence Ritter
Lawrence Ritter
Lawrence S. Ritter was an American writer whose specialties were economics and baseball.Ritter was a professor of economics and finance, and chairman of the Department of Finance at the Graduate School of Business Administration of New York University. He also edited the academic periodical...
. The book recounts the melodramatic National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
season of 1908, which included Fred Merkle
Fred Merkle
Frederick Charles Merkle , also known as "Bonehead" Merkle, was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball...
's infamous "bonehead play" and the resulting playoff between the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
and the New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
. The book conveys the color and excitement of the pennant race through the sometimes florid newspaper stories of the time.
Fleming subsequently published two other clippings books. The Dizziest Season: The Gashouse Gang Chases the Pennant (1984) followed the sometimes zany adventures of the Gashouse Gang
Gashouse Gang
The Gashouse Gang was a nickname applied to the St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball team of .The Cardinals, by most accounts, earned this nickname from the team's generally very shabby appearance and rough-and-tumble tactics...
, the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals
1934 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 53rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 43rd season in the National League. The Cardinals went 95-58 during the season and finished first in the National League...
and their famed pair of pitchers, brothers Dizzy
Dizzy Dean
Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season. Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953....
and Paul Dean
Paul Dean (baseball)
Paul Dee "Daffy" Dean was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. Born in Lucas, Arkansas, he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals , the New York Giants , and the St. Louis Browns ....
. In 1985 Fleming published Murderers' Row, a book covering the 1927 season
1927 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees season was their 25th season. The team finished with a record of 110-44, winning their fifth pennant and finishing 19 games ahead of the Philadelphia Athletics. New York was managed by Miller Huggins. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium. In the World Series, they swept the...
of the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, a ball club generally considered one of the greatest ever.