(Ed note: Joel Freedman read and reviewed this book before Pete Rose’s death Sept. 30.)
When 19-year-old Pete Rose, aka Charlie Hustle, arrived in Geneva in 1960 after signing a contract with the Cincinnati Reds that launched his career as a professional baseball player, he was unaware of the challenges he would soon face when he joined the Geneva RedLegs, one of the Reds’ minor-league affiliates, as a second baseman.
At the time, the New York-Penn League, a loose collection of small-town baseball teams, faced financial doom. The Redlegs didn’t have a real stadium. Shuron Park, the Redlegs’ field, was in bad shape. There were hazardous slopes and dips around first and third base. In left field, there was a large bald patch. Worn by years of high school games, grass on the field was slow to grow. The outfield wall was a deteriorating metal structure. When players leaped at the wall to chase down a home run or double, their wrists sometimes were sliced open.
Reds scout Phil Seghi told locals that “we want baseball in Geneva to succeed.” But, in 1959, a fire in the concession stand caused extensive damage. There weren’t enough jerseys or hats for all the players. The Redlegs not only lacked a decent field, there were no ball caps.
To take batting practice, the team relied on a nearby college diamond. Advertisements in the Geneva Times declared, “It’s fun to be a fan!” but sluggish ticket sales told a different story.
Within the first three weeks of the season, nearly half of all games were canceled due to a spate of rainouts. The Redlegs were nearly $10,000 in debt and were playing baseball in a near-empty ballpark on the nights that games were not canceled. It was also a time when, according to Keith O’Brien, the author of “Charlie Hustle,” “Players booted routine grounders, chucked the ball around like a circus squad, and lost pop flies in the........