The Quality of Courage: Heroes in and out of Baseball

Something of a publishing stunt when it first appeared in the mid-1960s The Quality of Courage was conceived as a baseball-steeped companion to JFKs bestselling compendium of political valor Profiles in Courage. The literary equivalent of primitive art this slight collection--written under the careful direction of ghostwriter Creamer one of the best sportswriters of the era--scored as a surprisingly compelling read in its own right. Like Kennedy Mantle was in the nations eyes a certified hero who played valiantly through pain. Using Profiles as a model Mantle and Creamer compiled a series of personal sketches of teammates and opponents who continued to take the field and play their best despite personal adversity. The people I most respected in my life were people who had courage Mick tell us and the stories I liked best were about courage. Reading more like conversational monologues than a written text--Creamers marvelous achievement is in letting Micks voice come through as familiar rather than some chiseled artifice. Mantles observations on such ballplayers as Whitey Ford Joe DiMaggio Phil Rizzuto Roger Maris Roy Campanella Ted Williams and Jimmy Piersall are really quite charming in the way they reveal his homespun attitudes opinions and the qualities he respected. From these pages its sadly apparent that Mantle had an easier time drawing strength and inspiration from others than he did carrying the weight of inspiring a generation on his own broad brawny back. --Jeff SilvermanAs a man who played baseball brilliantly despite near-constant pain from a succession of injuries Mickey Mantle knew something about courage. In The Quality of Courage we find Mickeys opinion on some of his widely-recognized associates including Jackie Robinson Roger Maris Casey Stengel Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. Here also are Mantles opinions on some lesser known but equally meritorious candidates: war hero and pitcher Lou Brissie and umpire Bill