Lyons Press
hardcover, 2014
paperback, 2015
nonfiction, 277 pages
CASEY Award Finalist 2014
Best Baseball Book of the Year
Two men–one Black, one Latin–transform what could have been remembered as baseball’s ugliest moment into a story of forgiveness and redemption.
One Sunday afternoon in August 1965, on a day when baseball’s most storied rivals, the Giants and Dodgers, vied for the pennant, the national pastime reflected the tensions in society and nearly sullied two men forever. Juan Marichal, a Dominican anxious about his family’s safety during the civil war back home, and John Roseboro, a black man living in South Central L.A. shaken by the Watts riots a week earlier, attacked one another in a moment immortalized by an iconic photo: Marichal’s bat poised to strike Roseboro’s head.
The violent moment–uncharacteristic of either man–linked the two forever and haunted both. Much like John Feinstein’s The Punch, [Title] examines the incident in its context and aftermath, only in this story the two men eventually reconcile and become friends, making theirs an unforgettable tale of forgiveness and redemption.
The book also explores American culture and the racial prejudices against blacks and Latinos both men faced and surmounted. As two of the better ballplayers of their generation, they realized they had more to unite them than keep them apart.
What they’re saying about The Fight of Their Lives:
“When I heard the news that two baseball idols, admired by thousands of fans, gave the example of forgiving a past incident with a simple handshake, it gave me great satisfaction. John Rosengren’s excellent account of the story made me appreciate their act of kindness even more.”
—Tony Pérez, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
“John Rosengren has spun a masterpiece with the skill of Juan Marichal’s pitching and John Roseboro’s catching.”
—Jim Kaplan, author of The Greatest Game Ever Pitched: Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn, and the Pitching Duel of the Century
“John Rosengren does a terrific job illuminating the people and times behind one of the ugliest incidents in baseball history. The friendship and forgiveness between Juan Marichal and John Roseboro is a powerful story well told.”
—Tom Verducci, senior writer for Sports Illustrated
“This is a story about passion and pride. It’s a story about two men who came from very different backgrounds but shared a common bond. It is also a story about forgiveness with a theme that shows it’s never too late to make amends. John Rosengren extraordinarily depicts how two men long since retired taught the world a valuable lesson—that it is okay to forgive.”
—Andre Dawson, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
“With the perspective of a sociologist and narrative mastery of a deft storyteller, John Rosengren tells the intertwined stories of two men on a collision course seemingly since they were born. Rosengren builds to the bloody Sunday that shocked the baseball world, and then, in its haunting aftermath, tells how the two principals eventually faced down their guilt to forgive each other. This is fascinating reading on multiple levels—as baseball story, as case study in American socio-cultural history, and as subtle commentary on the inherent frailty, occasional ugliness, and ultimate grace of the human condition.”
—Josh Pahigian, author of several baseball books, including The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip and 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out
“In an explosive decade, against the backdrop of baseball’s fiercest rivalry, amid the pressure of a pennant race, Juan Marichal and John Roseboro forged a moment that stood still forever—The Fight of Their Lives. John Rosengren tells how it improbably led from hostility via regret and guilt to healing and finally love. An incredible odyssey, beautifully told.”
—Curt Smith, author of Voices of The Game and The Voice: Mel Allen’s Untold Story
Reviews & Media
“Author John Rosengren did baseball, Marichal and Roseboro a great service by re-opening this horrific episode and shedding light on the entire story. He presents us almost a fairy tale—two good people brought together in a significant conflict which got resolved over the years and everyone lived happily ever after…. This is a beautiful story of forgiveness, told factually, yet sympathetically, with a very emotional ending.”
—Spitball magazine
Rosengren provides insightful context as he chronicles the surprisingly similar lives of [Juan Marichal and John Roseboro]—their childhoods in humble homes, their remarkable defensive skills on the field, the prejudices they faced as minorities in Major League Baseball’s segregated culture of the 1960s, and the shared animosity they ultimately channeled into friendship and forgiveness. . . .Rosengren’s retelling, true to its title, pivots on one historic incident that overshadows the other, more significant accomplishments of both men. ― Publishers Weekly
Rosengren’s research brings to life one of the most graphic brawls on the baseball diamond. It is an important contribution, not only to baseball history, but to the history of race relations in the United States and Latin America. ― NINE: A Journal of Baseball History & Culture
“For baseball fans of a certain age, it’s the ugliest thing they’ve ever seen in a game… Rosengren details not only the fight, but the role of race in 1965 America, how the two eventually made up, became friends and even signed photos of the fight together.”
—New York Post “must-read books”
“Well before Jackie Robinson, even before the formation of the state of Israel, the Detroit first baseman became a powerful symbol in the battle against bigotry and anti-Semitism…. [Rosengren] does a fine job placing Greenberg’s accomplishments against this backdrop, as well as the chilling developments taking place across Europe at the time.”–Chris Erskine, Los Angeles Times
“Rosengren has researched and written a first-rate biography of a professional athlete who was also an interesting human being — and interesting in part because an entire religion looked to him to ameliorate its unhappy history of persecution. That is a huge burden to place upon an individual simply because he could hit and catch baseballs better than 99 percent of everybody else.” –Steve Weinberg, Minneapolis Star Tribune