Hall of Fame Baseball Biographies Quiz

Answer: Chipper Jones

Carroll Rogers Walton assisted Chipper Jones in writing his autobiography, published in 2017. Jones was announced as a first-ballot inductee to the Baseball Hall of Fame on 24 January, 2018.

An interesting sidelight to his account of his baseball career in the book is Chipper's handling of his three marriages and his history of unfaithfulness as a husband, details which add a touch of openness often not seen in autobiographies.

But most important is Chipper's 19-year baseball career with the Atlanta Braves, from being the first overall pick in the baseball draft to the 2013 retirement of his number 10 and inclusion into the Braves' Hall of Fame, as well as Cooperstown.

Answer: Lou Gehrig

Jonathan Eig's "Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig" (2005) is the frank and revealing story of "The Iron Horse," the man whose 2,130 consecutive game streak stood for 56 years until broken in 1995 by Cal Ripken, Jr. The German-speaking son of German immigrants, the shy Gehrig's life centered around his mother and his skill as a baseball player, as exemplified by his hitting a baseball out of Wrigley Field in Chicago in a high school game between two of America's best school teams, one from the Big Apple and one from the Windy City. Generally regarded as the best first baseman ever to play the game, Gehrig's career and life were ended by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which became known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease." After ending the 1938 season batting .295 with 29 home runs, by spring training of the following season, Gehrig no longer had the skills of a major league player, and three years later, he was dead.

The book is a bittersweet look at the baseball icon, who, following his retirement from baseball, told a sold-out Yankee Stadium, "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth."

Answer: Henry Aaron

"The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron" was written by Boston native Howard Bryant, a senior writer for ESPN. He has been a sportswriter for the "Oakland Tribune", the "Boston Herald", and the "New York Times." "The Last Hero" is one of his award-winning baseball non-fiction works.

Besides the story about a superb athlete, "The Last Hero" also tells about the historic struggle of a black man's proud achievement in the face of death threats and the resistance of white society. Like Jackie Robinson, Henry Aaron is an icon in America's search for racial equality.

Answer: Mickey Mantle

Jane Leavy is the author of "The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood," which was published in 2010. She had also written a best-selling biography of Sandy Koufax, entitled "Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy." "Entertainment Weekly called her 1990 novel, "Squeeze Play," "the best novel ever written about baseball." She also worked as a feature writer for the "Washington Post."

While the book's subtitle recalls images of Mantle's seemingly carefree way of playing baseball and carrying on as "one of the boys" off the field, Leavy's in-depth biography also brings out the price the Mick paid for his lifestyle as an athlete and a human being, including the nightmares and the breakdown of a once superbly gifted athletic body.

Answer: Tom Glavine

"None But the Braves: A Pitcher, a Team, a Champion" is Tom Glavine's autobiographical look at how the Braves won the 1995 World Series, the only one the team won in Atlanta during their 14-season run of consecutive National League Divisional titles. Reaching back into his childhood, Glavine tells his life story only up through the 1995 season, while his career continued up to 2008, including five years as a member of the Braves' hated Eastern Division rivals, the New York Mets, which is ironic considering his book's title.

Like the celebrity or professional athlete authors of almost all autobiographies and memoirs, Glavine was assisted by a professional writer. In this case, it is Nick Cafardo, a sportswriter for the "Boston Globe."

Answer: John Smoltz

Another key element of the Atlanta Braves pitching staffs that enabled the Bravos to win 14 consecutive Divisional titles from 1991 to 2005 was John Smoltz. After 14 successful seasons as a starter, Smoltz went into the bullpen to become one of the game's most effective closers, setting a National League record for saves, with 55. By the end of his 22-year career, he was the first MLB pitcher in history to win 200 games and save another 150.

A strong thread of Smoltz's story is his deep Christian faith and perseverance in coming back from injury and disappointment.

Smoltz shares authorship of "Starting and Closing: Perseverance, Faith, and One More Year" with Don Yaeger, a sportswriter who has also written or co-written over 20 volumes of sports non-fiction.

Answer: Joe Jackson

Yes, I know Shoeless Joe is NOT in the Hall of Fame, and that's a shame. (So please don't send me correction notices.) After all, defensively he led the American League in assists by a right fielder in two seasons and it was said "His glove is where triples went to die." Offensively he led the American League in hits and total bases twice, in doubles once, and in triples three times! He also led the AL in runs created, extra-base hits, and times on base once each. In voting for League Most Valuable Player, he finished second, fourth, and fifth.

The only reason he is not in the Hall of Fame is due to his being a member of the 1919 Chicago White Sox who threw the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. Today it is generally accepted that Jackson did not participate in fixing the Series.

"Shoeless: The Life and Times of Joe Jackson" was written by David L. Fleitz and was published in 2001.

Answer: Ted Williams

Besides "The Kid," Ted Williams' nicknames also included "The Splendid Splinter", "Teddy Ballgame", and "The Thumper." He is also often referred to as "The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived." Although he played with the Red Sox from 1939 to 1960, that time span also includes the five years he spent as a Marine pilot in World War II and the Korean War.

Known for winning the Triple Crown twice and for hitting .400, Ted Williams hid his Mexican heritage, and many people today are still surprised to learn that his mother, Micaela May Venzor, was a Mexican-American born in San Diego to parents who were Mexican nationals.

"The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams" was written by Ben Bradlee Jr. and published in 2013.

Answer: Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson's co-author for "I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson" was award-winning writer Alfred Duckett, who also collaborated with Martin Luther King, Jr, on a book and several of his speeches, including his famous "I Have a Dream." Published in 1972, "I Never Had It Made" won the 1973 Coretta Scott King Book Award.

This book is an honest look at one of baseball's most controversial events, the breaking of the color barrier by Robinson's joining the Brooklyn Dodgers, beginning with the 1947 season.

Answer: Roy Campanella

"It's Good To Be Alive" is a rare sports autobiography in that Roy Campanella was not assisted by a professional sportswriter. Although his father was the son of a Sicilian immigrant, since Campanella's mother was African-American, his baseball career began in the Negro Leagues, where he began playing at the age of 16. Following Jackie Robinson's debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Campanella began his ten-year Dodger career in '48. An automobile accident ended his playing days in 1958. Considered one of the greatest catchers of all time, Campanella was an 8-time All-Star and a 3-time NL MVP.