{"product_id":"big-loosh-the-unruly-life-of-umpire-ron-luciano-9781496237668","title":"Big Loosh: The Unruly Life of Umpire Ron Luciano","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFinalist for the 2025 CASEY Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRon Luciano was a college football star, baseball umpire, TV broadcaster, and best-selling author. He barged through the world with an outsized personality, entertaining many, offending a few, and hiding behind a cheerful and outrageous persona until life somehow proved unbearable. Everyone knew him, but nobody really did. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOnce an All-American tackle at Syracuse University, Luciano turned to umpiring after an injury derailed his professional football career, and he quickly moved up the Minor League ladder to reach the Majors in 1969. As a big, likable loser--Oliver Hardy in blue--he became a fan favorite in the American League, \"shooting\" runners with his forefinger, conducting a legendary feud with Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver, and entertaining writers with outlandish baseball stories--some of which were even true. Even as he added years to his umpiring career and was considered among the game's best, some players and managers thought his showmanship detracted from his abilities. He later became a baseball color analyst on national TV before coauthoring a series of rollicking best-selling sports books. Away from the game, he loved Shakespeare and birdwatching. But his upbeat public face was at odds with his private struggle with depression. His suicide at age fifty-seven shocked and puzzled friends, fans, and readers alike. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eBig Loosh\u003c\/i\u003e Jim Leeke recounts Luciano's unlikely career, detailing his life as athlete, arbiter, sportscaster, writer, and mythmaker while separating fact from fiction amid the fanciful stories he loved to spin. As a friend said of Luciano, \"If you didn't like this man, you didn't like people.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jim Leeke\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Nebraska Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/01\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.12lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.22h x 6.39w x 0.71d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781496237668\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJim Leeke\u003c\/b\u003e is a former journalist, copywriter, and retired creative director. He interviewed Ron Luciano during Luciano's first book tour in 1982. Leeke is the author of several books, including \u003ci\u003eThe Gas and Flame Men: Baseball and the Chemical Warfare Service during World War I\u003c\/i\u003e (Potomac, 2024) and \u003ci\u003eFrom the Dugouts to the Trenches: Baseball during the Great War\u003c\/i\u003e (Nebraska, 2017), winner of the SABR Larry Ritter Award. He lives in Columbus, Ohio.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Jim Leeke \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":47733829828765,"sku":"9781496237668","price":52.03,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_27343cdc-90a0-43af-ae98-594f708c6b0b.jpg?v=1773736573","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/big-loosh-the-unruly-life-of-umpire-ron-luciano-9781496237668","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}