Dodgers Past and Present » (First)

Steven Travers is a graduate of the University of Southern California and an ex-professional baseball player. He helped lead his suburban California high school baseball team to the national championship in his senior year; attended college on an athletic scholarship; was an all-conference pitcher; and coached at USC, at Cal-Berkeley, and in Europe. He also attended law school, served in the Army, was a sports agent, and is a guest lecturer at the University of Southern California. He is the author of numerous books, including Dodgers Essential: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Real Fan!, Barry Bonds: Baseball’s Superman, and The 1969 Miracle Mets. Steve has written for the Los Angeles Times, StreetZebra magazine in Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Examiner. A fifth-generation Californian, Steve has a daughter, Elizabeth Travers, and still resides in the Golden State.

Explore 125 years of Dodgers baseball in this richly illustrated tour of the players, teams, ballparks, and moments that surround this storied franchise. From its origins as the Brooklyn Atlantics through its rise as perennial pennant winners to its move to California and its most recent on-field successes, the Dodger ball club has long been a pioneering organization and a leader in the game of baseball. The team that broke baseball’s color barrier also helped to usher in an influx of talent from Latin America and Asia in the twenty-first century. Loyal Dodger fans on two coasts have seen their share of triumphs—including 22 league pennants—and their share of frustrations, but always with passion and enthusiasm. Dodgers Past & Present goes around the horn to celebrate the Dodger legends at each position on the field—from the little-remembered stars of the nineteenth century to the heroes of tomorrow. Visit the classic ballparks that housed the team known as the Superbas, Robins, Bridegrooms, and Dodgers—Brooklyn’s Washington Park, legendary Ebbets Field, the odd Los Angeles Coliseum, the modern marvel Dodger Stadium. Dodgers Past & Present presents the players, dugout and front-office wizards, voices from the broadcast booth, hard-luck heroes, and the myriad rites of spring that keep fans coming back year after year.

“Steve Travers is a phenomenal writer, an artist who labors over every word to get it just right, and he has an encyclopedic knowledge of sports and history.”

— StreetZebra magazine

“Travers' work is every baseball aficionado's dream.”

— Fairfield Daily Republic

“A baseball player who can write—who knew? This one sure can!”

— Arnie Spanier, sports radio host