Rhubarb in the Catbird Seat

by Red Barber

Catbird Seat was one of Red (Walter--did you know it?) Barber's southern cornpone phrases which he brought with him from down thayuh when he started to ""broadcast the ball"" back in 1934 with the Cincinnati Reds. This then is a re-play by play of the many words he spoke over the air, along with insets on his life, and somehow one of his youthful ambitions of being in a minstrel show was realized as he became the sportscaster of the early 40's with the Dodgers who were then proving to be something better than Bums. Barber devotes most of the coverage here to his pre-Yankee sportscasting, probably because of the lingering rancor of his sudden and much protested dismissal. However the most honestly faced issue here is his personal crise over the Dodgers' decision to hire Jackie Robinson, and his difficulties in accepting integration. . . . Maybe for his following--pickup reading for the Ballantine time of baseball, or during those long managerial walks to the mound.