Bang the Drum Slowly
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- The article is about the 1956 novel. For the 1973 film adaption, see Bang the Drum Slowly (film)
| Author | Mark Harris |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | |
| Publication date | 1956 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | NA |
Bang the Drum Slowly was Mark Harris's most celebrated baseball novel, a sequel to The Southpaw (1953). First published in 1956 and made famous by a television adaption (1956-with Paul Newman starring) and a later film adaptation in 1973. Harris's narrator Henry Wiggen, a star pitcher, tells the story of a baseball season with the New York Mammoths (a fictional team based on the New York Yankees) -- a season notable for the team's success but blighted by the terminal illness of catcher Bruce Pearson. Wiggen tries to be supportive of Pearson while concealing his illness. The theme anticipated, by a decade and a half, the events of the fact-based football-related film Brian's Song.[citation needed]
[edit] Explanation of the novel's title
There is no drum in the film or the book. The title comes from the song The Streets of Laredo, sung by one of the ballplayers (Piney Woods, a back-up catcher recently recalled from the minors) at a team gathering.
