The Legend of Wild Bill Setley
By Tony Kissel and Scott Fiesthumel, reviewed by Robert Palazzo
First off, let me say that the co-author, Scott Fiesthumel, is a friend of mine. That has never prevented either of us from being brutally honest or critical with each other about our writing. Secondly, I was a proofreader for this book, so I will tell you up front that I read it prior to publication and suggested few, if any, changes. That being said, I can now review it with a clean conscience.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Yes, it is about a ballplayer with roots in Utica, NY, my home. But come on - this guy Setley was one weird dude and a read about his career would have been enjoyable had he been from Duluth! At one hundred twenty seven pages, it is a quick and easy read. More importantly, it is enjoyable. While proofing the book last summer, I read it in about 3 hours, spread out over two delightfully sunny days.
While the book is about a late 19th, early 20th century ballplayer, William Warren Setley, its focus is more than baseball. The book is really about an eccentric individual, "Wild Bill" Setley, who was a ballplayer but whose life probably would have been written about if he were a tailor.
Setley was a character, no question. His exploits both on and off the mound are unbelievable at times. Much of the tale is spun by Setley himself. Is he to be believed? Did he really orchestrate a pitching duel between Big Six (Mathewson) and the Big Train (Johnson)? Did he really participate in a game in which one half a run was scored? The authors make a point of stating that some of the stuff that is reported can't be substantiated except for Setley's word. And yet, he WAS on Ripley's show with Gerhrig; and he DID use the potato trick on occasion; and he DID play for twelve teams one year, sometimes leaving and then returning under suspicious circumstances.
The book follows Setley's baseball career, which also included umpiring once his playing days were over. He was a player of moderate skills who did find success at times while pitching. However, the book is about the exploits that happened while he was playing and umpiring, more than his accomplishments on the field. The inclusion of newspaper articles throughout the book provide a glimpse of how Setley's antics were reported by the press and add a 'turn of the century' feel to the chapters. While the photos in the book are few, the two from the 1908 trip to Cuba are borderline bizarre. But then, most of what you will read about Setley was bizarre.
Rather than try to establish the 'truth and fact', the authors allow the tales speak for themselves and let the reader make his own determination. In fact, it is this character of the book that makes it so enjoyable - you really don't know how much truth is in the passage you've just read. What you do know is that it was entertaining. Perhaps it is best left alone, like the story told on the Ripley radio show. Let the listeners decide for themselves.
Part fact, part conjecture, part mystery and part long tale, the legend of Wild Bill Setley is a must read for anyone looking to escape from the boredom of statistics and steroids and ego trips of today. Instead, let yourself sink into a soft comfortable chair, and imagine it is 100 years ago, when baseball, and the world, were simpler.
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