Drawing the Big Red Machine

Jerry Dowling, in his incomparable manner, has captured the essence of the BIG RED MACHINE and the WIRE TO WIRE REDS. What a great read, especially for those of us fortunate to have lived through those exciting times. It brings back a treasure trove of wonderful memories. - Bill Keating, Retired Publisher of the Cincinnati Enquirer and former Chairman of the Associated Press, former congressman. The names suggest magic even now. Rose and Morgan, Bench and Perez and Sparky and the other faces of an absolutely unique era. It was the time of giants in Reds baseball. They knew how to act and they knew how to play and they knew how to win, an unforgettable team, doing unforgettable deeds. To spend time in the clubhouse was like being invited inside an active hall of fame, and those lucky enough to have been around probably never truly understood how special it was, until it was gone. Here's to Jerry Dowling and his special talents for making the Big Red Machine real again, in all its fascination and greatness. A memory gets relived on every page. - Mike Lopresti, Gannett News Service sports columnist, USA. If you wanted to know exactly what The Big Red Machine looked like, all you had to do was follow Jerry Dowling's drawing in the Cincinnati Enquirer and the vision became a reality. Dowling was there, every day, during the years of The BRM, and nobody depicted the Machinists in caricature any better. He captured in drawings what I tried to capture in words and his were always clearer and more concise. So sit back, relax and thumb through this entertaining history of The Big Red Machine in a way no other person could capture it. - Hal McCoy, Hall of Fame Baseball Writer.