The Boys of Spring – Ozzie Sweet SPORTClassicBooks

Celebrates the annual baseball rite of spring training through color photographs, many never before published, that he shot over almost six decades. 

Called one of “photography’s Grand Masters” by Vanity Fair amd “The babe Ruth of the magazine cover business” by Newsweek, Ozzie Sweet stands among the most prolific and acclaimed photographers of the Twentieth Century. In “The Boys of Spring: Timeless Portraits from the Grapefruit League, 1947-2005,” Sweet celebrates the annual baseball rite of spring training through more than 300 color photographs, many never before published, that he carfted over six decades. His lens has captured exquisite portraits that showcase his unique photographic style — creative, warm and detailed — while revealing the game’s biggest stars at work and play during the most relaxed time of the season.

Frank Deford of Sports Illustrated calls the photography of Ozzie Sweet “rich and dreamy,” and Sweet is at his rich and dreamy best as he presents a personal album of his favorite baseball photographs. The photographs were created at spring training in Florida and Arizona from 1947 through 2005, and include never-before-seen images of such stars as Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Reggie Jackson, Whitey Ford, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Ted Williams and many others. Also included are Hall of Famers from the 1940s and ’50s such as Joe SiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, and Willie Mays; greats of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s such as Brooks Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Steve Garvey and Dave Parker; and contemporary stars such as Johnny Damon, Validimir Guerrero and Alex Rodriguez.

Together, the intimate images are a grand celebration of baseball, and are accompanied by Sweet’s reminiscences and anecdotes about the players, plus his reflections on a lifetime of viewing baseball through a camera lens.

Hardcover, coffee table book