Out at Home: Triumph and Tragedy in the Life of Milt Pappas Book

Milt Pappas played Major League Baseball for 17 seasons. He threw a no-hitter for the Chicago Cubs. He posted 43 life-time shutouts. He hit 20 home runs as a pitcher. He won 209 games. He played in three Major League All-Star games.

Off the field but still as a part of baseball history, Milt led the crusade to improve the lives of all Major League Baseball players. He was a driving force within the Major League Baseball Players' Association. By his efforts and others, today's players are better paid, have more freedom of movement, and have a better future after their playing days than those who played the game before him.

Despite a stellar career as a pitcher, he's never been considered for the Baseball Hall of Fame. He had managers that stunted his playing career for one reason or another. Away from the game, he had one business fail because of an accidental fire and when a second one failed, his partner committed suicide.

But the biggest disaster of his life was the loss of his first wife. One bright summer day Carole Pappas seemingly vanished from the face of the earth. For five years, she was lost; then she was finally found -- by accident. What happened to her still remains a mystery to this day. Carole's disappearance tormented Milt and his children for those five years, and it still troubles him.

In this story, his story, Milt reveals how he dealt with the triumphs on the field and the terrible tragedies off the field. He relates his thoughts, his feelings, and his memories with humor, with anger, and with humility -- although not all at the same time.

Why did he write this book? He looked into the mirror one day, saw the truth, and decided the time had come to tell it all. Like an umpire, he calls it the way he sees it.

About the Authors:

Wayne Mausser is the news and sports director for a major radio station. Besides being a member of the electronic media, he has authored two sports books: Chicago Bears Facts & Trivia and Chicago Cubs Facts & Trivia. He lives in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Larry Names and his family live on a hobby farm in rural Waushara County, Wisconsin. He has had 27 books published in a career that began in 1978 with the publication of Twice Dead, a mystery surrounding the discovery of a Lee Harvey Oswald double. He has written 19 novels and eight sports histories, including The History of the Green Bay Packers, Vols. 1-4 and the ongoing "Slate Creed" series, which was the number one best-selling series on audiotape in 1998.