GASHOUSE GANG With The Gashouse Gang, John Heidenry delivers the  definitive account of one the greatest and most colorful  baseball teams of all times, the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals,  filled with larger-than-life baseball personalities like  Branch Rickey, Leo Durocher, Pepper Martin, Casey  Stengel, Satchel Paige, Frankie Frisch, and—especially—  the eccentric good ol' boy and great pitcher Dizzy Dean  and his brother Paul.  The year 1934 marked the lowest point of the Great  Depression, when the U.S. went off the gold standard,  banks collapsed by the score, and millions of Americans  were out of work. Epic baseball feats offered welcome  relief from the hardships of daily life. The Gashouse  Gang, the brilliant culmination of a dream by its general  manager, Branch Rickey, the first to envision a farm system  that would acquire and "educate" young players in  the art of baseball, was adored by the nation, who saw  itself—scruffy, proud, and unbeatable—in the Gang.  Based on original research and told in entertaining  narrative style, The Gashouse Gang brings a bygone era  and a cast full of vivid personalities to life and unearths a  treasure trove of baseball lore that will delight any fan of  the great American pastime.