Download or read book How Baseball Happened written by Thomas W. Gilbert and published by Godine+ORM. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The untold story of baseball’s nineteenth-century origins: “a delightful look at a young nation creating a pastime that was love from the first crack of the bat” (Paul Dickson, The Wall Street Journal). You may have heard that Abner Doubleday or Alexander Cartwright invented baseball. Neither did. You may have been told that a club called the Knickerbockers played the first baseball game in 1846. They didn’t. Perhaps you’ve read that baseball’s color line was first crossed by Jackie Robinson in 1947. Nope. Baseball’s true founders don’t have plaques in Cooperstown. They were hundreds of uncredited, ordinary people who played without gloves, facemasks, or performance incentives. Unlike today’s pro athletes, they lived full lives outside of sports. They worked, built businesses, and fought against the South in the Civil War. In this myth-busting history, Thomas W. Gilbert reveals the true beginnings of baseball. Through newspaper accounts, diaries, and other accounts, he explains how it evolved through the mid-nineteenth century into a modern sport of championships, media coverage, and famous stars—all before the first professional league was formed in 1871. Winner of the Casey Award: Best Baseball Book of the Year

Download or read book Baseball s Creation Myth written by Brian Martin and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2013-05-28 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story about baseball's being invented in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839 by Abner Doubleday served to prove that the U.S. national pastime was an American game, not derived from the English children's game of rounders as had been believed. The tale, embraced by Americans, has long been proven false but to this day, Cooperstown is celebrated as the birthplace of baseball. The story has captured the hearts of millions. But who spun that tale and why? This book provides a surprising answer about the origins of America's most durable myth. It seems that Abner Graves, who espoused Cooperstown as the birthplace of the game, likely was inspired by another story about an early game of baseball. The stories were remarkably similar, as were the men who told them. For the first time, this book links the stories and lives of Graves, a mining engineer, and Adam Ford, a medical doctor, both residents of Denver, Colorado. While the actual origins of the game of baseball remain subject to debate and study, new light is shed on the source of baseball's durable creation myth.

Download or read book Baseball in the Garden of Eden written by John Thorn and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-03-20 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Think you know how the game of baseball began? Think again. Forget Abner Doubleday and Cooperstown. Did baseball even have a father--or did it just evolve from other bat-and-ball games? John Thorn, baseball's preeminent historian, examines the creation story of the game and finds it all to be a gigantic lie. From its earliest days baseball was a vehicle for gambling, a proxy form of class warfare. Thorn traces the rise of the New York version of the game over other variations popular in Massachusetts and Philadelphia. He shows how the sport's increasing popularity in the early decades of the nineteenth century mirrored the migration of young men from farms and small towns to cities, especially New York. Full of heroes, scoundrels, and dupes, this book tells the story of nineteenth-century America, a land of opportunity and limitation, of glory and greed--all present in the wondrous alloy that is our nation and its pastime.--From publisher description.

Download or read book Baseball Myths written by Bill Deane and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Baseball followers have been perpetuating, debating, and debunking myths for nearly two centuries, producing a treasury of baseball stories and "facts." Yet never before have these elements of baseball history been carefully scrutinized and compiled into one comprehensive work--until now. In Baseball Myths: Debating, Debunking, and Disproving Tales from the Diamond, award-winning researcher Bill Deane examines baseball legends--old and new. This book covers such legendary players as Shoeless Joe Jackson, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, Pete Rose, and Derek Jeter, while also looking at lesser-known figures like Dummy Hoy, Grover Land, Wally Pipp, and Babe Herman--not to mention people who found fame in other fields, such as Civil War General Abner Doubleday, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, and comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Deane's original research and logic will educate, amuse, and often surprise readers, revealing the truth behind such legends as the inventor of baseball, the first black player in the major leagues, and even the origin of the hot dog. With photographs, stats, and more than 80 myths examined, this book is sure to fascinate everyone, from the casual baseball fan to lifelong devotees of the sport.

Download or read book Rounding the Bases written by Joseph L. Price and published by Mercer University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After identifying early conflicts between churches and baseball in the late-nineteenth century, Price examines the appropriation of baseball by the House of David, an early twentieth-century millennial Protestant community in southern Michigan. Turning then from historic intersections between baseball and religion, two chapters focus on the ways that baseball reelects religious myths. First, the omphalos myth about the origin and ordering of the world is reflected in the rituals and rules of the game. Then the myth of curses is explored in the culture of superstition that underlies the game. At the heart of the book is a sustained argument about how baseball functions as an American civil religion, affirming and sanctifying American identity, especially during periods of national crises such as wars and terrorist attacks. Building on this analysis of baseball as an America's civil religion, two chapters draw upon novels by W. P. Kinsella and David James Duncan to explore the sacramental potential of baseball and to align baseball with apocalyptic possibilities. The final chapter serves as a full confession, interpreting baseball affiliation stories as conversion narratives. In various ways

Download or read book 50 Biggest Baseball Myths written by Brandon Toropov and published by Citadel Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 50 myths of American baseball debunked whilst providing fans with reasons to appreciate the true history of baseball.

Download or read book The Comic Book Story of Baseball written by Alex Irvine and published by Ten Speed Graphic. This book was released on 2018-05-08 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A graphic novel-style history of baseball, providing an illustrated look at the major games, players, and rule changes that shaped the sport. This graphic novel steps up to the plate and covers all the bases in illustrating the origin of America's national pastime, presenting a complete look at the beginnings (both real and legendary), developments, triumphs, and tragedies of baseball. It also breaks down the cultural impact and significance of the sport both in America and overseas (including Japan, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic), from the early days of America to the flying W outside Wrigley Field in 2016. Featuring members of Baseball's Hall of Fame and modern day stand-outs—including Cy Young, Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, the 1930s New York Yankees, the 2004 Boston Red Sox, the 2016 Chicago Cubs, and more—The Comic Book Story of Baseball spotlights the players, teams, games, and moments that built the sport's legacy and ensured its popularity.

Download or read book Jumbo s Hide Elvis s Ride and the Tooth of Buddha written by Harvey Rachlin and published by Garrett County Press. This book was released on 2013-08-30 with total page 593 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Once again historian Harvey Rachlin uncovers odd and stirring stories behind some of the most fascinating objects in the world. "Jumbo's Hide," Publisher's Weekly writes, "is entertaining and enlightening … a pageant of human aspiration, achievement, obsession, and belief." Artifacts explored include: The truce flag that ended World War I, The Maltese Falcon, John Adam's pigtail and Jesse James' Stickpin and Galileo's middle finger.

Download or read book Errors and Fouls Inside Baseball s Ninety Nie Most Popular Myths written by Peter Handrinos and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2014-06-30 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most baseball traditions are wonderful. But not all of them. The games most basic elements have often been misrepresented, misunderstood, and misremembered through the years. All along, fiction has coexisted with fact, hyperbole has mixed with history, and exaggeration has been mistaken for explanation. Meanwhile, baseballs yen for tradition has left many fans and even baseball commentators unduly attached to stale ways of thinking. Peter Handrinos breaks from the past and provides an entertaining antidote to its outmoded ideas and excessive nostalgia.

Download or read book Baseball Research Journal written by Andy McCue and published by SABR, Inc.. This book was released on 2014-04-02 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Baseball Research Journal is the flagship research publication of the Society for American Baseball Research. Founded in 1971, SABR now has over 6,000 members investigating every aspect of the sport, from statistical analysis to biographical research, to psychology, economics, physics, biomechanics, game theory, and more. In this issue: Leaving a Mark on the Game Allan Roth by Andy McCue The Creation of the Alexander Cartwright Myth by Richard Hershberger Stolen Bases and Caught Stealing by Catchers: Updating Total Player Rating by Pete Palmer New York Connections McGraw’s Streak by Max Blue Clyde Sukeforth: The Dodgers’ Yankee and Branch Rickey’s Maine Man by Karl Lindholm Identifying Undated Ticket Stubs: An Attempt to Recapture Baseball History by Dr. James Reese Outside the Majors “Many Exciting Chases After the Ball”: Nineteenth Century Base Ball in Bismarck, Dakota Territory by Terry Bohn The Great 1952 Florida International League Pennant Race by Sam Zygner and Steve Smith Aquino Abreu: Baseball’s Other Double No-Hit Pitcher by Peter C. Bjarkman Defiance College’s Historic 1961 Postseason by Roger J. Hawks Analytical Looks at the Game We Love The Twisting Model and Ted Williams’s Science of Hitting by Takeyuki Inohiza The Best Shortened-Season Hitting Performance in Major League History by David Nemec Was There a Seven Way Game? Seven Ways of Reaching First Base by Paul Hertz The Three, or Was it Two, .400 Hitters of 1922 by Brian Marshall What Do Your Fans Want?: Attendance Correlations with Performance, Ticket Prices, and Payroll Factors by Ben Langhorst Do Fans Prefer Homegrown Players? An Analysis of MLB Attendance, 1976–2012 by Russell Ormiston 2014 Chadwick Honorees Mark Armour by Rob Neyer Ernie Lanigan by Lyle Spatz Marc Okkonen by Dan Levitt Cory Schwartz by Christina Kahrl John C. Tattersall by John Thorn

Download or read book Diamonds in the Rough written by Joel Zoss and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2004-01-01 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pairing their detailed, informative research with a sophisticated anecdotal approach, Joel Zoss and John Bowman have written a fascinating, original, literate, and concise compendium of the history and issues surrounding America's national pastime. Addressedøare such diverse topics as the origins of the game, the contributions of minorities and women, the evolution of umpiring, baseball's influence on literature and music, substance abuse, on- and off-field tragedy, and the game's international presence. Diamonds in the Rough is an invaluable and stimulating resource both for those who already study the game and for those who would like to learn its revealing history.

Download or read book Early Innings written by Dean A. Sullivan and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 1995-01-01 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This compilation of 120 primary writings documents baseball’s first century, from a loosely organized village social event to the arrival of the National League. Collecting from a wide range of sources—including newspaper accounts, letters, folk poetry, songs, and annual guides—Dean A. Sullivan of Fairfax, Virginia, progresses chronologically from the earliest known baseball reference (1825) to the creation of the Doubleday Myth (1908).

Download or read book Bully for Brontosaurus Reflections in Natural History written by Stephen Jay Gould and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2010-11-29 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Provocative and delightfully discursive essays on natural history. . . . Gould is the Stan Musial of essay writing. He can work himself into a corkscrew of ideas and improbable allusions paragraph after paragraph and then, uncoiling, hit it with such power that his fans know they are experiencing the game of essay writing at its best."--John Noble Wilford, New York Times Book Review

Download or read book American Stories written by Paul Aron and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-08-01 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American Stories follows the evolution of our founding stories and myths and how they spread far and wide throughout our history. The story of the cherry tree, for example, tells us nothing about George Washington’s actual childhood, but surely it tells us something about what Americans wanted in the father of their country—an incorruptible leader of the people. Along the same lines, the story of Betsy Ross’s flag tells us nothing about how the Stars and Stripes came to be, but does tell us something about what Americans wanted in a founding mother—it is no coincidence that the Ross story, featuring a traditional woman’s role of sewing at home, was first told in 1870, one year after Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony challenged these roles by founding the National Woman Suffrage Association. There’s another reason these stories spread, and that provides another reason to follow their evolution. From Dodge City to Deadwood, and from Bunker Hill to San Juan Hill and beyond, these stories all have one thing in common: they are all a lot of fun to read.

Download or read book Triumph and Tragedy in Mudville A Lifelong Passion for Baseball written by Stephen Jay Gould and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2010-11-29 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Scientific analysis intersects with flat-out fandom. [Gould] could write, he was funny, and he loved, loved baseball."—Booklist Science meets sport in this vibrant collection of baseball essays by the late evolutionary biologist.Among Stephen Jay Gould's many gifts was his ability to write eloquently about baseball, his great passion. Through the years, the renowned paleontologist published numerous essays on the sport; these have now been collected in a volume alive with the candor and insight that characterized all of Gould's writing. Here are his thoughts on the complexities of childhood streetball and the joys of opening day; tributes to Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, and lesser-knowns such as deaf-mute centerfielder "Dummy" Hoy; and a frank admission of the contradictions inherent in being a lifelong Yankees fan with Red Sox season tickets. Gould also deftly applies the tools of evolutionary theory to the demise of the .400 hitter, the Abner Doubleday creation myth, and the improbability of Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak. This book is a delight, an essential addition to Gould's remarkable legacy, and a fitting tribute to his love for the game.

Download or read book Baseball Hits and Bible Bits written by Frank D. Minton and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2018-02-09 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Baseball Hits and Bible Bits, pastor and former Minor League pitcher Frank D. Minton shares unforgettable stories and anecdotes about two of his great loves in lifebaseball and the Bible. When Minton was eleven years old, God called him to preach; that call to serve the Lord would never leave his heart. His north high school exploits on the ball fields of Wichita, Kansas, earned him a scholarship at the University of Oklahoma and eventually a contract with the Dodgers organization. After three years in the minors, he realized that following Gods call was more important than making it to the big leagues. He turned down the Dodgers contract offer for a fourth year, leaving baseball behind to become a Baptist minister. It was one of the most difficult decisions of his life, but according to Minton, he traded a diamond for a crown. Baseball poems and songs are sprinkled throughout, and sketches by artist Berth-el Young add dimension and feeling. With stories about baseball greats both past and presentsuch as Sandy Koufax, Josh Hamilton, and Albert Pujolsand rich autobiographical details of a life lived in the service of the Lord, Baseball Hits and Bible Bits has something for just about everybody: from little leaguers to bush leaguers to big leaguers.

Download or read book Baseball in Blue and Gray written by George B. Kirsch and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-24 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Civil War, Americans from homefront to battlefront played baseball as never before. While soldiers slaughtered each other over the country's fate, players and fans struggled over the form of the national pastime. George Kirsch gives us a color commentary of the growth and transformation of baseball during the Civil War. He shows that the game was a vital part of the lives of many a soldier and civilian--and that baseball's popularity had everything to do with surging American nationalism. By 1860, baseball was poised to emerge as the American sport. Clubs in northeastern and a few southern cities played various forms of the game. Newspapers published statistics, and governing bodies set rules. But the Civil War years proved crucial in securing the game's place in the American heart. Soldiers with bats in their rucksacks spread baseball to training camps, war prisons, and even front lines. As nationalist fervor heightened, baseball became patriotic. Fans honored it with the title of national pastime. War metaphors were commonplace in sports reporting, and charity games were scheduled. Decades later, Union general Abner Doubleday would be credited (wrongly) with baseball's invention. The Civil War period also saw key developments in the sport itself, including the spread of the New York-style of play, the advent of revised pitching rules, and the growth of commercialism. Kirsch recounts vivid stories of great players and describes soldiers playing ball to relieve boredom. He introduces entrepreneurs who preached the gospel of baseball, boosted female attendance, and found new ways to make money. We witness bitterly contested championships that enthralled whole cities. We watch African Americans embracing baseball despite official exclusion. And we see legends spring from the pens of early sportswriters. Rich with anecdotes and surprising facts, this narrative of baseball's coming-of-age reveals the remarkable extent to which America's national pastime is bound up with the country's defining event.