Download or read book The South Bend Blue Sox written by Jim Sargent and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2011-12-01 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Immortalized in the film A League of Their Own, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League debuted in 1943 as a way to fill ballpark seats should Major League Baseball suspend operations during World War II. Any fan expecting to see a watered-down version of the game was in for quite a surprise. The women on the field proved every bit as tough and competitive as their male counterparts, running with abandon, diving for catches, and sliding fearlessly, all while wearing uniforms with short skirts. This work examines the history of the league as seen through the eyes of the players and management and the experiences of the South Bend Blue Sox--one of only two teams to play in all 12 seasons of the league. Although players never saw themselves as revolutionaries, these daring heroines helped pave the way toward greater freedom of choice for the generations of women who followed.
Download or read book Buddy and the Blue Sox written by Michael Berkowick and published by Page Publishing Inc. This book was released on 2024-07-10 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Buddy is a thirteen-year-old boy who loves baseball. Arriving at the field for the first practice of the new season, he is excited about his prospects and those of his team, the Blue Sox. But then he sees a new boy, Ben, wearing a catcher's mitt. Catcher has always been Buddy's position, and Buddy is a little worried about his place on the team. And with good reason, because Ben, a superb athlete whose family just moved to town, earns the starting position at catcher, and Buddy is relegated to the bench. So what should he do? Should he quit the team and get a job to save money for college as his father has suggested to him? Or should he stick with Coach Ted, whom he idolizes, and his teammates and learn to play a new position, which is what his grandfather thinks would be best for him? After struggling with this dilemma during a long night while trying to fall asleep, Buddy decides to quit the team and get a job to occupy the long summer days without baseball. But Buddy has a problem facing the truth about his decision. He tells his teammate Joe he quit so he could get a job. Joe tells Buddy that the real reason he quit is he has too much pride. Later, Buddy admits to his little brother Mark that his pride was in fact what caused him to quit the team and that he was doing just what Mark did when he lost a 'Sorry' game to Buddy--he was "hiding in the closet." What should he do now? Can he swallow his pride and rejoin his old team where he once enjoyed the fellowship of teammates like Ben, Joe, and Freddie and where he learned so much not just about baseball but also life from his hero, Coach Ted?
Download or read book Good Enough to Dream written by Roger Kahn and published by Diversion Books. This book was released on 2012-10-28 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The true story of a year in the life of the Utica Blue Sox, a minor league baseball team in upstate New York, by the acclaimed author of The Boys of Summer. Roger Kahn’s The Boys of Summer immortalized the 1950s Brooklyn Dodgers. Good Enough to Dream does the same for players whose moment in the sun has not yet arrived. Here, Kahn tells the story of his year as owner of the Class A, very minor league Utica Blue Sox. Most of the Blue Sox never made it to the majors, but they all shared the dream that links the small child in the sandlot with the superstar who has just smacked one out of the stadium. This is a look at the heart of America’s pastime, a game still sweet enough to lure grown men to leagues where first-class transportation was an old school bus and the infield was likely to be the consistency of thick soup. It is a funny and poignant story of one season, and one special team, that will make us hesitate before we ever call anything “bush league” again. Praise for Roger Kahn “As a kid, I loved sports first and writing second, and loved everything Roger Kahn wrote. As an adult, I love writing first and sports second, and love Roger Kahn even more.” —David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize winner “He can epitomize a player with a single swing of the pen.” —Time “Roger Kahn is the best baseball writer in the business.” —Stephen Jay Gould, The New York Review of Books
Download or read book Fox in Socks written by Dr. Seuss and published by RH Childrens Books. This book was released on 2013-09-24 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kids will love learning how wacky words can be with this classic picture book of tongue twisters from Dr. Seuss! “This is a book you READ ALOUD to find out just how smart your tongue is. The first time you read it, don’t go fast! This Fox is a tricky fox. He’ll try to get your tongue in trouble.” When a fox in socks meets Knox in a box, you know that hilarity will ensue! Add chicks with bricks (and blocks and clocks) and you’re sure to get your words twisted and lips locked. With his unmistakable gift for rhyme, Dr. Seuss creates a fun way for beginning readers to dive into the joy of reading. Beginner Books are fun, funny, and easy to read! Launched by Dr. Seuss in 1957 with the publication of The Cat in the Hat, this beloved early reader series motivates children to read on their own by using simple words with illustrations that give clues to their meaning. Featuring a combination of kid appeal, supportive vocabulary, and bright, cheerful art, Beginner Books will encourage a love of reading in children ages 3–7.
Download or read book West Virginia Baseball written by William E. Akin and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2006-07-06 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: West Virginia sprang into existence as a state in the midst of the Civil War, and "base ball," as it was called then, was close on the heels of statehood. A game in 1866 hosted by the Hunkidori Base Ball Club in Wheeling, is considered the first "match game of Base Ball." Some historians contend the game spread via the movement of soldiers who were from urban areas. The real roots of baseball are not the romantic image of rural boys in sandlots or lazy father-son afternoons. It was born and came of age as an urban sport, a social pursuit of well-heeled young men that in the early days often involved banquets and shows following each game. The author traces the history of minor league and independent league baseball in West Virginia. Baseball below the minor leagues has a rich and comparatively unexplored history, and West Virginia has made substantial contributions to this legacy. Chapters examine the chronological history of baseball and the larger economic and cultural changes that have influenced it. Eras include baseball as a social game (through 1873); the emergence of professional baseball (through 1895); its second boom (through 1905); the deadball era (through 1920); the Martinsburg dynasty (1914 to 1934); as a miners' sport (1920 to 1941); the Middle Atlantic League (1925-1942); the Mountain State League (1937-1942); the postwar years (1945-1955); the nadir (1955-1985); and "A Minor Miracle" (1985-2000), a chapter that heralds a comeback in the popularity of professional baseball.
Download or read book Baseball at Davenport s John O Donnell Stadium written by Tim Rask and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John O'Donnell Stadium is one picturesque ballpark. With Centennial Bridge crossing the Mississippi River down the first base line and the Davenport skyline overlooking left center field, it is a minor league baseball landmark. John O'Donnell Stadium has been home to Quad Cities baseball since 1931-never mind the occasional flood. And though the teams have come and gone-the Blue Sox, Cubs, Quads, Angels, River Bandits-one constant has been the embrace of baseball itself by the local fans. Old-timers will remember cheering on Jim Bunning of the 1951 Quad Cities Tigers, the first Q.C. ballplayer to make it to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Since 1960, when Quad Cities joined the Midwest League, Q.C. baseball fans have seen dozens of young players like Dante Bichette, Carney Lansford, and Billy Wagner pass through John O'Donnell Stadium en route to the Big Leagues. And, if they didn't blink, they might have witnessed Chuck Finley pitch 12 scoreless innings in 1986 before being hurried up to the California Angels.
Download or read book Good Enough to Dream written by Roger Kahn and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2000-02-01 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Roger Kahn?s first major league hit was a grand slam: The Boys of Summer, his runaway bestseller that immortalized the 1950s Brooklyn Dodgers. Now Kahn does the same for players whose moment in the sun has not yet arrived. Good Enough to Dream is the story of his year as owner of the Class A, very minor leagueøUtica Blue Sox. Most of the Blue Sox will never make it to the majors, but they all share the dream that links the small child in the sandlot with the bonus baby who has just smacked one out of the stadium. It?s a dream Kahn learned from his father and, in the course of a season, passes on to his daughter?hours of practice for a moment of poetry; a hard living but a touch of legend. Good Enough to Dream presents baseball unadorned, a game still sweet enough to lure grown men to leagues where first-class transportation is an old school bus and the infield is likely to be the consistency of thick soup. It is a funny and poignant story of one season and one special team that will make us hesitate before we ever call anything ?bush league? again.
Download or read book Minor League Baseball written by Frank Hoffmann and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-10-12 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examine the big-league benefits of minor league baseball! The Minor League Baseball: Community Building Through Hometown Sports examines the role played by minor league baseball in hundreds of cities and towns across the United States. Written from the unique perspective of a sociologist who also happens to be an avid baseball fan, the book looks at the contributions minor league teams make to the quality of life in their communities, creating focal points for spirit and cohesiveness while providing opportunities for interaction and entertainment. The book links theory and experience to present a “sociology of baseball” that explains the symbiotic relationship which brings people together for a common purpose—to root, root, root for the home team. From the author: Minor league baseball is played across the country in more than 100 very different communities. These communities seem to share a special bond with their teams. As with all sports teams, there is a symbiotic relationship between the team and the city or town that it represents. In the case of major league professional sports, the relationship is often fueled by economic outcomes. On the minor league level, the relationship appears to go beyond mere money and prestige. Minor league teams occupy a special place in our hearts. We are more forgiving when they lose, and extremely proud of them when they win. Minor League Baseball: Community Building Through Hometown Sports is a detailed look at the connection between town and team, including: economic benefits (development strategies, community growth) intangible benefits (ballpark camaraderie, hometown pride) fan attachment and attendance (demographic variables, stadium accessibility, “home court advantage”) case studies of two Maryland minor-league franchises--the Class AA Bowie Baysox and the Class A Hagerstown Suns Minor League Baseball: Community Building Through Hometown Sports also includes an introduction to the organizational structure of the minor leagues, a history of each current league, and charts and tables on attendance figures and franchise relocations. This book is essential reading for sociologists, sport sociologists/historians, academics and/or practitioners in the fields of community sociology and psychology, and of course, baseball fans.
Download or read book Baseball Team Names written by Richard Worth and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2013-02-21 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Professional baseball is full of arcane team names. The Los Angeles Dodgers, for instance, owe their nickname to the trolley tracks that honeycombed Brooklyn in the early 1880s. (Residents were "trolley dodgers.") From the Negro Leagues, there were the Pittsburgh Crawfords (sponsored early by the Crawford Bath House and Recreation Center); from the minors, the Tucson Waddies (slang for cowboy) and, later, the Montgomery Biscuits (for the would-be concessions staple); from overseas, the Adelaide, Australia, Bite (a shark reference but also a pun for bight) and the Bussum, Netherlands, Mr. Cocker HCAW (the sponsoring restaurant chain, followed by the acronym for the official team name, Honkbalclub Allan Weerbaar). This comprehensive reference book explains the nicknames of thousands of major and minor league franchises, Negro League and early independent black clubs, and international teams--from 1869 through 2011.
Download or read book Ball Tales written by Michelle Nolan and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-11-26 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This history of American sports fiction traces depictions of baseball, basketball and football in works for all age levels from early dime novels through the 1960s. Chapters cover dime novel heroes Frank and Dick Merriwell; the explosion of sports novels before World War II and its influence on the authors who later wrote for baby boom readers; how sports novels persisted during the Great Depression; the rise and decline of sports pulps; why sports comics failed; postwar heroes Chip Hilton and Bronc Burnett; the lack of sports fiction for females; Duane Decker's Blue Sox books; and the classic John R. Tunis novels. Appendices list sports pulp titles and comic books featuring sports fiction.
Download or read book The Blue Sox written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Manuscript covers the Tifton Blue Sox minor league baseball team during the years1949 through 1955.
Download or read book The Little Red Sox Book written by Bill "Spaceman" Lee and published by Triumph Books. This book was released on 2012-08-01 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inspired by Chairman Mao's infamous Little Red Book, “Spaceman” Bill Lee offers an off-the-wall revisionist history of baseball's most colorful franchise, the Boston Red Sox. In addition to rewriting Red Sox history, Lee offers up his unique views on today's and yesteryear's game. With this hilarious take on Red Sox history, the Spaceman proves he's the true MVP in helping the Red Sox win the 2004 World Series and lift the Curse of the Bambino.
Download or read book The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture 2007 2008 written by William M. Simons and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2009-06-08 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This anthology gathers selected papers from the 2007 and 2008 meetings of the Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, the long-running academic conference held annually at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Essays included employ the national pastime to comment on issues transcending the playing field, and are divided into six sections: "Cultural Perspectives on the Game," "Literary Baseball," "Baseball at the Movies," "Minority Standard Bearers," "New Leagues," and "The Business of Baseball."
Download or read book The Monthly Record written by and published by . This book was released on 1949-11 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Dottie Wiltse Collins written by Carolyn M. Trombe and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2005-06-16 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As World War II depleted the available manpower available to the major and minor leagues, Chicago Cubs owner Phillip Wrigley came up with a plan to ensure baseball would continue in the war years: the creation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The inaugural season in 1943 was so successful that two additional teams were added for 1944. One of the players brought in to fill the rosters of the new teams was Dottie Wiltse, a star softball player from Southern California. Assigned to the newly formed Minneapolis Millerettes, Wiltse went on to become one of the dominant players in the AAGPBL. During her six-year career with the Millerettes and the Fort Wayne Daisies, Dottie Wiltse Collins (married to Harvey Collins in 1946) pitched in 223 games, with a 117-76 record, 1205 strikeouts, and an earned run average of 1.83. Based on extensive research and interviews with Collins and other principals, this work covers the pitcher's early career as a softball player, her triumphs in professional baseball, and her part in the renewed interest in the women's league in the late 1980s.
Download or read book The Origins and History of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League written by Merrie A. Fidler and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-05-07 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This in-depth treatment of the organization and operation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League draws on primary documents from league owner Arthur Meyerhoff and others for a unique perspective inside the AAGPBL. The study begins with a brief history of women's softball, an important precursor to, and talent pool for, women's professional baseball. Next the book investigates league administration and organization as well as publicity and promotion. Later chapters cover team administrative structures, managers, chaperones, player backgrounds, and league policies. Finally, discussion focuses on the activities of the AAGPBL Players' Association from 1980 onward. Informed by many years of research and insights from former players, this exhaustive history contains 149 photographs.
