Baseball: An Encyclopedia of Popular Culture

by Edward J. Rielly

Overview

Everything every baseball fan needs to know. Filled with baseball legends, sports facts and firsts, important milestones, and observations about daily life and popular culture.

Baseball has brought us great players, great writers, and some really rotten calls. Baseball: An Encyclopedia of Popular Culture looks at American society through the prism of its favorite pastime, discussing not only the game but also such issues as race relations, writing, drug abuse, entertainment, gambling, and movies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781576071038
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/30/2000
Pages:	371
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.77(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Edward J. Rielly is chairperson of the English department at Saint Joseph's College, Standish, ME.

Table of Contents

	Preface	xi
	Introduction	xv
	Aaron, Henry Louis (Hank, Hammerin' Hank) (1934- )	1
	African Americans	4
	Alexander, Grover Cleveland (Old Pete, Alex the Great) (1887-1950)	6
	All-American Girls Professional Baseball League	7
	Allen, Mel (1913-1996)	9
	All-Star Games	11
	American Legion Baseball	12
	Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease)	12
	Anson, Adrian Constantine (Cap, Pop) (1852-1922)	13
	Antitrust Exemption	15
	Art	16
	Artificial Turf	18
	Australian Baseball	18
	Autographs	19
	Autry, Orvon Gene (1907-1998)	19
	Babe Ruth League	21
	Baker, John Franklin (Home Run) (1886-1963)	21
	Ballparks	23
	Banks, Ernest (Ernie, Mr. Cub) (1931- )	25
	Barber, Walter Lanier (Red) (1908-1992)	26
	The Baseball Encyclopedia	27
	Bauman, Joe Willis (1922- )	28
	Bell, James Thomas (Cool Papa) (1903-1991)	28
	Berra, Lawrence Peter (Yogi) (1925- )	29
	Black Sox Scandal	30
	Bouton, James Alan (Jim) (1939- )	33
	Brickhouse, John Beasley (Jack) (1916-1998)	34
	Brooklyn Dodgers	34
	Brown, Mordecai Peter Centennial (Three Finger, Brownie) (1876-1948)	37
	Business	38
	Campanella, Roy (Campy) (1921-1993)	43
	Canadian Baseball	44
	Cancer	45
	Caray, Harry (ca. 1914-1998)	46
	Cards, Baseball	47
	Cartwright, Alexander Joy (1820-1892)	49
	"Casey at the Bat,"	50
	Castro, Fidel (1927- )	52
	Chadwick, Henry (1824-1908)	53
	Chandler, Albert Benjamin (Happy) (1898-1991)	53
	Chapman, Raymond Johnson (Ray) (1891-1920)	54
	Cheating	54
	Cincinnati Red Stockings	56
	Clemente, Roberto Walker (1934-1972)	57
	Cobb, Tyrus Raymond (the Georgia Peach) (1886-1961)	58
	Collectibles	61
	College Baseball	61
	Colorado Silver Bullets	63
	Comiskey, Charles Albert (Charlie, the Old Roman, Commy) (1859-1931)	64
	Commissioner	66
	Connors, Kevin Joseph Aloysius (Chuck) (1921-1992)	67
	Creighton, James (1841-1862)	68
	Cricket	69
	Cuban Baseball	70
	Cummings, William Arthur (Candy) (1848-1924)	71
	Damn Yankees	73
	Dean, Jay Hanna (Dizzy) (1910-1974)	74
	Democracy	75
	DiMaggio, Joseph Paul (Joltin' Joe, the Yankee Clipper) (1914-1999)	77
	Disabilities	81
	Doby, Lawrence Eugene (Larry) (1923- )	83
	Doubleday, Abner (1819-1893)	84
	Durocher, Leo Ernest (the Lip) (1905-1991)	85
	Equipment	87
	Expansion	90
	Family Relationships	93
	Fantasy Camps	94
	Favorite Baseball Player	94
	Feller, Robert William (Rapid Robert) (1918- )	95
	Fiction	96
	Field of Dreams	99
	Films	99
	Finley, Charles Oscar (1918-1997)	102
	Flood, Curtis Charles (Curt) (1938-1997)	103
	Food Vendors	104
	Foster, Andrew (Rube, Jock) (1879-1930)	105
	Free Agency	106
	Gaedel, Edward Carl (Eddie) (1925-1961)	109
	Gambling	109
	Games	111
	Gashouse Gang	113
	Gehrig, Henry Louis (Lou, the Iron Horse) (1903-1941)	113
	Giamatti, Angelo Bartlett (1938-1989)	116
	Gibson, Joshua (Josh) (1911-1947)	119
	Gibson, Pack Robert (Bob, Hoot) (1935- )	120
	Greenberg, Henry Benjamin (Hank) (1911-1986)	121
	Grey, Pearl Zane (1875-1939)	123
	Griffey, George Kenneth, Jr. (Junior, Ken) (1969- )	124
	Griffith, Clark Calvin (the Old Fox) (1869-1955)	124
	Hall of Fame and Museum	127
	Hemingway, Ernest Miller (1899-1961)	128
	Heroes	131
	Hitless Wonders	133
	Home Run	133
	Hornsby, Rogers (Rajah) (1896-1963)	136
	House of David	137
	Hunter, James Augustus (Catfish) (1946-1999)	137
	Industrial Leagues	139
	Internet	140
	Irvin, Monford (Monte) (1919- )	140
	Jackson, Joseph Jefferson (Shoeless Joe) (1889-1951)	143
	Jackson, Reginald Martinez (Reggie) (1946- )	144
	Japanese Baseball	145
	Jewish Americans	147
	Johnson, Byron Bancroft (Ban) (1864-1931)	149
	Johnson, Walter Perry (the Big Train) (1887-1946)	151
	Journalism (Print)	151
	Kelly, Michael Joseph (King) (1857-1894)	155
	Kiner, Ralph McPherran (1922- )	156
	Kinsella, William Patrick (W. P.) (1935- )	156
	Korean Baseball	157
	Koufax, Sanford (Sandy) (1935- )	158
	Kuhn, Bowie K. (1926- )	159
	Labor-Management Relations	161
	Lacy, Samuel H. (Sam) (1903- )	166
	Landis, Kenesaw Mountain (1866-1944)	167
	Language, Baseball	169
	Lardner, Ringgold Wilmer (Ring) (1885-1933)	171
	Larsen, Donald James (Don) (1929- )	173
	Lasorda, Thomas Charles (Tommy) (1927- )	174
	Latin American Baseball	174
	Law	177
	Little League	180
	Louisville Slugger	183
	Mack, Cornelius Alexander (the Tall Tactician) (1862-1956)	185
	MacPhail, Leland Stanford, Sr. (Larry) (1890-1975); and Leland Stanford, Jr. (Lee) (1917- )	186
	Major Leagues	188
	Malamud, Bernard (1914-1986)	191
	Manley, Effa (1900-1981)	192
	Mantle, Mickey Charles (Mick, the Commerce Comet) (1931-1995)	194
	Marichal, Juan Antonio (Manito) (1937- )	196
	Maris, Roger Eugene (1934-1985)	196
	Mathewson, Christopher (Matty, Big Six) (1880-1925)	197
	Mays, Willie Howard (Say-Hey Kid) (1931-)	198
	McGraw, John Joseph (Mugsy, Little Napoleon) (1873-1934)	199
	McGwire, Mark David (1963-)	200
	McLain, Dennis Dale (Denny) (1944-)	203
	Men's Senior Baseball League/Men's Adult Baseball League	204
	Merkle Boner	204
	Miller, Marvin James (1917-)	205
	Minor Leagues	205
	Murderer's Row	208
	Musial, Stanley Frank (Stan the Man) (1920-)	208
	Music	210
	Myth	211
	Native Americans	215
	Negro Leagues	217
	New York Yankees	219
	Nicknames	222
	Night Baseball	223
	Ott, Melvin Thomas (Master Melvin) (1909-1958)	227
	Paige, Leroy Robert (Satchel) (ca. 1906-1982)	229
	Peanuts	230
	Perfection	231
	Periodicals	231
	Poetry	232
	Polo Grounds	234
	PONY Baseball and Softball	234
	Postema, Pamela (1954-)	235
	Povich, Shirley (1905-1998)	235
	Presidents of the United States	236
	Quisenberry, Daniel Raymond (1953-1998)	239
	Radbourn, Charles Gardner (Old Hoss) (1854-1897)	241
	Radio Broadcasting	242
	Railroads	244
	Records Set	245
	Religion	246
	Reserve Clause	248
	Rice, Grantland (1880-1954)	249
	Rickey, Wesley Branch (the Mahatma) (1881-1965)	250
	Ripken, Calvin Edwin, Jr. (Cal) (1960-)	252
	Ritual	253
	Robinson, Frank (1935-)	254
	Robinson, Jack Roosevelt (Jackie) (1919-1972)	256
	Rose, Peter Edward (Pete, Charlie Hustle) (1941-)	259
	Rotisserie Baseball (Fantasy Leagues)	261
	Rounders	262
	Rural America	263
	Ruth, George Herman (Babe, the Bambino, the Sultan of Swat) (1895-1948)	264
	Ryan, Lynn Nolan (1947-)	267
	Schacht, Alexander (Al) (1892-1984)	271
	Scouts	271
	Seaver, George Thomas (Tom Terrific) (1944-)	272
	Seymour, Harold (1910-1992)	273
	Smith, Walter Wellesley (Red) (1905-1982)	273
	Smith, Wendell (1914-1972)	274
	Society for American Baseball Research	275
	Sockalexis, Louis Francis (Chief, Sock) (1871-1913)	276
	Softball	277
	Sosa, Samuel Peralta (Sammy) (1968-)	278
	Souvenirs	279
	Spalding, Albert Goodwill (1850-1915)	280
	The Sporting News	281
	"The Star-Spangled Banner,"	283
	Statistics	284
	Steinbrenner, George Michael, III (1930-)	285
	Stengel, Charles Dillon (Casey, the Old Professor) (1890-1975)	286
	Strikeouts	288
	Substance Abuse	290
	Sunday, William Ashley (Billy, Parson, the Evangelist) (1862-1935)	292
	Taiwanese Baseball	293
	"Take Me Out to the Ball Game,"	293
	Television Broadcasting	294
	Theater	297
	Tinker to Evers to Chance	298
	Torre, Joseph Paul (1940-)	298
	Total Baseball	299
	Townball	300
	Turner, Robert Edward (Ted) (1938-)	301
	Twain, Mark (1835-1910)	301
	Umpires	303
	Uniforms	306
	Veeck, William L., Jr. (1914-1986)	309
	Wagner, John Peter (Honus, the Flying Dutchman) (1874-1955)	311
	Walsh, Edward Augustine (Big Ed) (1881-1959)	312
	War	312
	Ward, John Montgomery (Monte) (1860-1925)	315
	White, William DeKova (Bill) (1934-)	316
	Whitman, Walter (Walt) (1819-1892)	316
	"Who's on First?"	317
	Wilhelm, James Hoyt (1923-)	318
	Williams, Theodore Samuel (the Kid, Teddy Ball Game, the Splendid Splinter) (1918-)	319
	Wilson, August (1945-)	321
	Wilson, Lewis Robert (Hack) (1900-1948)	322
	Women in Baseball	323
	World Series	327
	Wrigley Field	329
	Yankee Stadium	331
	Young, Denton True (Cy) (1867-1955)	332
	Bibliography	333
	About the Author	353
	Index	355

Editorial Reviews

An informative, entertaining book about the relationship between baseball and popular culture. Recommended for all college and university libraries.” —Choice

“Baseball aficionados will enjoy browsing through this authoritative title, and researchers will find infomation on a variety of topics not readily available elsewhere.” —School Library Jourbanal

“An impressive work . . . a fine book to use as a touchstone for starting a baseball collection.” —American Reference Books Annual

“This unique work offers readers encyclopedic coverage of the game as a social institution, with considerable focus on its relationship with society. Recommended for all libraries with substantial interest in sports.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

Looks at American society through the prism of its favorite pastime, discussing the game and surrounding issues of race relations, writing, drug abuse, entertainment, and the change from rural to urban society. Entries describe larger-than-life characters of the sport, sports facts and firsts, important milestones, and observations on daily life and popular culture. Includes b&w photos. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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