Baseball's First Inning: A History of the National Pastime Through the Civil War

by William J. Ryczek

Overview

This history of America's pastime describes the evolution of baseball from early bat and ball games to its growth and acceptance in different regions of the country. Such New York clubs as the Atlantics, Excelsiors and Mutuals are a primary focus, serving as examples of how the sport became more sophisticated and popular. The author compares theories about many of baseball's "inventors," exploring the often fascinating stories of several of baseball's oldest founding myths. The impact of the Civil War on the sport is discussed and baseball's unsteady path to becoming America's national game is analyzed at length.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786441945
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	04/29/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	269
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

William J. Ryczek is a finance professional from Wallingford, Connecticut, who writes about early baseball, football, the Yankees, and the Mets.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Preface     
Prologue: Reliving the Past     

1. No Rounders!     
2. If Not Doubleday, What About Cartwright? If Not Cartwright, What About Adams? Or Wheaton?     
3. What About Rounders? What About Old Cat?     
4. The Jolly Old Knickerbockers, 1845–1856           
5. The Base Ball Club     
6. The Transition Years, 1857–1859     
7. Mad Dogs and Englishmen: Other Antebellum Sports     
8. Why Not Cricket?     
9. The Southern Front: Sporting Life in Antebellum New Orleans     
10. Baseball in Philadelphia     
11. The Massachusetts Game     
12. Year of the Excelsiors, 1860     
13. Abner Doubleday Invents the Civil War, 1861     
14. The Sporting and Not So Sporting Press     
15. The Manly Fly Game vs. the Boyish Bound Rule and the Fair Pitch vs. the Jerk     
16. The Eckfords Take the Championship, 1862–1863     
17. The Evils of Championship Play, 1864     
18. The Road to Professionalism     

Appendix A: Letter from Frank Pidgeon of Eckfords re: Professionalism     
Appendix B: Rules and Regulations of Base Ball as Adopted by the Convention of Base Ball Clubs Held February 25, 1857     
Appendix C: Location of Grounds     
Appendix D: Extended Box Score, Brooklyn–Philadelphia, 1862     
Appendix E: Records of Top Teams, 1857–1864     
Appendix F: Knickerbocker Rules, September 23, 1845     
Appendix G: Knickerbocker Matches with Other Clubs     
Chapter Notes     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

superbly researched”—Library Journal; “a baseball thrill the near-equal of seeing your son line a double past the third baseman...a ‘must have’”—John Shiffert; author of Base Ball in Philadelphia.

From the Publisher

"a baseball thrill the near-equal of seeing your son line a double past the third baseman...a 'must have'"

author of Base Ball in Philadelphia - John Shiffert

superbly researched

Library Journal