The Babe in Red Stockings


Book Description

The definitive work on his early years, The Babe in Red Stockings, represents not only a detailed study of his remarkable on-field achievements, but also delves into his happy-go-lucky, playful, and occasionally temperamental nature. Dozens of new pieces of information are added to further complete the portrait of one of America's most fascinating figures, the one and only Babe Ruth.




The Red Stockings of Cincinnati


Book Description

In early 1869, Harry Wright of the Cincinnati Base Ball Club made an announcement to the sporting press: the Red Stockings would be the first all-professional club in the history of the game. The outcry could be heard in nearly every town in which the sport was played. Wright, however, paid little heed to their protests and went about his business of signing players. By the start of the season he had inked ten players to contracts, with salaries ranging from $600 to $1,400 annually. By June of 1870, the Red Stockings had compiled a 90-game winning streak and were recognized as the finest team in the game. How the Red Stockings were formed, who the players were, and why things came to an end are all fully covered in this detailed history.




The Selling of the Babe


Book Description

WINNER of the Society for American Baseball Research's (SABR) 2017 Larry Ritter Award for best baseball book of the Deadball Era The complete story surrounding the most famous and significant player transaction in professional sports... The sale of Babe Ruth by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees in 1919 is one of the pivotal moments in baseball history, changing the fortunes of two of baseball's most storied franchises, and helping to create the legend of the greatest player the game has ever known. More than a simple transaction, the sale resulted in a deal that created the Yankee dynasty, turned Boston into an also-ran, helped save baseball after the Black Sox scandal and led the public to fall in love with Ruth. Award-winning baseball historian Glenn Stout reveals brand-new information about Babe and the unique political situation surrounding his sale, including: - Prohibition and the lifting of Blue Laws in New York affected Yankees owner and beer baron Jacob Ruppert - Previously unexplored documents reveal that the mortgage of Fenway Park did not factor into the Ruth sale - Ruth's disruptive influence on the Red Sox in 1918 and 1919, including sabermetrics showing his negative impact on the team as he went from pitcher to outfielder The Selling of the Babe is the first book to focus on the ramifications of the sale and captures the central moment of Ruth's evolution from player to icon, and will appeal to fans of The Kid and Pinstripe Empire. Babe's sale to New York and the subsequent selling of Ruth to America led baseball from the Deadball Era and sparked a new era in the game, one revolved around the long ball and one man, The Babe.




The Cincinnati Red Stalkings:


Book Description

"Equal parts baseball and mystery are the perfect proportion." --Robert Parker The Big Dead Machine It's 1921, and journeyman infielder Mickey Rawlings finds himself on yet another team, the Cincinnati Reds, who everyone remembers for "winning" the 1919 World Series against the infamous Chicago Black Sox. In an effort to refurbish their image, Oliver Perrimen, a die-hard Reds fan cooks up a memorabilia exhibit of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, who went undefeated in a historic coast-to-coast romp. But before the tour can reach first base, someone strikes Ollie out with a well-placed bullet. Since murder seems to follow Mickey around like a hitting slump he can't quite quit, he starts snagging clues. Soon enough he finds his hands full with a forgotten murder, breaking and entering, and an angry girlfriend. But when the game of his own life is on the line, Mickey Rawlings is a born survivor. At least he hopes. . . Praise for the Mickey Rawlings Baseball Mysteries "Full of life." --The New York Times Book Review on Hanging Curve "A perfect book for the rain delay. . .a winner!" --USA Today on Murder at Fenway Park "Delightful. . .mixing suspense, period detail that will leave readers eager for subsequent innings." --Publishers Weekly on Murder at Fenway Park




The Rock, the Curse, and the Hub


Book Description

The Rock, the Curse, and the Hub is a collection of original essays about the people and places of Boston sports that live in the minds and memories of Bostonians and all Americans. Each chapter focuses on the games and the athletes, but also on which sports have defined Boston and Bostonians.




The Yankees vs. Red Sox Reader


Book Description

From Yankee Bucky "F**ing" Dent's spirit-shattering home run in the 1978 American League East playoff to Aaron Boone's pennant-winning blast for the Bombers twenty-five years later; from Roger Clemens's treasonous signing (at least in Red Sox country) with the Yankees in 1998 to the infamous Curse of the Bambino that started it all, there is nothing in the history of sports more spirited, vitriolic, romantic, and impassioned than the rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees vs. Red Sox Reader collects the finest writing on what is surely the pinnacle of contentious athletic team competition. A rich array of our most gifted sports writers chronicle an enmity that reaches far beyond the playing field as it is interwoven into the mythologies of these two cities and inextricably linked to the identity of the fans that inhabit them. Chronicling every cheer, jeer, and "1918" (the last year the Red Sox won the World Series) shouted from Fenway to the Bronx, The Yankees vs. Red Sox Reader is an absolute must for not only the fans of these storied franchises, but also anyone interested in the truly epic nature of a great sports rivalry.




Red Sox in the Hall of Fame


Book Description

For nearly 50 consecutive years, three players toiled their trade in the shadow of Fenway Park's revered left field Green Monster. Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, and Jim Rice became legends in Boston sports history and eventually baseball immortals with their inductions into the Baseball Hall of Fame. These three lead a remarkable cast of baseball giants who have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and also spent time as members of the Boston Red Sox organization. A few distinguished players include Cy Young, Carlton Fisk, Babe Ruth, Wade Boggs, Bobby Doerr, Tris Speaker, and Pedro Martinez. Collectively, they are all part of one of the greatest sports stories ever told, the Red Sox in the Hall of Fame.




Red Sox vs. Braves in Boston


Book Description

For 52 years, Boston was a two-team Major League city, home to both the Red Sox and the Braves. This book focuses on the two teams' period of coexistence and competition for fans. The author analyzes the Boston fan base through trends in transportation, communication, geography, population and employment. Tracing the pendulum of fan preference between the two teams over five distinct time periods, a deeper understanding emerges of why the Red Sox remained in Boston and the Braves moved to Milwaukee.




The Year Without a World Series


Book Description

The 1994 Major League Baseball season promised to be memorable. Long-standing batting and pitching standards were threatened, including the revered single-season home run record. The Montreal Expos and New York Yankees were delivering remarkable campaigns. In August, acting commissioner Bud Selig called a halt to the season amid the League's latest labor dispute. The shutdown led to a lockout as well as cancellation of more than 900 regular season games, the scheduled expanded rounds of playoffs, and that year's World Series. Like all labor struggles, it was fundamentally about control--of salaries, of players' ability to decide their own fates, and of the game itself. This book chronicles Major League Baseball's turbulent '94 season and its ripple effects. It highlights earlier labor struggles and the roles performed by individuals from John Montgomery Ward, David Fultz and Robert Murphy to Marvin Miller, Andy Messersmith, Jim "Catfish" Hunter and Donald Fehr. Also examined are the ballplayers' own organizations, from the Players League of the early 1890s to the still potent Major League Baseball Players Association doing battle with team owners and their representatives.




Baseball Barnstorming and Exhibition Games, 1901-1962


Book Description

Until 1947, professional ball players were paid only from opening day to season's end. Even during the season, a lot of their expenses came out of their own pockets. Even the best-paid players had trouble making ends meet. One answer to their money woes was barnstorming--tours out of season. Cities lacking their own major league teams were happy to host big-league players for such events, as well as for special exhibition games whose proceeds sometimes went to local charities. Here is a history of barnstorming and exhibition games from 1901 (when both of the two current major leagues began operating) through 1962 (when a team led by Willie Mays was unsuccessful in its attempt at a tour, signaling an end to true barnstorming). Decade by decade, it covers the teams, the games, and the players for a detailed look at how barnstorming and exhibition brought big-league baseball to the backyard ballparks of America.