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Alexander Cartwright: The Life behind the Baseball Legend

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Tales of baseball's origin have been based on a lot of hype, very little fact, and eventually, much confusion. Monica Nucciarone's detailed and insightful look at Alexander Cartwright's colorful life, gives us yet another perspective.

First, Abner Doubleday's contribution to the game was reassessed; lo and behold, he didn't have much to do with anything, other than participating in a couple of games of whiffleball in the late 1840s (not really). It's amazing how the Doubleday hype machine produced a nice little fairy tale, which has been debunked for many years now; poor Abner.

Next, we're led to believe that this colorful character named Alexander Cartwright (no relation to Ben or his sons, Adam, Hoss, or Little Joe) was the one guy who really came up with the idea of having men in funny outfits running around, in pursuit of a batted ball or the next base. If you think about it, the entire concept of the game sounds rather silly, but we all know it's the greatest game on earth.

In reality, Ms Nucciarrone's research leads us to believe that Cartwright may have had some influence in getting the game going, but he had very little staying power; it was off to Hawaii to take a permanent vacation, and try to negotiate a deal which would make Hawaii a part of the United States of America, with a player to be named later, Alaska. After careful consideration, the deal was finalized 100 years later.

The conclusion seems to be that baseball evolved gradually; there was no big bang. Cartwright's involvement in the game was overstated for many decades, based largely on tall tales being handed down from generation to generation. The real forefathers of the game were the hundreds and thousands of guys who spread the game from coast to coast, through the painstaking process of trial and error. Eventually, the game that emerged would be similar to the one being played today; but it came out of the seeds of a great deal of experimentation.

This is a fascinating biography, and adds clarity to an otherwise blurry perspective of the man pictured on the cover of this book; and gives us more fuel for debate on how the great game of baseball was born.

How do I ever begin to give this highly commendable, exhaustively researched and documented biography the credit it deserves? Not only did I learn a great deal, but I could hardly put it down. A very well written and entertaining read, in deed. I learned a great deal about Hawaiian history as well, for which I'm thankful.

Alexander Cartwright is defintely a Must Read for every 19th century baseball historian and for every baseball fan who wishes to learn more about the origin of the organized modern game.

Priscilla Astifan

19th Century Baseball Historian

Alexander Cartwright presents a peculiar problem for the biographer. His fame is based entirely upon something he did not do.

The usual story is something like this: In 1845 (or perhaps 1842), young Alexander Cartwright invented the game of baseball, basing it on some earlier, vaguely described bat-and-ball children's game. He persuaded a group of friends in New York City to try it, and formed the first baseball club, the Knickerbockers. This story is typically put forth in opposition to a competing story about baseball's origin. This competing story is that in 1839 (or thereabouts), young Abner Doubleday invented the game of baseball, basing it on some earlier, vaguely described bat-and-ball children's game. He persuaded a group of friends in Cooperstown, New York to try it. The Doubleday story is derided as ridiculous, with the Cartwright story presented as the sophisticated alternative.

While the Doubleday story is indeed remarkably unsupported by any reliable evidence, the Cartwright story suffers from being nearly as baseless. Cartwright did in fact play baseball and was one of the founders of the Knickerbockers, but there is much evidence of baseball, and of organized baseball clubs, before them. The Knickerbockers may (or may not) have introduced some innovations to the rules, but there is no reliable evidence of Cartwright's having written them while there is good evidence of who did. (It is telling that the specific innovations ascribed to Cartwright on his Hall of Fame plaque are clearly false. Some came before Cartwright's involvement with the Knickerbockers, some later. The story tellers didn't know enough about early baseball to figure out what innovation came when.)

So what is Cartwright's biographer to do? His hold on our attention is based entirely on his connection to baseball, and this connection turns out to be much less than is commonly believed. Nucciarone's answer is that he was an interesting person apart from baseball. He traveled by wagon train to California in 1849 as part of the gold rush. Deciding that the life of a prospector was not for him, he stayed only briefly in California. He sailed to the Kingdom of Hawaii and went into business. He remained a resident of Hawaii the rest of his life. He was a bastion of the American expatriate community, a confidant of the monarchs, and a member of the movement for annexation by the United States (not, by the way, a combination that reflects well on his character).

The first section of Nucciarone's book is straight biography. It includes baseball to the extent that the documentation supports it, but baseball is largely incidental. This by itself would be unsatisfying, as it is baseball which draws readers to Cartwright. The second section addresses this, examining the actual evidence and the state of early baseball. The highlight is her forensic work on Cartwright's wagon train journal, now available only in transcription since the original was burned after his death. She shows how the text was altered by a descendant of Cartwright, adding references to baseball (leading to the later claim that he was the "Johnny Appleseed" of baseball).

The resulting book is something of an odd combination. I had not known much about Hawaiian history. This was an interesting and useful introduction to the subject. Anyone interested in general history, and not just baseball history, is likely to welcome this, but the reader interested only in the baseball aspects would find the first section thin pickings. On the other hand, the second section is as good a survey of what is known about baseball in 1840s as is available. This book is recommended for anyone interested in this critical period of baseball history.

Much more than a biography of a man who may or may not have "invented" baseball, this well researched, comprehensive examination of Alexander Cartwright offers a fascinating look into the life of a man who is more than just a footnote in sports history.

In Monica Nucciarone's insightful work, we learn the story of a sportman,entrepreneur and ultimately a political figure who had more than a little influence on Hawaii becoming a U.S. territory.

Extremely well written, we learn not only about Alexander Cartwright but, also the adventurous and restless nature of turn-of-the century America.

Ms. Nucciarone provides an objective view of what Cartwright did and did not contribute to the development of early baseball, uncolored by the mythology promoted by the Cartwright family. This is a major contribution to the cause of getting our baseball history right. The author does not appear to be an iconoclast with an ax to grind - Cartwright gets his due - but no more than his due. This book was very carefully executed and is enjoyable to read.

This is not just another baseball story, nor is it another boring biography!

Nucciarone's tenacity for the truth is well-exhibited in the story of baseball legend's Alexander Carthwright's adventurous life, taking the reader from the early days of baseball in New York, his pioneering move to California's Gold Rush country, and to Hawaii, where he was one of the earliest supporters of Hawaii's statehood and became a friend and confidant of the Royal Family.

The author's insight into the myths of Cartwright's place in baseball history is backed up with consistent and well-documented facts, yet she subtly allows the reader to come to their own conslusions based on her extensive research. It is beautifully written, highly informative, and woven into a historical tapestry by Nucciarone that will keep you fascinated into the wee hours of the morning!

The author puts the history of baseball into the larger context of the times. The story begins slightly before the Civil War and romps across the historical landscape of culture, industry, various movements. As a result, this book will appeal not just to the baseball fanatic, but to a much larger audience interested in the evolution of any sport. She gives each contributing baseball "pioneer" his proper due in this richly detailed historical work. Exceptionally well documented with original artifacts.

One of the rarest defensive plays in baseball is tagging out a base runner with the hidden ball. The runner leads off from base and ----TA DA!---he's tagged by the infielder who held the ball. Invariably the runner's reaction is "What? Who? Me? How?"

That's what Ms. Nucciarone does with her definitive history of the origin of baseball and biography of Alexander Cartwright. To those who debunked the myth of Abner Doubleday as being the "Father of Baseball" with the retort that it was Alexander Cartwright who invented our national pastime, her book reveals that Alexander Cartwright, his plaque at the National Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame in Cooperstown notwithstanding, may not have been everything that history has made him to be.

Looking at the historical myths, weighing the historical evidence, and evaluating both, Ms. Nucciarone takes the reader along a fascinating journey of Hawaiian history and baseball history.

Well researched and thoroughly documented, her book will stand along side David Block's "Baseball Before We Knew It" as one of the definitive baseball histories.

When I finished I wanted more. I felt I was ready for the next Volume in a Trilogy. I wanted to re-live the times on the journy accoss the Plains heading west. I was captured by the Hawaiian history I did not know of my own State of Hawaii. I wanted to join the game, play ball. Please bring us more of the American pass time and those who brought it to us.The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)