Customer Reviews

The Arrival of the American League: Ban Johnson and the 1901 Challenge to National League Monopoly

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I really liked this book. It's a full and complete account of a very interesting and important moment in baseball and sports history. The view into the characters and dynamics of 1901 sports is amazing.

My only negative comment is that Wilbert's writing style is a bit stiff. There is little flow in the narrative so you really need to want to read this book (which I did). For example, after a whole chapter on the transition of the Western League into the American League, the very next chapter will say something like "... who played in the Western League, forerunner of the American League...". Wilbert is a great researcher who just needed a little help on the editing side to get some flow.

But overall, I really like the book and recommend it to anyone interested in a deep study of turn of the century baseball.

The National League dominated American baseball until in 1901 two men, Charles Comisky and Ban Johnson, launched the rival American League to challenge that supremacy. "The Arrival Of The American League: Ban Johnson And The 1901 Challenge to national League Monopoly" by baseball historian Warren N. Wilbert is the definitive history of the circumstances, events, and personalities that brought about the creation of a new professional baseball league. A fascinating and informative read, "The Arrival Of The American League" is a critically important contribution to the history of American baseball and a highly recommended core addition to any personal, academic, or community library Sports History reference collection. McFarland & Company is a premier publisher of baseball history books and a complete listing of their baseball history titles can be found on their website at www.mcfarlandpub.com