Before the Curse: The Glory Days of New England Baseball, 1858-1918 [Hardcover]

Troy Soos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1997

In this revised and updated version of his highly regarded book, author Troy Soos covers the history of baseball in New England from 1791 through 1918, the year in which the Red Sox won their final World Series of the 20th century. Beginning with the recently discovered Pittsfield, Massachusetts, document, the history of early New England baseball and its folk predecessors is briefly discussed, followed by the advent of pay for play, when the Boston Red Stockings dominated baseball's first major league. Turning next to the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s, decades that saw pro baseball establish itself in especially the larger cities of the Northeast, Soos demonstrates that the amateur game became a fixture of the towns, schools, and even the factories. Success at the game's highest level followed, as Boston won five NL championships in the 1890s before taking the first modern World Series in 1903.When five more world championships came during the 1910s, New Englanders could justifiably argue that the country's oldest region sat atop the baseball world. By the close of 1918, New England was baseball mad, and the 86 years of collapses, near-misses, and outright struggles that lay ahead would do nothing to diminish the game's high place in the regional culture.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An engaging history full of little-known material. You don't have to be from New England to enjoy this book. You just have to like baseball. --Sports Illustrated

Both an engrossing read and an excellent single-volume history...among the half dozen best books about pre-modern baseball written. It's a good read but it's also excellent scholarship. --Red Sox Journal

Soos has compiled a satisfying book that will add another layer to the rich history and tradition of New England baseball. --Patriot Ledger --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Writer, historian and physicist Troy Soos has published ten critically acclaimed novels of historical fiction, including six in the baseball-themed Mickey Rawlings series. He lives in Florida. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Parnassus Imprints; 1st edition (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940160706
• ISBN-13: 978-0940160705
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,283,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Glory Days of Boston Baseball, April 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Before the Curse: The Glory Days of New England Baseball, 1858-1918 (Hardcover)

This is a very well researched book. The author included a lot of sidebars, photos and illustrations that make it more entertaining. It still has moments when it drags if one attempts to read it straight through, but it is a good coffee table book and fun to browse. Mr. Soos is also the author of an excellent series of baseball related mysteries set from 1912 -1922.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fills a niche, but not well, July 26, 2005

By 

DVDJones "DVD" (Scotia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Before the Curse: The Glory Days of New England Baseball, 1858-1918 (Hardcover)

For anyone wanting to know more about early baseball in New England this is a helpful addition to the literature, but as another reviewer pointed out it's a weakly written coffee table book. In fact you'd need lots of strong coffee to read it straight through.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Information Abound, November 23, 2001

By 

Eric Miklich (North Babylon, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Before the Curse: The Glory Days of New England Baseball, 1858-1918 (Hardcover)

A very informative work regarding New England base ball. There are numerous pictures, boxscores and newspaper accounts covering college, club and professional base ball.