Early Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1825-1908 [Paperback]

Dean A. Sullivan (Author, Editor), Benjamin G. Rader (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1997

This compilation of 120 primary writings documents baseball’s first century, from a loosely organized village social event to the arrival of the National League. Collecting from a wide range of sources—including newspaper accounts, letters, folk poetry, songs, and annual guides—Dean A. Sullivan of Fairfax, Virginia, progresses chronologically from the earliest known baseball reference (1825) to the creation of the Doubleday Myth (1908).

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Until some scientific Babe Ruth perfects a prudent technique for time travel, the best way to experience a past rich with flavor and immediacy remains through access to primary, contemporary sources. The way it brings the past into the present, Early Innings should bill itself as a tour guide for armchair travel into baseball's beginnings and infancy.

Essentially, it's a scrapbook--carefully researched and assembled--of the game's evolution from the earliest published report of a "bass-ball" challenge match between Upstate New York teams in 1825 to the 1901 birth of the American League and the spurious 1908 report on the origin of the game that pitched the myth of Cooperstown and Abner Doubleday. Sullivan's sources run the bases from newspaper and periodical accounts to letters to excerpts from such documents as "Spalding's Official Baseball Guide," each packaged with individual introductions to lend context to the text.

Combining serious scholarship and fascinating journalism, Early Innings covers the kind of territory good center fielders dream of. Some of its more curious bits of ephemera: the first published account--with something resembling a box score--of a ball game in a New York paper from 1845; an 1856 defense of the game as a "manly exercise"; the 1862 obituary of James Creighton, one of the game's prehistoric stars; Henry Chadwick's 1867 "Ancient History of Baseball" (with, not surprisingly, no mention of Doubleday or Cooperstown at all); the document excluding blacks from the National Association of Base Ball Players; William Hulbert's original proposal to form the National League; a chronicle of the first game played under the lights--informally, in Nantucket; the rule change setting the current distance between the plate and the mound; John McGraw's defection from the Baltimore Orioles to the New York Giants; and the Boston Globe's account of Cy Young's defeat in the opening game of the first World Series. As extensive as it is appealing, Early Innings informs, instructs, entertains, and amazes, just like the game it sheds its light on. --Jeff Silverman

From Library Journal

The University of Nebraska Press, which has brought back to print several classic baseball books in the past few years, now offers this original collection of fascinating documents that brings seldom-seen sources to the fingertips of historians and serious fans. The arrangement is chronological, beginning with the earliest known newspaper account of baseball in 1825 and concluding with the reports published in 1908 crediting Abner Doubleday with the founding of the sport. There are many gems here that are normally not available to baseball historians without access to research libraries. Some documents are less useful (e.g., do we really need to see "Casey at the Bat" again?). The language used in the contemporary accounts is somewhat archaic but should not put off readers. On balance, this is a worthwhile addition for the baseball collections of public and school libraries.
William O. Scheeren, Hempfield Area H.S. Lib., Greensburg, Pa.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 326 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803292449
• ISBN-13: 978-0803292444
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #476,161 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating compendium of articles about the early days., September 22, 1997

By 

Kenneth L. Lipshez "kenlip" (Unionville, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Early Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1825-1908 (Hardcover)

"Early Innings" is a fascinating compendium of 19th century baseball articles that allows the reader to sense what people of that era experienced as baseball etched its way into the national consciousness. It can serve as a tremendous resource for evaluating why and how the game gained the popularity to inspire volumes of poetry and music during a key period of America's growth. It begins with the media's first subtle mention of baseball in the 1820s through the game's aristocratic infancy, its truly American transformation to professionalism and through the murky waters of labor strife in the 1890s. For students of the modern game, "Early Innings" provides some vivid 19th century parallels to what is ailing baseball today. Keep in mind that the reading could be tedious if the reader does not have a firm interest in baseball's history and development

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars former minor leaguer gives it a THUMBS UP!, December 10, 2008

By 

Joel Katte "Author of MILWAUKEE BREWERS IQ tr... (Home of the Milwaukee Brewers) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Early Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1825-1908 (Paperback)

Probably only for the true die hards who eat, breathe, and fart baseball, but hey if you are reading this review I am assuming that's you. Fascinating how the game has evolved.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Step Back in Time, November 23, 2001

By 

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

This review is from: Early Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1825-1908 (Hardcover)

An interesting collection of actual articles regarding base ball, primarily from newspapers and magazines. At times, the style of writing can get wordy. Still there is good information about the beginings of the game.