Customer Reviews

The Great Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Major League Baseball

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If you're the type of baseball fan who owns a baseball encyclopedia, you might think: "I don't need this book, I already got the stats from those years".

Guess again.

David Nemec's work is an absolute masterpiece. Not only have you the complete stats from 19th Century Major League Baseball, but in addition, a world of amazing, colorful and interesting short stories about owners, players and franchises. Each and every season has his own resume, so you can truly feel the aroma of that particular season.

That book had me glued to it for some time...

This is an incredible book for any baseball fanatic. At last an encyclopedia on 19th century baseball. Building on his own obsessive interest in baseball and on the work of other baseball fanatics, David Nemec has succeeded in creating an encyclopedia of major league baseball as it existed in 1900, the dawn of the modern age of the game.

Not only is this book a feast for those who pour over baseball statistics, the narrative is quite good, too. One can watch the rules of the game evolving as the 19th century rolls by. At last I understand William Hulbert role in establishing one of the first major league and how such a league could survive without teams in Philadelphia and New York. There are also many sidebars memorializing some of the characters of the game.

Although not an inexpensive book, it is a good value for the money. It's a University of Alabama Press product, large size and good quality paper. The book also contains an extensive bibliography for further reading. It's the perfect gift for any baseball fan.