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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
A light-hearted journey to revisit some old friends, October 11, 2003
A fun, nostalgic view of many famous (and some not-so famous) ballparks that now belong to the ages.
The book covers 22 ballparks that sadly are no more. The famous parks that one would expect are all here (the 16 classic teams' lost parks are all covered), but Ritter tosses in some surprises. Some recent parks have chapters - Baltimore Municipal, Kansas City Municipal, Metropolitan, and Jarry Park - along with some nearly forgotten older parks - League Park, Hilltop Park, and Baker Bowl.
The big surprise is that Ritter includes some notable minor league parks, such as Hollywood's Gilmore Field, Montreal Stadium (Jackie Robinson's 1946 home), Minneapolis' Nicollet Park, Buffalo's Offerman Stadium, San Francisco's Seals Stadium, and the OTHER Wrigley Field (the one in Los Angeles where Home Run Derby was filmed). How many ballpark books include these with the well-chronicled Ebbets Field? Bravo!
Each park gets about a ten-page chapter, which includes a light-hearted but substantial historical narrative, a list of top ten highlights, and plenty of nostalgic pictures. Much of the narratives cover familiar ground, but most fans will learn something new, particularly about the minor league parks.
My only reservation about the book is that, while the narratives touch the important points about the parks, it left me wanting more.
It's interesting reading this together with Green Cathedrals, which is a much better reference book but has long collections of facts rather than narratives and many fewer pictures.
The book was written in 1992. A lot of notable parks have been retired since then (Tiger, Candlestick, Astrodome, County, Cleveland Municipal), so hopefully Ritter will revise the book.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
These parks are"lost" not forgotten!, May 30, 2000
Hello to all, my name is Jose' Roberto Mesarina and this is my review. I purchased this book many years ago right after Comiskey Park was demolished. I never took a picture of old Comiskey when it was still around because like many other fans , I thought it was built to last a lifetime. I was wrong . It only lasted 81 years. I bought this book because I wanted to read up on Comiskey Park (home of the Chicago White Sox) but what I got was much more than that. I was taken by all the old black and white still shots, the old factories and neighborhoods in the back ground,the prices advertised on the signs, and lastly I was given a sports history lesson on many memorable games played at many lost ballparks. This book is a must for the history buffs and sports buffs alike. I am not really a sports fanatic but I really did enjoy this book and it remains to this day one of my favorite books. This book shows us a glimpse at not only Lost Ballparks , but also Lost America. I did find that many Negroe League pictures where missing from this book but I'm not sure if they owned their own ballparks. If they did, they where not in this book. Otherwise, all the pictures,stories and memories shared by the fans , players , and the author make this a 5 star book. I'm Jose' Roberto Mesarina . Have a nice day.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Great Look Back at Forgotten Ballparks!, May 22, 2000
Mr. Ritter takes a fond "look back" at past baseball stadiums that are now mostly memories. I find it interesting that the new stadiums being built are "throwbacks" to the designs of most of the parks described in this book. Which in my opinion is probably a good thing!While the book mostly describes old-time major league stadiums (complete with "Top Ten" lists of the most historic events to take place at each stadium), a few minor league parks are also mentioned. Lots of history and photographs are featured with each park's description. I like a couple other reviewers sincerely hope an updated edition of this book will be out soon, now that so many other ballparks (Candlestick Park, Tiger Stadium, and the AstroDome, for example) have been replaced. If you enjoy reading about what it was like to watch a game in these old parks, you will enjoy this book! Also recommended: Nuggets on the Diamond, Grand Minor League, Baseball's Hometown Teams: The Story of the Minor Leagues
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Lost Ballparks - Found Fascinating, February 21, 2000
Lost Ballparks by Lawrence Ritter is a great book for anyone interested in old major league ballparks. Loaded with excellent, often historic pictures (including Mays' catch in the '54 Series and Maz's home run in the '60 Series), the book recounts essentially all of the steel and concrete era parks (built between 1909 and 1915) that were used in Major League Baseball but no longer exist. Some older parks (Baker Bowl, Hilltop Park) and 1950-60's era parks (Metropolitan Stadium, Memorial Stadium) are also included, as are selected minor league parks. The book naturally piques your interest, and leaves you wanting more.Hopefully a new edition will be printed soon; the book was originally published in 1992 and doesn't include parks closed since then. Any new edition would also benefit from including Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, and the old Yankee Stadium. Even though these parks still exist, they would round out the history of the classic era of Major League Baseball. The only shortcoming of the book is that it is a bit short; I would prefer some of the minor league parks be replaced with longer stories about major league parks. However, if you are interested in old ballparks or baseball history, BUY THIS BOOK!
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Rough Overview, January 2, 2002
This is a decent book, but it could have been much better. This book was written in 1992, so it misses out on the golden age of retired baseball parks. For the older reader, it details some of the parks that have been gone for 50-60 years, but the younger reader may be left wondering why all the ballparks they grew up with and remember like County Stadium in Milwaukee, the Kingdome, Three Rivers, and Candlestick aren't detailed in this book. If you're over 60, or a big baseball fan you may enjoy this book. Under 30 though, you may wind up reading about a few of Satdiums you never heard of.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
NO BETTER BOOK EXISTS ON HISTORIC BASEBALL PARKS, February 12, 1999
By A Customer
THIS BOOK IS AN EXCELLENT WRITTEN HISTORY OF OLD BASEBALL PARKS. IWAS ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THE POLO GROUNDS, EBBETS FIELD, CROSLEY FIELD, ETC. THE PICTURES ARE FANTASTIC, AND LARRY RITTER'S WRITING IS UNMATCHED. IF YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT OLD BALLPARKS, THIS IS YOUR BOOK.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Good pictures ... Bad content, December 4, 1999
I found this book to be long on pictures and short on useful content. For example, why exactly does a book on ballparks need to editorialize on who was the best third baseman ever? I wanted to learn the fascinating details about Memorial Stadium, the Polo Grounds, and others ... not some meaningless factoids that could have been pulled from countless other team or official histories. Altogther a bit of a disappointment ... does not even compare to Green Cathedrals, by Philip Lowry.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
cozy parks from yesteryear, August 11, 2003
I found myself scanning pictures from this book to e-mail friends so often that they thought i stumbled onto a baseball archival treasure chest. Not only does this book talk about park dimensions but about plays and players also. There are so many anecdotes in this book it becomes a historical account of the game too. Besides the great pictures it is also well written. I never thought the book was dry, it is niether too long or too short.
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Update in 2000, please?, May 11, 1999
By A Customer
Now that Cleveland Municipal, Arlington, and Mile High are no longer in service and Candlestick, Kingdome, and County Stadium are on their way out, this book may need to double in size in a revised edition. I hope that Misters Ritter and Creamer do it soon, because it is one of the finest books on ballparks that I've ever read. Oh, and don't forget Old Yankee Stadium.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Love Baseball? Get This Book, December 29, 1999
The descriptions, stories and pictures are a wonderful tribute to some of the parks that I wish I could have seen. It's a great conversation piece as well. If you're not old enough to remember these ballparks, sit down with a friend or relative who is and it will be like looking at an old yearbook with them. In fact I just learned more about the Polo Grounds over Christmas from an 85 year old friend of the family, who loved the pictures and stories.
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