Customer Reviews

Slide, Kelly, Slide: The Wild Life and Times of Mike King Kelly (American Sports History Series)

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Thank goodness for Marty Appel. It is amazing how many people today have absolutely no idea of who Mike "King" Kelly was. How many of them know of Buck Ewing, Old Hoss Radbourn, John Montgomery Ward, Kid Nichols, Cap Anson, Dan Brouthers, A.G. Spalding? Without Marty Appel, this era in baseball disappears forever. If you read this book very keenly and see between the lines, you will see a stunning similarity to today's baseball. The greed and politics of baseball were just as rooted back then as they are today. The future of baseball was actually rooted deep in the game of baseball back in the late 1800's. Well written and researched with what little information actually exists from that era. A little difficult in spots to keep interested, but a solid and must read just the same. A must read for historian buff's.

Marty Appel bring us a signficant book about 19th century baseball, of which not enough is written. This book is also one of 27 that The Easton Press has chosen in its deluxe library of the 27 top baseball books. This books belongs. Many of baseball's present day problems can be traced back to the late 1880's when both players and owners rangled over such concerns as high salaries and the reserve clause. This is also the story of Cap Anson of the Chicago White Stockings getting fed up and ridding himself of the alcohol abusers on the team, Kelly included. Consumption of alcohol by ballplayers was considered to be a sign of manliness (how sad) and many of the players of this time died young and poor. We don't have many books available on 19th century baseball worth your time, but Slide, Kelly, Slide and a few others such as Where They Ain't (Willie Keeler and the Baltimore Orioles) and A Clever Base-Ballist (John Montgomery Ward), are exceptions. Appel's book will not disappoint you.

Marty Appel has a delightful writing style which drew me into this book and I'm not a baseball fan particularly. Mike King Kelly was quite a guy but how could we possibly relate to him? Well, the author has done a great job at giving us a feeling for that time in history (late 1800s) by painting interesting pictures for us of those times and giving great analogies in the present day. Appel has a great sense of humor, and even though this book is a serious study of Mike Kelly, there's quite a few chuckles to be had. Great introduction to early baseball.

Marty Appel's book on the first great baseball superstar, Mike "King" Kelly was a real treat to read. The writing was easy to read, and painted a vivid picture of both the man and the time period of the 1880's and 1890's when Kelly played. The game was a lot different then, as was American culture, and both were described clearly and thoroughly. I really enjoyed this book and it is one of the best I've read on 19th Century players. Highly recommended.

Winner of the 1996 Casey Award, from Spitball Literary Magazine, as the best baseball book of the year.

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