Mike "King" Kelly was the hard-living, hard-drinking son of a Civil War veteran whose skills at baseball and infectious charm turned him into the game's first hero, and a symbol of what it meant to be a celebrity in America in the 1880s and 1890s. Slide, Kelly, Slide reacquaints baseball fans and scholars with this little-known pioneer of the game. Marty Appel, the author of several baseball books, conducted a thorough search of local archives to bring the story of King Kelly to light and place him in his proper historical context. An innovator on the field, who was not above taking advantage of the only umpire running the game, Kelly touched many aspects of American culture while a ballplayer. He was the first player to sign autographs, and wrote the game's first autobiography. A Hall of Famer and a two-time batting champion, Kelly's greatest contribution was the popularity that he brought to the game. Slide, Kelly, Slide will truly delight.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
...well written, and I was amazed at how much research you had done to uncover all the details of a very interesting life...a very important lesson in the start of our national game...Bravo!, Marty. (Lee Mcphail, Former American League President )
...there can be no doubt that Appel has done yeoman work in the resurrection business, writing a spritely tale based on his own knowledge of baseball history and on painstaking research in the newspapers of the day. He brings Kelly alive again. (The Sporting News )
...I don't know of any other book that has gone into such explicit (and fascinating) detail about not just Kelly but day-to-day life in 19th century big league baseball. (Robert Creamer, Former Editor, Sports Illustrated )
...What strikes me more than anything is the amount of diligent research that went into this project...[Kelly]...come[s] alive, out of the mist and so has the time in which he played and boozed. (Ray Robinson, Author Of Atty )
A wild, lusty account of this Hall of Fame batting champion. (Baseball Weekly )
[This book]... has so much energy and spirit... returns to life such a terrific character that it is in a class by itself... I feel greatly honored that I was asked to write the forward. (Larry Ritter, Author Of The Glory Of Their Times )
Appel...wrote the moving biography of Kelly from enormous research sources. The photographs of the 19th century star and the game as it looked a hundred years ago are worth the price of the book...The Kelly book is worth a delightful afternoon. (Maury Allen )
Appel's pleasing writing style and penchant for accuracy and detail make this book one of the year's best baseball biographies. (Yankees Magazine, (December, 1996) )
Appel's lively book helps to recover an American icon of the 1880s. (Choice )
...the rollicking biography of Mike "King" Kelly, superstar of the 1880s and 1890s who lived fast and died young. The recent rediscovery of 19th-century baseball by today's authors is most welcome. (Times and Post-Intelligencer ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
...there can be no doubt that Appel has done yeoman work in the resurrection business, writing a spritely tale based on his own knowledge of baseball history and on painstaking research in the newspapers of the day. He brings Kelly alive again. (The Sporting News )
...I don't know of any other book that has gone into such explicit (and fascinating) detail about not just Kelly but day-to-day life in 19th century big league baseball. (Robert Creamer, Former Editor, Sports Illustrated )
...What strikes me more than anything is the amount of diligent research that went into this project...[Kelly]...come[s] alive, out of the mist and so has the time in which he played and boozed. (Ray Robinson, Author Of Atty )
A wild, lusty account of this Hall of Fame batting champion. (Baseball Weekly )
[This book]... has so much energy and spirit... returns to life such a terrific character that it is in a class by itself... I feel greatly honored that I was asked to write the forward. (Larry Ritter, Author Of The Glory Of Their Times )
Appel...wrote the moving biography of Kelly from enormous research sources. The photographs of the 19th century star and the game as it looked a hundred years ago are worth the price of the book...The Kelly book is worth a delightful afternoon. (Maury Allen )
Appel's pleasing writing style and penchant for accuracy and detail make this book one of the year's best baseball biographies. (Yankees Magazine, (December, 1996) )
Appel's lively book helps to recover an American icon of the 1880s. (Choice )
...the rollicking biography of Mike "King" Kelly, superstar of the 1880s and 1890s who lived fast and died young. The recent rediscovery of 19th-century baseball by today's authors is most welcome. (Times and Post-Intelligencer ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
About the Author
Marty Appel has written fifteen books, including collaborations with Larry King, Bowie Kuhn, Tom Seaver, Lee LacPhail, umpire Eric Gregg, and the standard reference work on Cooperstown, Baseball's Best: The Hall of Fame Gallery.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Slide, Right Out of History Kelly, Slide!,
By Grissum C. Smackerson (Toronto, Ontario CANADA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Slide, Kelly, Slide: The Wild Life and Times of Mike "King" Kelly, Baseball's First Superstar (American Sports History Series) (Hardcover)
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.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Important Reading for Baseball Historians,
By C. W. Emblom "Bill Emblom" (Ishpeming, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
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This review is from: Slide, Kelly, Slide: The Wild Life and Times of Mike King Kelly (American Sports History Series) (Paperback)
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.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very, very interesting book about an interesting character,
By 75464.2772@compuserve.com (Fort Lee, New Jersey) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Slide, Kelly, Slide: The Wild Life and Times of Mike "King" Kelly, Baseball's First Superstar (American Sports History Series) (Hardcover)
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.
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