Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
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:
5.0 out of 5 stars
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:
5.0 out of 5 stars
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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