Baseball: The Early Years (Oxford Paperbacks) (Vol 1) (Paperback)

by Harold Seymour (Author), Dorothy Z. Seymour (Author), Dorothy Jane Mills (Author)
Key Phrases: national game, blacklisted players, reserve clause, National League, New York, National Agreement (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Praise for Volume I:

"An important reference, very readable."--The New York Public Library

"Indispensable."--Dr. Daniel Boorstin, Director, Library of Congress

"Will remain the basic reference for baseball history."--New York Historical Review

"First-rate history....[Seymour] gives a full picture of player salaries, of owner deceits, of public frenzy."--The Baltimore Sun

"Half of what will be the most comprehensive, serious, authoritative, and sociological study of baseball ever put to paper."--San Francisco Chronicle

"It puts baseball...firmly in the American picture....[An] admirable book."--The Times Literary Supplement (London)

"[Seymour] has the intellectual's passion for facts, but he writes with the light touch of a sports writer."--New York Daily News

"Stands in a class by itself."--St. Petersburg Times

"Right off the bat, let me say that this history of baseball stands in a class by itself."--John Barkham, Saturday Review Syndicate

Product Description
These two critically-acclaimed volumes mark the beginning of a monumental multi-volume study of baseball by the man whom Sports Illustrated has called "the Edward Gibbon of baseball history." Now available in paperback, Harold Seymour's The Early Years and The Golden Age together recount the true story of how baseball came into being and how it developed into a highly organized business and social institution.

The first volume, The Early Years, traces the growth of baseball from the time of the first recorded ball game at Valley Forge during the revolution until the formation of the two present-day major leagues in 1903. By investigating previously unknown sources, Seymour uncovers the real story of how baseball evolved from a gentleman's amateur sport of "well-bred play followed by well-laden banquet tables" into a professional sport where big leagues operate under their own laws. Offering countless anecdotes and a wealth of new information, Seymour explodes many cherished myths, including the one which claims that Abner Doubleday "invented" baseball in 1839. He describes the influence of baseball on American business, manners, morals, social institutions, and even show business, as well as depicting the types of men who became the first professional ball players, club owners, and managers, including Spalding, McGraw, Comiskey, and Connie Mack.

The second volume, The Golden Age, explores the glorious era when the game truly captured the American imagination, with such legendary figures as Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb in the spotlight. Beginning with the formation of the two major leagues in 1903, when baseball officially entered its "golden age" of popularity, Seymour examines the changes in the organization of professional baseball--from an unwieldy three-man commission to the strong one-man rule of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. He depicts how the play on the field shifted from the low-scoring, pitcher-dominated game of the "dead ball" era before World War I to the higher scoring of the 1920's "lively ball" era, with emphasis on home runs, best exemplified by the exploits of Babe Ruth.

Taken together, these volumes offer a serious and dramatic study of the game both on the field and in the business offices.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 14, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195059123
• ISBN-13: 978-0195059120
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #398,283 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The archetype for any publication about baseball history., September 22, 1997

By	Kenneth L. Lipshez "kenlip" (Unionville, CT) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Aside from the most comprehensive view of early baseball, Harold Seymour provides incredible insight as he takes the reader through every vital detail about the game's heritage. For a book written 40 years ago, it shows the author's masterful foresight of what baseball would, and did, become. Particularly compelling is how he shreds the Abner Doubleday myth before doing so was popular. His compilation and timeless analyses of baseball's sometimes painful adolescence gives the reader a solid baseline for understanding the difficulties that the sport is enduring today. It's fascinating proof that those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. Anybody interested in baseball history will want to run right out and get his second volume, "The Golden Age" as soon as they finish this one

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Maybe this is what some people are looking for..., March 12, 2005

By	Ross Prather (Meadville, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

..., but it was not what I wanted to read. I love to read about baseball, and especially about 19th century baseball. However, this book deals more extensively with the management of the early leagues, and the development of the rules, administration, the problems of revolving, etc. I wanted to read about Ross Barnes, Deacon White, and the other great players of the era. I've seen the stats, but I am still looking for the book that will bring the National Association players back to life. (Any suggestions?)

Like I alluded to at the beginning, this may be just what you want to read. But if you are looking for a book about the players and what happened between the foul lines (and in the saloons), you might want to look somewhere else. (I much prefer David Nemec's "The Beer And Whisky League," on the narrower topic of the AA.)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Old Ball Game, January 17, 2008

By	Mark R. Brewer "Mark R. Brewer" (Pitman, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read this book about ten years ago, and I loved it. It tells you everything you need to know about baseball in its formative years. It certainly isn't for everyone. Seymour is a historian, and he writes like one, getting into every aspect of the game. It's not merely a book about the players, though they do make up a large part of it. There's also much about the owners, the umpires, the rules, the stadiums. It is a comprehensive, well-researched, and very well-written history of the old ball game. This book takes you there.