Books on Origins & Early Years of Baseball

[FrostyCollects]

Seeking recommendations on such books...any that's quite comprehensive and with excellent photography.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Lancemountain]

This isn't encyclopedic or even that deep, but it's a great, easy summer read. I re read it every few years.

 

[Mighty Bombjack]

An excellent book on the origins is Baseball in the Garden of Eden by John Thorn, but there are no photographs because the content pre-dates photography.

 

[Brewer Andy]

Both of those are excellent books. The photography is a tall order. Mostly posed team photos or pictures of early equipment.
There's a couple of SABR eBooks available that I found enjoyable too:

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[Brewer Andy]

Books on Origins & Early Years of Baseball

There's also 2 or 3 digital books under a series called Baseball Pioneers about early organized "hometown" teams. They can be a little dry at times but they're fascinating in a sense to read what can be known from some team's record books, census information, etc as well as tales of town rivalries and trophies.


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[Austin]

I second Lamcemountain's recommendation of The Glory of Their Times. It's one of the best baseball books I've ever read.

Each chapter is devoted to an early 20th century player, and it's written in first person by each player. The author interviewed the players, then took out the questions and wrote the chapters as the players actually said it. And the players get really indepth about what it was like playing baseball in the early 1900s.

The book has several different covers. This is the one from the '80s that I have:

 

[Brewer Andy]

Books on Origins & Early Years of Baseball

It should be accepted as fact that The Glory of Their Times is the best baseball book ever written.....




BAR NONE


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[maestracewslover]

I second Lamcemountain's recommendation of The Glory of Their Times. It's one of the best baseball books I've ever read.

Each chapter is devoted to an early 20th century player, and it's written in first person by each player. The author interviewed the players, then took out the questions and wrote the chapters as the players actually said it. And the players get really indepth about what it was like playing baseball in the early 1900s.

The book has several different covers. This is the one from the '80s that I have:

Great book. Just saw one today at the local library book store for a buck. I have learned to browse used book stores now since I always find books I paid full price for sitting at a discount. Happy reading!

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[1998 SPx]

Going to be tough to get something with lots of photos. In addition to the aforementioned " Glory Of Their Times", I also really enjoyed "Crazy '08: How A Cast Of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created The Greatest Year in Baseball History" by Cait Murphy.

Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty by Charles Leerhsen is fantastic for showing a different side of Ty Cobb than the one portrayed by the lying Al Stump.

The Old Ball Game by Frank Deford is good. It's about John McGraw, Christy Mathewson and the times they lived/played in.

I've got "Stealing Games: How John McGraw Transformed Baseball with the 1911 New York Giants" on the shelf, but haven't had a chance to dig into it yet.

 

[finestkind]

Smithsonian Baseball by Stephen Wong