Early Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1825-1908

By Dean A. Sullivan and Dean A. Sullivan

Book Overview

This compilation of 120 primary writings documents baseball's first century, from a loosely organized village social event to the arrival of the National League. Collecting from a wide range of sources--including newspaper accounts, letters, folk poetry, songs, and annual guides--Dean A. Sullivan of Fairfax, Virginia, progresses chronologically from the earliest known baseball reference (1825) to the creation of the Doubleday Myth (1908).

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803292449
• ISBN13: 9780803292444
• Release Date: February 1997
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Length: 326 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

The beginnings of America's pastime

An insightful exploration of the beginnings of America's pastime. Offering countless anecdotes and lots of reference material, this book explores an era when the game began to capture the American imagination.

former minor leaguer gives it a THUMBS UP!

Probably only for the true die hards who eat, breathe, and fart baseball, but hey if you are reading this review I am assuming that's you. Fascinating how the game has evolved.

Step Back in Time

An interesting collection of actual articles regarding base ball, primarily from newspapers and magazines. At times, the style of writing can get wordy. Still there is good information about the beginings of the game.

A fascinating compendium of articles about the early days.

"Early Innings" is a fascinating compendium of 19th century baseball articles that allows the reader to sense what people of that era experienced as baseball etched its way into the national consciousness. It can serve as a tremendous resource for evaluating why and how the game gained the popularity to inspire volumes of poetry and music during a key period of America's growth. It begins with the media's first subtle mention of baseball in the 1820s through the game's aristocratic infancy, its truly American transformation to professionalism and through the murky waters of labor strife in the 1890s. For students of the modern game, "Early Innings" provides some vivid 19th century parallels to what is ailing baseball today. Keep in mind that the reading could be tedious if the reader does not have a firm interest in baseball's history and development