Books about early baseball

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Posted By: <b>Ray</b><p>Hi all,<br /><br />I'm about one year and 60+ cards into my T206 set. As my collection grows, I'm noticing myself wanting to learn more and more about the players on the cards. As a 28 year old, I know who Matthewson, Cobb, and Young are... but I am really interested in learning about what baseball was all about pre-Babe Ruth! Anyways, I've purchased and read "Hal Chase: The Black Prince of Baseball" and SABR's "Deadball Stars of the National League". Searching Amazon tonight, I've discovered a whole bunch of books I never knew existed and I was wondering if anyone could tell me which are worth reading, and which aren't. Thanks for all your help!!!<br /><br />Here's a list of the books I found:<br /><br />1. Eight Men Out (by Asinof)<br />2. Ed Delehanty in the Emerald Age of Baseball (by Casway)<br />3. "Commy" (by Axelson)<br />4. Henry Chadwick: Father of Base Ball (by Nash)<br />5. Rothstein: The Life, Times... (by Pietrusza)<br />6. Harry Wright:The Father of Professional Base Ball (by Devine)<br />7. Baseball in Blue and Gray: The National Pastime During the Civil War (by Kirsch)<br />8. Autumn Glory (by Masur)<br />9. The First World Series and the Baseball Fanatics of 1903 (by Abrams)<br /><br />Plus biographies on Cobb, Matthewson, Big Train, and Young... any others I should check out??? Any must reads or must avoids?

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Posted By: <b>runscott</b><p>"If I Never Get Back" by Daryl Brock - very good read about the 1869 Red Stockings. Historical Fiction<br /><br />"Cobb" by Al Stump - Fantastic read. Stump was hired by Cobb to ghost-write Cobb's autobiography, which he did, but with Cobb's agreement that Stump would also write his own version...later the movie with Tommy Lee Jones was based on Stump's version.<br /><br />"Honus Wagner" by Dennis and Jeanne DeValeria - only Wagner bio I've read, but it's a really good one.<br /><br />"The Glory of Their Times" by Lawrence Ritter - I'm sure you've heard of this one (it's a classic), but if you don't have the 4-cd set, you HAVE to get it.<br /><br />"Walter Johnson Baseball's Big Train" by Henry Thomas - lots of pages, but a good read, especially if you are interested in Johnson's career. Henry is Walter's grandson, and is the definitive authority on Walter Johnson, and is also a great guy.<br /><br />"John McGraw" by Charles Alexander - very readable. Alexander also wrote a bio of Cobb, which I haven't read.<br /><br />"A Clever Base-Ballist" by Di Salvatore - difficult read, but I haven't found anything better on John Montgomery Ward.

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Posted By: <b>Max</b><p>A great search index for any baseball book (plus magazines and much more) is <a href="http://www.baseballindex.org" target=_new>http://www.baseballindex.org</a><br /><br />Max

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Posted By: <b>Pcelli60</b><p>Anything written by Lee Allen. If you love the Dead-Ball era, you must read 'Pitching in a pinch'. There are so many good ones out there!!

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Posted By: <b>Julie</b><p>"Two in the Field," also by D. Brock--sequel to "If I Never..."<br />"Ty Cobb" by Charles C. Alexander--a fairly new book, but think how much more research a new author has done than a biographer who wroter an authorized biography! Really comprehensive.<br />"Havana Heat" by CAN'T REMEMBER--about "Dummy" Taylor, c. 1910.<br /><br />HEY--that reminds me--about "transactions with board members": I OFFERED a board member "Two in the Field," and he WOULDEN'T TAKE iT--FREE! (He'd just gotten "If I Never Get Back.") I mean, I know I'm scary, but through the mail?<br /><br />Luther "Dummy" Taylor (Fan Craze);<br /><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1095567379.JPG">