"Catcher" by Peter Morris

[Joe_G.]

Bump . . .

I wanted to resurrect this thread after reading the book cover-to-cover this past week. The book will appeal to far more than the 19th century crowd with siginificant coverage devoted to T/E card era as well.

Some may find the Introduction a bit tough to get through but it just keeps getting better. An amazing read that helps chronicle the very siginicant changes to the position, from the heroic icon of the 1870s to the 1880s in which protective equipment began to tarnish the position. The book continues with the unappreciated 1890s (too much protective equipment, anyone can play the position, place the talent elsewhere) to the ~1904+ resurgence and recognition that a highly skilled player was desireable (tough to handle all the new pitches that were appearing - spit ball, emery ball, knuckle ball etc). An impressive list of catchers (& pitchers) made it into the book in one fashion or antoher.

The book should be a fantastic read for all pre-war collectors.