Old Time Baseball: America's Pastime in the Gilded Age

Old Time Baseball: America's Pastime in the Gilded Age, by Harvey Frommer

Old Time Baseball: America's Pastime in the Gilded Age by Harvey Frommer is a "must read" for the avid baseball fan. It covers baseball from 1834 to the early 1900s. I love the format. In the beginning Frommer provides a timeline chock full of baseball trivia. Did you know that Alexander Cartwright, not Abner Doubleday, has been credited with inventing baseball? Did you know that on May 23, 1895, the Louisville Colonels lost to Brooklyn because they ran out of baseballs? Or that on Labor Day 1890 the Pittsburgh Alleghenys lost a triple-header to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms? He also includes a section on the evolution of the game including equipment. Early players used no gloves, and the first players to use them were criticized! There are also sections on great teams and great players. This would make a great book to take along to the beach.
-Carl