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A history of baseball as a sport and business during the middle of the twentieth century, examining the game on and off the field and tracing its development within the broader contours of American history.
List of contents
Introduction
Prologue: “A Grim Harvest”
1. “The Ball Player Is a Fortunate Man”
2. “So You’re the Goddamned Prohibitionist”
3. “A Tyro in the Intricacies of Organized Baseball”
4. “The Yankees Need Building Up”
5. “Keen Competition throughout the Closing Month”
6. “They Could Never Say He Wasn't a ‘Real Jew’”
7. “It Would Be Best for the Country to Keep Baseball Going”
8. “A Great Display of Tingling Patriotism”
9. “The Smiling Young Man with the $1,000,000 Check Book”
10. “Bright Colored Paper and Red Ribbons”
11. “Il A Gagné Ses Épaulettes”
12. “A Sound If Not Spectacular Choice”
13. “I Have Long Desired to See California”
14. “Henry, Don’t Go Out There”
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Steven P. Gietschier is an archival consultant for
The Sporting News. He taught American history, sport history, and the history and culture of baseball at a midwestern university before retiring in 2020, and prior to that he served in several roles for
The Sporting News. He is the editor of
Replays, Rivalries, and Rumbles: The Most Iconic Moments in American Sports and a 2023 recipient of the Society for American Baseball Research's Henry Chadwick Award.
Summary
A history of baseball as a sport and business during the middle of the twentieth century, examining the game on and off the field and tracing its development within the broader contours of American history.
