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By 1900 Maryland's Eastern Shore, along the western side of the Delmarva Peninsula, was acknowledged in the national press as a hotbed of baseball activity. By the 1920s the game was fully ingrained into local community life, central to the summer social season among the towns and villages that measured their worth by the quality of their teams.
Providing fresh insight into early 20th century baseball at its grassroots, this book explores the Chesapeake Bay region as a case study for the enthusiasm (and hubris) the game brought to rural American life, in context with national trends and influences.
List of contents
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
Part I-Frost Out of the Hands
¿1.¿Before the Shore
¿2.¿The First Pitch
¿3.¿Baseball Prevails
¿4.¿Grass in the Springtime
¿5.¿The Bushes Blossom
¿6.¿For the Almighty Dollar
¿7.¿End of an Era
Part II-The Baby Loop
¿8.¿No Town Too Small
¿9.¿The Eyes of Landis
10.¿Umpire Uprising
11.¿Chaos
12.¿Promise Kept
13.¿Transition
Part III-Heyday
14.¿Another League
15.¿Wonder Club
16.¿Secret Deal
17.¿Fog, Tomatoes, and Rabbits
18.¿Be Careful What You Wish For
Part IV-G.I. Jitters
19.¿Will Greenville Yield?
20.¿Watermelon, Skunks, and More Tomatoes
21.¿And Take Your Batboy with You
Afterword
Appendix A: Selected Biographical Sketches
Appendix B: Players and Umpires
Appendix C: Eastern Shore League Standings, 1922-1949
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Marty Payne lives and writes from his home in St. Michaels, Maryland. His writings have appeared in local and national publications.
