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| History of Baseball; by George Vescey | |
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| Topic Started: May 12 2009, 02:49 PM (175 Views) | |
| Rudy | May 12 2009, 02:49 PM Post #1 |
NCAA 11!
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I picked up the book "Baseball" by George Vecsey. It's "A History of America's Favorite Game". The first chapter was overly dramatic as he tried to wax poetic about baseball but I've read the first 5 chapters and it's been good. I wouldn't call it a great book but it's been decent. I do find it funny how we harp on the money players make today, talk about salary caps and labour peace and all of that was happening over 100 years ago. Charles Comiskey was a former player that at one time was a part of the player movement. But as he became an owner of the White Sox, he became bitterly opposed to the players and screwed them over. In fact, Comiskey helped form the Players Brotherhood (union) which led to a rival baseball league called the Players League in 1890. That was in response to Albert Spalding who was implementing a new salary and labour structure in which the top 5 players rights were all held by the team and players couldn't earn more than $2000 per year. To think the salary cap existed over 100 years ago! In 1915 the owners got a questionable judgment that allowed the owners to hold the player's playing rights nearly forever. The judge (Landis) ruled that playing baseball was a game and not labour and thus not subject to commerce laws. This judge went on to become commissioner and was the one who permanently banned the 8 Black Sox players from the game. Gambling was a problem back then. Many people were said to be doing it and this was meant to crush this. |
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| Rudy | May 12 2009, 02:49 PM Post #2 |
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NCAA 11!
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While Spalding did a lot to promote the game, he also made up Abner Doubleday as the creator and was also a blatant racist that helped keep black people from the game. I didn't realize Henry Ford was so anti-semitic either. Many people blasted the old Red Sox owner, Harry Frazee, because he was thought to be jewish (and he was actually from Scottish descent). He also sent the Babe to the Yankees because the AL commissioner hated him and 5 of the 8 teams wouldn't deal with him. He never sent the Babe to New York to pay for a play gone bad. History has shown the play was written three years AFTER the Babe was traded. Babe hit 29 HRs (MLB record) in 1919. He was traded after this year for cash to the Yankees and hit 54 the next year (only 25 years old). The balls may have been more tightly wound as they were now being mass produced. Home runs jumped from 448 in 1919 to 630 in 1920. But a leap from 29 to 54 HRs is still tremendous, especially when other teams hit so few. |
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| Rudy | May 12 2009, 02:50 PM Post #3 |
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NCAA 11!
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In the early 1900s, baseball was prohibited from being played on Sunday. Philadelphia was the last city to change the laws in 1934. New York finally changed the laws in 1920 to allow Sunday baseball and the New York Giants (who were the Yankee landlords at the Polo Grounds) wanted sole possession of the large weekend crowds and forced the Yankees to the road. So the Yankees built the now gone, Yankee Stadium. The House that Ruth Built. |
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| Rudy | May 12 2009, 02:50 PM Post #4 |
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NCAA 11!
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Just read the chapter on the Negro Leagues. I had no idea how often teams "barnstormed" back then. Many black teams played independent schedules to make money and often the Negro League Stars played major leaguers after the World Series was over. According to most records, this book states that the Negro League Stars held a 309-129 advantage over them. Wow. They said their efficient style of play often confused the white MLB players. Bob Gibson slugged 84 HRs against greatly varied competion over 200 games one year. He died at 35 because of a stroke due to his alcoholism. Dizzy Dean called Satchel Paige the greatest pitcher he ever saw. |
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| TedDXZeke | May 12 2009, 03:11 PM Post #5 |
CoFounder
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Sounds like a good book |
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9:28 AM Jul 29
