Table of Contents

Part 1 Preface vii Part 2 Origins of the Game 3 Part 3 Baseball as Big Business, 1876-1891 25 Part 4 Coming of Age, 1891-1908 51 Part 5 The Wars of Baseball, 1909-1918 75 Part 6 Golden Age, 1919-1931 97 Part 7 Baseball in Depression and War, 1931-1945 121 Part 8 No Golden Age: Baseball, 1946-1960 147 Part 9 Coming Apart, 1961-1977 169 Part 10 Best of Times, Worst of Times, 1978-1994 191 Part 11 The Future of the National Game 211 Part 12 Notes 219 Part 13 A Note on Sources 227 Part 14 Index 236

About the Author

John Rossi teaches American history at La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has also written No Golden Age: Baseball from the End of World War II to the First Expansion, 1960.

Reviews

For the real fan, this is an interesting and absorbing book.
*Tampa Tribune*

Stimulating.
*Library Journal*

Not only readable but satisfying to those who are interested in the broader historical context of the sport.
*Virginia Quarterly Review*

Fresh and stimulating insights into the relationship between baseball and American culture.
*The San Diego Union-Tribune*

Succinct, knowledgeable...recommended without reservation as an introduction to baseball history.
*The Instrumentalist*

For the real fan, this is an interesting and absorbing book. * Tampa Tribune *
Stimulating. * Library Journal *
Not only readable but satisfying to those who are interested in the broader historical context of the sport. * Virginia Quarterly Review *
Fresh and stimulating insights into the relationship between baseball and American culture. -- John Curtis * The San Diego Union-Tribune *
Succinct, knowledgeable...recommended without reservation as an introduction to baseball history. -- Jonathan Yardley * The Instrumentalist *