This three-in-one holiday gift set is the perfect gift for any baseball fan this season. Each with its own unique story, these books will thrill any fan of America’s favorite pastime. The set includes class tales (At the Old Ballgame: Stories From Baseball's Golden Era), scandals (Mudville Madness: Fabulous Feats, Belligerent Behavior, and Erratic Episodes on the Diamond), and a unique portrait of baseball’s early days (Death Row All Stars: A Story of Baseball, Corruption, and Murder). That’s three strikes for this set!

One of the great bards of America's Grand Old Game gives a rousing account ofbaseball, from its pre-Republic roots to the present day.

Think you know how the game of baseball began? Think again. Forget Abner Doubleday and Cooperstown. Did baseball even have a father--or did it just evolve from other bat-and-ball games? John Thorn, baseball's preeminent historian, examines the creation story of the game and finds it all to be a gigantic lie. From its earliest days baseball was a vehicle for gambling, a proxy form of class warfare. Thorn traces the rise of the New York version of the game over other variations popular in Massachusetts and Philadelphia. He shows how the sport's increasing popularity in the early decades of the nineteenth century mirrored the migration of young men from farms and small towns to cities, especially New York. Full of heroes, scoundrels, and dupes, this book tells the story of nineteenth-century America, a land of opportunity and limitation, of glory and greed--all present in the wondrous alloy that is our nation and its pastime.--From publisher description.

During the Civil War, Americans from homefront to battlefront played baseball as never before. While soldiers slaughtered each other over the country's fate, players and fans struggled over the form of the national pastime. George Kirsch gives us a color commentary of the growth and transformation of baseball during the Civil War. He shows that the game was a vital part of the lives of many a soldier and civilian--and that baseball's popularity had everything to do with surging American nationalism. By 1860, baseball was poised to emerge as the American sport. Clubs in northeastern and a few southern cities played various forms of the game. Newspapers published statistics, and governing bodies set rules. But the Civil War years proved crucial in securing the game's place in the American heart. Soldiers with bats in their rucksacks spread baseball to training camps, war prisons, and even front lines. As nationalist fervor heightened, baseball became patriotic. Fans honored it with the title of national pastime. War metaphors were commonplace in sports reporting, and charity games were scheduled. Decades later, Union general Abner Doubleday would be credited (wrongly) with baseball's invention. The Civil War period also saw key developments in the sport itself, including the spread of the New York-style of play, the advent of revised pitching rules, and the growth of commercialism. Kirsch recounts vivid stories of great players and describes soldiers playing ball to relieve boredom. He introduces entrepreneurs who preached the gospel of baseball, boosted female attendance, and found new ways to make money. We witness bitterly contested championships that enthralled whole cities. We watch African Americans embracing baseball despite official exclusion. And we see legends spring from the pens of early sportswriters. Rich with anecdotes and surprising facts, this narrative of baseball's coming-of-age reveals the remarkable extent to which America's national pastime is bound up with the country's defining event.

Capturing the suspense and play-by-play action of nine major league plays and the personalities of the athletes that made them, a fan's treasury includes Willie May's 1954 World Series catch and Jim Abbott's no-hitter.

Give the gift of baseball this holiday season with this eBook bundle. The Yankees fan eBook set includes Babe Ruth's Called Shot, the Yankees Fan Little Book of Wisdom, and Red Sox vs. Yankees. Each book explores the history and sport of the team, its rivals, and its most famous athletes. This set is the perfect gift for any and all Yankees fans!

This high-interest Social Studies title is one of the 4 titles sold in a Book Pack as a part of the Tony Stead Independent Reading Sports Theme Set.