The first in a series of baseball histories by the game??'s best historians

"Three years after the release of the first volume of the series, Deadball Stars of the National League, the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and Potomac Books are publishing its companion volume. Return to the period when "inside baseball" meant a game of bunting, stealing, and using a sodden, tobacco-stained ball few players could hit out of the oddly configured urban ballparks of another age. Where the initial volume introduced readers to one of the most colorful and important periods in baseball history, this volume explores the lives and performances of the stars, regulars, and major figures in the upstart junior circuit. Guided by expert contributors from SABR, fans will learn about the eight teams that banded together to challenge the National League and become the second major league. Readers will learn about the great team that Connie Mack built in Philadelphia and about the famed outfield duo of Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford in Detroit. They will also read the stories of the players who won the World Series in Chicago in 1917 before they became infamous as the Black Sox in the 1919 Series. Lavishly illustrated, Deadball Stars of the American League features more than 200 photographs and the autographs of all of the players profiled. It is a unique resource for a defining era of baseball history."--Publisher's website.

This work seeks to address an often ignored factor in the study of early 20th century baseball, namely, what was the ballpark like? The author uses original research to answer this question.

The Deadball Era (1901û1920) is a baseball fanÆs dream. Hope and despair, innocence and cynicism, and levity and hostility blended then to create an air of excitement, anticipation, and concern for all who entered the confines of a major league ballpark. Cheating for the sake of victory earned respect, corrupt ballplayers fixed games with impunity, and violence plagued the sport. Spectators stormed the field to attack players and umpires, ballplayers charged the stands to pummel hecklers, and physical battles between opposing clubs occurred regularly in a phenomenon known as ôrowdyism.ö At the same time, endearing practices infused baseball with lightheartedness, kindness, and laughter. Fans ran onto the field with baskets of flowers, loving cups, diamond jewelry, gold watches, and cash for their favorite players in the middle of games. Ballplayers volunteered for ôbenefit contestsö to aid fellow big leaguers and the country in times of need. ôJoke gamesö reduced sport to pure theater as outfielders intentionally dropped fly balls, infielders happily booted easy grounders, hurlers tossed soft pitches over the middle of the plate, and umpires ignored the rules. Winning meant nothing, amusement meant everything, and league officials looked the other way. Mark Halfon looks at life in the major leagues in the early 1900s, the careers of John McGraw, Ty Cobb, and Walter Johnson, and the events that brought about the end of the Deadball Era. He highlights the strategies, underhanded tactics, and bitter battles that defined this storied time in baseball history, while providing detailed insights into the players and teams involved in bringing to a conclusion this remarkable period in baseball history.

In 1916, over 500 men played in a major league game. Many of those players' names are inseparable from baseball--39 are members of the Hall of Fame--while others have only one line in the record books. Some enjoyed highly productive careers after leaving the game; others lacked the temperament, skills or opportunities to find success after baseball. This book is the first to focus on a representative group of major leaguers, the Class of 1916, in seeking answers to the questions Who was the average major leaguer in the late deadball era? What was his background? and What became of him when his playing days ended? Introductory chapters offer background information on the era and discuss the 1916 season; provide information on the players' ethnic and geographic origins, ages, and average physical sizes; chart player performance; and summarize post-playing careers and mortality statistics for the group. The main body of the work, a biographical dictionary, is arranged alphabetically, and each entry includes career and biographical information, statistics, post-baseball accomplishments and death. Many rare photographs accompany the text.

Bucky Veil was a professional baseballer who played the game in the early years of the twentieth century, a time when baseball was beginning to evolve into America's national pastime. As a twenty-two-year-old rookie with the 1903 Pittsburg Pirates, he pitched in the first World Series of modern major league baseball, thus witnessing firsthand an important milestone in the history of the sport. No less an authority than Hall of Famer Honus Wagner predicted that Bucky would be "a great star." Bucky is a story of baseball in the Deadball Era, told from the perspective of the author's grandfather, Fred "Bucky" Veil, and other professionals who played a game that was very different from that of the modern era. It was a game that emphasized strategy over power-Babe Ruth and the long ball were a decade or more in the future-and relied upon speed; smart, aggressive base-running; good bunting techniques; and timely hitting, all designed to advance runners into positions from which they could score. Baseball in the Deadball Era was played with a passion that is largely absent in the modern game. Bucky was blessed to have had the opportunity to play professional baseball in an era when it truly was a game. Fred W. Veil currently lives in Prescott, Arizona. A native Pennsylvanian and a Marine Corps veteran, he is a graduate of Washington & Jefferson College and the Duquesne University School of Law. Previously published works include articles in the Duquesne Law Review and the Journal of Arizona History. He and his wife, Sally, have two adult children and one grandchild.

A history of the early years of what is known today as the deadball era of major league baseball, covering the years 1901 to 1905. These are the days of Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Napoleon Lajoie, and a host of other lesser known players who made the deadball era the most colorful yet brutal period in baseball history. This is the first of four volumes.