Frommer's latest book takes us to the birthplace of America's most beloved sport. Starting from baseball's humble beginnings, Frommer vividly introduces the reader to the trailblazing personalities that shaped baseball's history. From the first games in Madison, New York to the rise of the National League, Frommer vividly recreates the energy of this early time. Frommer's expertise lends itself to tell the magical story of baseball's history and insight into an era that is not to be forgotten.

In this delightful history of the sport, Frommer captures the flavor, smell, and craziness of the early days of baseball. Starting with its invention in 1842 by the descendant of a British sea captain (and not Abner Doubleday), Frommer traces the development of the sport from the first games on a vacant lot at 27th and Madison in New York to the turn of the century, when the National League was emerging as the preeminent forum for truly professional baseball.

Presents some of baseball's greatest players.

Montages of all-stars Jackie Jensen, "Peewee" Reese, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Yogi Berra, other greats on boxes measuring 3 3/8" x 2 3/8" x 1 3/8". Perfect for small gifts and treasures.

Assesses the top fifteen baseball teams of the twentieth century, including such legendary squads as the 1927 Yankees and the 1970 Orioles, to determine which team was the greatest of the modern era.

This historical baseball sourcebook features exclusive summaries of every major league season, including standings, league leaders, in-depth team profiles, and highlights.

The untold story of baseball’s nineteenth-century origins: “a delightful look at a young nation creating a pastime that was love from the first crack of the bat” (Paul Dickson, The Wall Street Journal). You may have heard that Abner Doubleday or Alexander Cartwright invented baseball. Neither did. You may have been told that a club called the Knickerbockers played the first baseball game in 1846. They didn’t. Perhaps you’ve read that baseball’s color line was first crossed by Jackie Robinson in 1947. Nope. Baseball’s true founders don’t have plaques in Cooperstown. They were hundreds of uncredited, ordinary people who played without gloves, facemasks, or performance incentives. Unlike today’s pro athletes, they lived full lives outside of sports. They worked, built businesses, and fought against the South in the Civil War. In this myth-busting history, Thomas W. Gilbert reveals the true beginnings of baseball. Through newspaper accounts, diaries, and other accounts, he explains how it evolved through the mid-nineteenth century into a modern sport of championships, media coverage, and famous stars—all before the first professional league was formed in 1871. Winner of the Casey Award: Best Baseball Book of the Year