After coming close to winning the pennant on more than one occasion during the early 1920s, the Pittsburgh Pirates finally shed the stigma of being underachievers and claimed the National League flag in 1925, ending the New York Giants' four-year reign at the top of the league. Manager Bill McKechnie's brigade of young guns moved on to oppose the defending world champion Washington Senators in the World Series. After falling behind three games to one, Pittsburgh pulled off the greatest comeback in World Series history when they rallied to win in a thrilling seventh game. This detailed history recounts the entire 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates season, paying special attention to the team's construction and the World Series. Appendices provide complete statistics for the 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates, box scores for all seven games of that year's World Series, and World Series statistics for both teams.

When African American first baseman George "Boomer" Scott made his debut in the major leagues in 1966, he took the field for the Boston Red Sox--the last major league team to field a black ballplayer, only seven years before. An eight-time Gold Glove Award winner, a three-time All-Star, and an important member of the Red Sox 1967 Impossible Dream American League Champions, Scott stroked 271 "taters"--a term he coined for home runs that has been memorialized in baseball lexicon. Yet throughout his career, the outspoken player faced an ongoing struggle to gain racial acceptance. This detailed biography chronicles Scott's youth in violently racist Mississippi, his impressive 14-year professional career, and the challenges he faced off the field. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with the former slugger, this work celebrates one of Boston's legends and reveals the barriers that still existed for black ball players years after Jackie Robinson paved the way.

While most serious fans know that the Deadball Era was characterized by low scoring, aggressive baserunning, and strong pitching, few understand the extent to which ballparks determined the style of play. As it turns out, the general absence of standardization and the ever-changing dimensions, configurations, and ground rules had a profound effect on the game, as offensive production would rise and fall, sometimes dramatically, from year to year. Especially in the early years of the American League, home teams enjoyed an unprecedented advantage over visiting clubs. The 1901 Orioles are a case in point, as the club batted an astounding .325 at Oriole Park IV--some 60 points above their road average and 54 points better than visitors to the park. Organized by major league city, this comprehensive study of Deadball parks and park effects provides fact-filled, data-heavy commentary on all 34 ballparks used by the American and National Leagues from 1901 through 1919. Illustrations and historical photos are included, along with a foreword by Philip J. Lowry and a final chapter that offers an assessment of the overall impact of parks on the era.

The nicknames for over 3,600 players, umpires, managers, owners, broadcasters, writers, executives, other officials, and fans are included in this comprehensive reference work. Each entry provides the given name of the individual, nickname, position, years played (or associated with the game for nonplayers), and origin of the nickname. A separate section (compiled by Brenda S. Wilson) lists players and nicknames for the All American Girls Baseball League. An extensive name index completes the work.

The last independent major league ended its brief run in 1915, after only two seasons at the national pastime's top level. But no competitor to establishment baseball ever exerted so much influence on its rival, with some of the most recognizable elements of the game today--including the commissioner system, competition for free agents, baseball's antitrust exemption, and even the beloved Wrigley Field--traceable to the so-called outlaw organization known as the Federal League of Base Ball Clubs. This comprehensive history covers the league from its formation in 1913 through its buyout, dissolution, and legal battles with the National and American leagues. The day-to-day operation of the franchises, the pennant races and outstanding players, the two-year competitive battle for fans and players, and the short- and long-term impact on the game are covered in detail.

Major League Baseball today would be unrecognizable without the large number of Latin American players and managers filling its ranks. Their strong influence on the sport can trace its beginnings to professional leagues established south of the border over six decades ago. This narrative history of Latin American baseball leagues during the 1940s and 1950s provides an in-depth, year-by-year chronicle of seasonal leagues in the seven primary baseball-playing areas in the region: Mexico, the Caribbean, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Panama. The success of these leagues, and their often acrimonious competition with U. S. Organized Baseball, eventually ushered in a new era of contract concessions from owners and general labor advancements for players that forever changed the game.

When Babe Ruth left the New York Yankees in 1935, some feared that the loss would cripple the club for years. However, the post-Ruth era Yankees continued to dominate until the start of World War II. Their forward-thinking administrative staff signed and developed top-flight talent like Joe DiMaggio and retained superstars like Lou Gehrig, who remained the greatest first baseman in the game until he succumbed to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This history of Yankees from 1936 to World War II details the team's swift recovery from losing Ruth, reintroduces unheralded players, examines the personal styles of the key men, and chronicles the team's remarkable achievements, including winning six American League pennants in eight years and five World Series, a time triumph and tragedy, of characters colorful and sorrowful.

Roger Conner, the Babe Ruth of the 1880s and inventor of the pop-up slide, ranks number one for 19th century players in home runs and was an expert bunter. Called "The Gentleman of the Diamond," and played well into his fifties. This biography covers Conner's entire baseball career as well as his early life.

In March 1999, the Baltimore Orioles played a team of Cuban all-stars, the first time a major league baseball team from the United States had played a Cuban team since 1959. Before communism, Cuba had a rich baseball history, fielding teams that often defeated U.S. major league opponents. This text presents basic statistical information and listings for every Cuban baseball team from 1878 until 1961, when the communist government of Fidel Castro shut down professional sports. The information for each season includes the final standings, team rosters, all-time records, individual statistics arranged by team, and background information. The appendix lists the Cuban players in the first three eras, all-time leaders for batting average, runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI, stolen bases, pitching, completed games, wins, losses, MVPs, Rookies of the Years, and much more. The book is profusely illustrated with photographs.

Among the great pitchers in baseball history, Charles ""Deacon"" Phillippe and Samuel ""The Schoolmaster"" Leever hardly stand out as household names. But during the first decade of the twentieth century, these two Pittsburgh Pirates were among the most celebrated pitchers in the major leagues. From 1900 through 1906, these models of consistency posted a combined record of 261 victories against 131 losses for a win-loss percentage of .666. During the years Deacon and the Schoolmaster toiled on the mound, the Pirates never finished out of the first division, won four National League pennants, and came in second four times. With little flamboyance or controversy to color their legacy, their fame faded quickly after their workman-like playing days. This narrative chronicles the thriving careers of these unassuming aces and returns them to their rightful place among the most important players in the history of the Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Club.

While Jackie Robinson and the Negro Leagues have been well documented, few baseball fans know about the Japanese American Nisei Leagues, or of their most influential figure, Kenichi Zenimura (1900-1968). A phenomenal player who excelled at all nine positions, Zenimura possessed a gift for using the game to transcend the ignorance and intolerance of his era. As a player, captain, and manager, he worked tirelessly to promote Japanese American baseball, leading goodwill trips to Asia, helping to negotiate tours of Japan by Negro League all-stars and Babe Ruth, and establishing a 32-team league behind the barbed wire of Arizona's Gila River Internment Camp during World War II. This first biography of the "Father of Japanese-American Baseball" delivers a thorough and fascinating account of Zenimura's life.

In 1995, William B. Gould, IV, then chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, cast the deciding vote to obtain the injunction that ended the longest strike in baseball history. Sixteen years of peaceful relations between baseball labor and management have followed, as well as unprecedented prosperity in a relationship that previously endured 30 years of strikes and lockouts. This study, which clearly illustrates the practical impact of law on America's pastime, considers the full, 140-year sweep of labor-management relationships and conflict, exploring player-owner disputes, the development of free agency, the collective bargaining process, and the racial integration of baseball, among other topics. It concludes with a discussion of the "steroids era," the problem with maintaining Jackie Robinson's legacy in the 21st century, and globalization.

Every spring, thousands of ball players across the country step back to the nineteenth century to play vintage base ball (two words in those days) using the equipment, uniforms, rules, and customs of the game's early years. A unique combination of athletic contest, living history, and outdoor theatre, vintage base ball transports players and spectators alike to that fascinating and innocent time when athletes gathered on the diamond for recreation, exercise, and pure enjoyment of the game. This helpful how-to provides all the information needed to play this entertaining, educational, and fast-growing game and to present it to the public, covering everything from historically accurate equipment and etiquette to the rules of play and game-day preparations.

In 1924, at the age of 27, manager and second baseman Stanley ""Bucky"" Harris--aka ""The Boy Wonder""--led the Washington Senators to their only World Series championship. His incredible debut season at the helm of the Senators marked the beginning of remarkable 29-year managerial career that earned him a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame. This detailed biography chronicles Harris's road to the top of his sport, including his youth in the coal mining region of eastern Pennsylvania, his brief stint in professional basketball, his early days as a baseball player, his 1947 world championship as manager of the Yankees, and his role in the racial integration of both the Senators and the Boston Red Sox. By highlighting Harris' easy-going nature and intelligence, this profile makes it perfectly clear why one player being traded to Harris' Senators declared, ""Ask any ballplayer who he'd like to play for and he'd say Bucky Harris.

Earl Weaver put his best defensive players on the field early in the game instead of just making late-inning defensive replacements. Whitey Herzog became one of baseball's great managers by his use of players who could bunt and by playing for one run over and over again. Both of these men are known for their styles and tactics and full coverage of them, along with many other managers, can be found in this biographical dictionary. The entries are based on interviews, data and anecdotes from owners, coaches, and players on the more than 600 men who have managed major league teams over the past 125 years. The entries include birth and death dates, the teams and dates they managed, win-loss records, winning percentages, and standings. Listings are included of managers of 1,000 games or more, managers with one-game careers, managers with the best winning percentages, and managers with the most wins. A complete listing of managers in the history of each team is provided in this title.

The college baseball season doesn't end when the school year is finished. Many of the top NCAA Division I, II, and III baseball players continue to play in one of the game's most unique environments, the summer wood bat leagues. They swap aluminum bats for wood and play from June through August in more than forty states. The poetry of America's pastime persists as soon-to-be stars such as Gordon Beckham, Buster Posey, and Aaron Judge crash in spare bedrooms and play for free on city and college ball fields. Summer Baseball Nation chronicles a season in America's summer collegiate baseball leagues. From the Cape to Alaska and a lot of places in between, Will Geoghegan tells the stories of a summer: eighteen of the best college players in the country playing Wiffle ball on Cape Cod, the Midnight Sun Game in Alaska, a California legend picking up another win, home runs flying into Lake Michigan, and the namesake of an old Minor League club packing the same charming ballpark. At every stop, players chase dreams while players and fans alike savor the moment.

After the old National Association of Professional Ball Players collapsed in 1875, Brooklyn went eight years without a baseball team of its own. Then, in 1883, urbane real estate investor Charles Byrne and hustling news editor George J. Taylor joined forces to create the club that would become the Brooklyn Dodgers. Nicknamed the ""Bridegrooms"" by sportswriters after several players got married, they won their first major league pennants in 1889 and 1890 under pioneering manager Bill ""Gunner"" McGunnigle. This first history of the birth of the Dodgers franchise chronicles the owners' efforts to build the team, woo fans, and oversee the antics of the colorful cast of athletes--with nicknames like ""Adonis,"" ""Needles,"" and ""Oyster""--who filled the Bridegrooms' roster. More than the story of one team, this welcome work is an homage to the long-forgotten men who shaped the early game of baseball into America's national pastime.

In 1947, the University of California and Yale University baseball teams took the field in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to play the first-ever NCAA Division I College World Series. It was a two-day, three-game Series with an attendance of less than 4,000. Today, it is a weeklong Series held in Omaha, Nebraska, with eight teams, tens of thousands of fans and millions more watching on television. This book covers each College World Series from the first game in 1947 through the 2003 Series, between Rice and Stanford universities. The authors devote a chapter to each decade, and then cover each game of each Series. They also provide information on standout players' careers (in baseball and other professions) after playing in the College World Series. NCAA Division II and III teams are also covered, and the appendix features short profiles of great college coaches.

In 1886, a semipro team known as the Union Baseball Club was founded in Chicago. Under the leadership of Frank Leland, this team of black players worked its way to the top of Chicago's otherwise all-white semipro city league. In 1902, Leland recruited a talented young pitcher from Texas, Rube Foster, who soon established himself as one of the game's outstanding players, seized the leadership of the Union Baseball Club and founded the Chicago American Giants. This team would dominate the early years of the Negro National League, also founded by Foster. Covering the years 1870-1953, this is a history of a legendary Negro League team. Sources include contemporary newspaper articles and interviews with veteran players. Many photographs, a comprehensive biographical dictionary and a detailed game log are included.

Since 1876, approximately 16,000 young men have enjoyed at least a taste of glory by appearing in big league games, many of them only a few times. By the end of the 2009 season, out of the millions who have aspired, fewer than three thousand individuals will have had the good fortune to be a major league regular for five or more seasons. Most of these reached the big leagues in their late teens or early twenties, peaked in their late twenties, and played into their mid or late thirties. The median age at which they hung up their spikes was 35. However, there have been 197 young men who played in their last big league contest at the age of 30 or younger. With a focus on the stories of 15 greats and near-greats, this book provides information on the 197 men who played their final major league game before their 31st birthday. Why did their careers end so soon? The reasons are varied and include drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, illness, injury, banishment, and declining ability among others.

The history of Major League doubleheaders is presented in this volume, beginning with their inception as a way to make up missed games, to their current decline as a result of changes in society. The role of the doubleheader as a celebration of holidays and as a Sunday event is explained, as well as its crucial role in enabling Major League Baseball to survive as an economic entity during the Great Depression and World War II.

The 1909 World Series featured Hall of Fame players Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner and was the first championship to extend to Game Seven, the final and deciding game. This work examines the entire regular season of both the Tigers and the Pirates but pays special attention to the seven games of that World Series. Each player is given his due, with a complete biographical sketch. Includes 60 photographs, complete club statistics, box scores for each game, and tables on the acquisition of each player as well as information on how they departed.