Though Willie Mays' World Series basket catch and Duke Snider's 1954 wall-climbing grab immediately come to mind, there are many catches that have been called 'the greatest'. This work documents baseball's best catches by outfielders from 1897 (the year of earliest catch described in a 1950 Baseball Digest attempt to describe baseball's greatest) to 1964 (the year of Duke Snider's retirement, the demolition of the Polo Grounds, and, arguably, Willy Mays' last great grab). After introductory chapters on factors that influenced the catches and their legacies - from ballpark quirks, changes to the baseball, and gloves, to sportswriters and photography - the book describes famous catches by decade. Extensive research yields a wealth of information for each catch, including commentary by period sportswriters, players, and, often, the man who snagged the ball.