Synopses & Reviews
Long before there was
Moneyball, a group of investors led by baseball legend Branch Rickey proposed a new economic model for baseball. Based on an innovative approach to evaluating and developing talent, the Continental League was the last serious attempt to form a third Major League. The leagueand#8217;s brief history affords a glimpse of any number of missed chances for Americaand#8217;s game.
and#160;As one of the original Continental Leaguers, historian Russell D. Buhite isand#8212;literallyand#8212;talking and#8220;inside baseballand#8221; when he describes what happened in 1959 and 1960. Part memoir, part history, his account of the origin, development, and eventual undoing of the Continental League explores the organizationand#8217;s collective corporate structure as well as its significant role in building a thriving Minor League and forcing expansion on Major League Baseball. Buhite captures a lost era in baseball history and examines its lasting impact on the game.
and#160;
Review
and#8220;Russell Buhite makes a significant contribution to the rapidly growing scholarly work on baseballand#8217;s past.and#8221;and#8212;Charles C. Alexander, author of Breaking the Slump: Baseball in the Depression Era
Review
and#8220;Russell Buhite, a former Minor League baseball player and an accomplished historian, is well equipped to provide this entertaining, informative, insightful, and personal account of Branch Rickeyand#8217;s abortive Continental League.and#8221;and#8212;James Giglio, Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at Missouri State University and author of Musial: From Stash to Stan the Man
Review
"Of interest to any baseball fan who wants to know about the business side of the game's history."and#8212;Library Journal
About the Author
Russell D. Buhite is professor emeritus of history at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. He is the author of several books, including Douglas MacArthur: Statecraft and Stagecraft in Americaand#8217;s East Asian Policy.