Synopses & Reviews
“To quote from no less an expert than John Thorn, Block has created a knowledge base for the origins of baseball on which all future research will rely. That’s a big claim, but if you read Baseball Before We Knew It, you’ll know it’s correct.”— John Shiffert, www.baseball19to21.com“Baseball before We Knew It is a magnificent piece of work that puts an end to the myths and errors that have clouded our understanding of where and how our national game began and developed. This definitely settled, we are now also clear about the source and cause of the previous notions—altogether a masterpiece of research agreeably presented.”—Jacques Barzun, author of From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life—1500 to the Present
“Baseball before We Knew It is an important book, erudite, entertaining and truly groundbreaking. David Block goes beyond debunking the game’s creation myths to creating a knowledge base upon which all future research will rely. This brilliant book takes a place on my shelf alongside Seymour, Voigt, and Henderson.”—John Thorn, editor of Total Baseball
“A well-researched, fascinating book that examines the history of our national pastime from its earliest origins through its evolution into the modern game.”--Tom Tarapacki, Polish American Journal
“An amusing and comprehensive look at the surprisingly long and complex lineage of our national pastime. The book is dizzyingly detailed in spots, with exhaustive descriptions of dozens of old English ballgames, but as the author plumbs the murky depths of the game’s origins, he turns up bizarre footnotes and conspiracies and unravels the agendas of earlier baseball historians.”—American Heritage
“Not content with merely demolishing the credibility of Abner Doubleday and Cooperstown once again, Block discerns baseball’s true origins in a British children’s game of the early 18th century. Masterfully researched and extraordinarily well-documented, this book includes and invaluable 60-page, chronological bibliography of baseball mentions from 1450 to 1861.”—College & Research Libraries News
"A well researched, expertly written, inherently interesting, reader engaging, in-depth study of baseball and its historical roots. . . . No personal, academic or community library Sports History collection can be considered complete or comprehensive without the inclusion of David Block's Baseball Before We Knew It!" -- Midwest Book Review
It may be America’s game, but no one seems to know how or when baseball really started. Theories abound, myths proliferate, but reliable information has been in short supply—until now, when Baseball before We Knew It brings fresh new evidence of baseball’s origins into play. David Block looks into the early history of the game and of the 150-year-old debate about its beginnings. He tackles one stubborn misconception after another, debunking the enduring belief that baseball descended from the English game of rounders and revealing a surprising new explanation for the most notorious myth of all—the Abner Doubleday–Cooperstown story.
Block’s book takes readers on an exhilarating journey through the centuries in search of clues to the evolution of our modern National Pastime. Among his startling discoveries is a set of long-forgotten baseball rules from the 1700s. Block evaluates the originality and historical significance of the Knickerbocker rules of 1845, revisits European studies on the ancestry of baseball which indicate that the game dates back hundreds, if not thousands of years, and assembles a detailed history of games and pastimes from the Middle Ages onward that contributed to baseball’s development. In its thoroughness and reach, and its extensive descriptive bibliography of early baseball sources, this book is a unique and invaluable resource—a comprehensive, reliable, and readable account of baseball before it was America’s game.
David Block is a long-time collector of early baseball books and memorabilia, and is a passionate, lifelong fan of the game and its history.
Review
“Not content with merely demolishing the credibility of Abner Doubleday and Cooperstown once again, Block discerns baseballs true origins in a British childrens game of the early 18th century. Masterfully researched and extraordinarily well-documented, this book includes and invaluable 60-page, chronological bibliography of baseball mentions from 1450 to 1861.”College & Research Libraries News
Review
"This is without question the book for anyone at all interested in the history of the world's greatest game or, for that matter, in the manufacture of history."—Boston Globe Choice
Review
"Baseball before We Knew It is a rare piece of historical research that transforms the historical landscape. It is also elegantly written and lightened with a subtle humor. No one who makes any claim to being a baseball historian or a student of the game can go forward without Block's stunning work."—Sports Literature Association David Shiner - Elysian Fields Quarterly
Review
“Baseball before We Knew It is a magnificent piece of work that puts an end to the myths and errors that have clouded our understanding of where and how our national game began and developed. This definitely settled, we are now also clear about the source and cause of the previous notionsaltogether a masterpiece of research agreeably presented.”Jacques Barzun, author of From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life1500 to the Present
Review
“Baseball before We Knew It is an important book, erudite, entertaining and truly groundbreaking. David Block goes beyond debunking the games creation myths to creating a knowledge base upon which all future research will rely. This brilliant book takes a place on my shelf alongside Seymour, Voigt, and Henderson.”John Thorn, editor of Total Baseball
Review
"A well researched, expertly written, inherently interesting, reader engaging, in-depth study of baseball and its historical roots. . . . No personal, academic or community library Sports History collection can be considered complete or comprehensive without the inclusion of David Blocks Baseball Before We Knew It!"-Midwest Book Review(Midwest Book Review)
Review
"Baseball before We Knew It is a magnificent piece of work that puts an end to the myths and errors that have clouded our understanding of where and how our national game began and developed. This definitely settled, we are now also clear about the source and cause of the previous notions-altogether a masterpiece of research agreeably presented."-Jacques Barzun, author of From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life-1500 to the Present(Jacques Barzun)
Review
"Not content with merely demolishing the credibility of Abner Doubleday and Cooperstown once again, Block discerns baseball's true origins in a British children's game of the early 18th century. Masterfully researched and extraordinarily well-documented, this book includes and invaluable 60-page, chronological bibliography of baseball mentions from 1450 to 1861."-College & Research Libraries News(College & Research Libraries News)
Review
"Baseball, Block convincingly argues, was not a product of rounders, and its essential form had already been established by the late 18th century. Where, then, did baseball come from? In search of an answer, Block, a retired systems analyst and an antiquarian book collector, has attacked baseball's literary record with methodical zeal. The result is a joyfully discursive romp through the history of ball sports and a compelling new theory of the game's origins."—New York Times Book Review Morty Ain - ESPN: The Magazine
Review
"Given North American baseball fans' nearly inexhaustible appetite for the arcana of their favourite sport, astonishingly few scholars have ever undertaken the detailed historical and anthropological research to find out where the game actually began. . . . Now, through painstaking bibliographic and archival research, on display in his extensive appendices, Block has established . . . the true forerunner of American baseball. . . . By pushing beyond baseball's reputed origins in an English children's game, David Block has discovered the game's true origins in an even older English game."—Warren Goldstein, Times Literary Supplement Warren Goldstein
Review
"The suggestion that America's Game might have originated somewhere besides America so 'inflamed passions and patriotism,' writes David Block, that the idea still burns us. . . . Block has produced a deliciously researched feast that lays this controversy to rest. . . . Block has assembled such a rich pile of evidence for the game's European origins that one might wonder why there ever was a controversy. . . . Once an American reader gets past the disappointment of discovering baseball's deep European roots, Block's book is a perfect delight. He has unearthed magnificent medieval manuscripts . . . That show that baseball is just the latest in a very long line of stick-and-ball games."—Charles Hirshberg, Sports Illustrated Times Literary Supplement
Review
"As if this country doesn't have enough to worry about, it turns out America's national pastime may not even be American. At least according to Baseball before We Knew It, a new book by David Block. Block contends the origins of the game date to the mid-14th century and can be traced to northern Europe and parts of Africa. Hold on there, pal. What about good old Abner Doubleday? 'There's no evidence he even played baseball,' Block says. 'It's simply a case of people passing down stories that have never been substantiated.' Now, there's something we seem to be very good at." —Morty Ain, ESPN: The Magazine Charles Hirshberg - Sports Illustrated
Review
“Block is so thorough in his research, so meticulous in documenting his sources, and so generous in acknowledging his predecessors that its hard to imagine anyone having done more impressive work on this subject--ever.”—David Shiner, Elysian Fields Quarterly New York Times Book Review
Review
"Block's book obviates the need for any other analysis of baseball's origins and roots. Including the illustrations that go back to the 14th-century manuscripts in the Bodleian Library emphasizing pre-Civil War sources, this one volume contains everythingregarding the history of the origin of the American national pastime. Myths are debunked, fables are demystified, and in the end one is left with a comprehensive and convincing historical record."—Choice Sports Literature Association
Review
"Aand#160;boon to scholars of both the early development of baseball and race relations after the Civil War."and#8212;Library Journal
Review
and#8220;Deeply researched and well written, Ryan A. Swansonand#8217;s When Baseball Went White carefully examines and#8216;the mechanics of segregationand#8217; that racially cleansed organized baseball during Reconstruction and in the process helped the game become our and#8216;national pastime,and#8217; at the expense of civil rights and racial justice.and#160; Swanson reveals, in fine detail, how a sport that would become a truly meaningful cultural practice and institution nevertheless became something less than it might have been.and#8221;and#8212;Daniel A. Nathan, president of the North American Society for Sport History and author of Saying Itand#8217;s So: A Cultural History of the Black Sox Scandal
Review
and#8220;Ryan Swanson's carefully researched and wonderfully nuanced study of baseballand#8217;s declining race relations during Reconstruction sheds considerable light on this oft-neglected topic. A must-read.and#8221;and#8212;Peter Morris, author of A Game of Inches and Level Playing Fields
Synopsis
It may be Americas game, but no one seems to know how or when baseball really started. Theories abound, myths proliferate, but reliable information has been in short supply—until now, when Baseball before We Knew It brings fresh new evidence of baseballs origins into play. David Block looks into the early history of the game and of the 150-year-old debate about its beginnings. He tackles one stubborn misconception after another, debunking the enduring belief that baseball descended from the English game of rounders and revealing a surprising new explanation for the most notorious myth of all—the Abner Doubleday-Cooperstown story. Blocks book takes readers on an exhilarating journey through the centuries in search of clues to the evolution of our modern National Pastime. Among his startling discoveries is a set of long-forgotten baseball rules from the 1700s. Block evaluates the originality and historical significance of the Knickerbocker rules of 1845, revisits European studies on the ancestry of baseball which indicate that the game dates back hundreds, if not thousands of years, and assembles a detailed history of games and pastimes from the Middle Ages onward that contributed to baseballs development. In its thoroughness and reach, and its extensive descriptive bibliography of early baseball sources, this book is a unique and invaluable resource—a comprehensive, reliable, and readable account of baseball before it was Americas game.
Synopsis
It may be America’s game, but no one seems to know how or when baseball really started. Theories abound, myths proliferate, but reliable information has been in short supply—until now, when Baseball before We Knew It brings fresh new evidence of baseball’s origins into play. David Block looks into the early history of the game and of the 150-year-old debate about its beginnings. He tackles one stubborn misconception after another, debunking the enduring belief that baseball descended from the English game of rounders and revealing a surprising new explanation for the most notorious myth of all—the Abner Doubleday–Cooperstown story. Block’s book takes readers on an exhilarating journey through the centuries in search of clues to the evolution of our modern National Pastime. Among his startling discoveries is a set of long-forgotten baseball rules from the 1700s. Block evaluates the originality and historical significance of the Knickerbocker rules of 1845, revisits European studies on the ancestry of baseball which indicate that the game dates back hundreds, if not thousands of years, and assembles a detailed history of games and pastimes from the Middle Ages onward that contributed to baseball’s development. In its thoroughness and reach, and its extensive descriptive bibliography of early baseball sources, this book is a unique and invaluable resource—a comprehensive, reliable, and readable account of baseball before it was America’s game.
Synopsis
The story of Jackie Robinson valiantly breaking baseballand#8217;s color barrier in 1947 is one that most Americans know. But less recognized is the fact that some seventy years earlier, following the Civil War, baseball was tenuously biracial and had the potential for a truly open game. How, then, did the game become so firmly segregated that it required a trailblazer like Robinson? The answer, Ryan A. Swanson suggests, has everything to do with the politics of and#8220;reconciliationand#8221; and a wish to avoid the issues of race that an integrated game necessarily raised.
and#160;The history of baseball during Reconstruction, asand#160;Swansonand#160;tells it, is a story of lost opportunities. Thomas Fitzgerald and Octavius Catto (a Philadelphia baseball tandem), for example, were poised to emerge as pioneers of integration in the 1860s. Instead, the desire to create a and#8220;national gameand#8221;and#8212;professional and appealing to white Northerners and Southerners alikeand#8212;trumped any movement toward civil rights. Focusing on Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Richmondand#8212;three cities with large African American populations and thriving baseball clubsand#8212;Swanson uncovers the origins of baseballand#8217;s segregation and the mechanics of its implementation. An important piece of sports history, his work also offers a better understanding of Reconstruction, race, and segregation in America.and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;
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About the Author
Ryan A. Swanson is an assistant professor and the director of the Lobo Scholars Program in the Honors College at the University of New Mexico.