History of sport

During the 19th century, baseball was a game with few rules, many rowdy players and just one umpire.

Covering the post-Civil War period through the 1950s, this richly illustrated--300 photographs!

More than a century ago, the Philadelphia Athletics enjoyed a glorious five-season run under legendary manager Connie Mack, winning three World Series and four pennants from 1910 through 1914.

Tom Gamboa played baseball professionally, coached, scouted, managed in the minors and in Puerto Rico and coached in the majors with the Cubs and Royals.

From Nick Altrock to Casey Stengel, Dizzy Dean to Satchel Paige, Bill Veeck to Bob Uecker, baseball has always admired the clever.

Bill Terry had some big shoes to fill in midseason 1932, when he took over managing the second division New York Giants for the iconic John McGraw.

The Cubs were at the end of the best five-season run of any team in history.

The history of baseball is filled with players whose careers were defined by one bad play.

For nearly 40 years, Ed Bolden dominated black baseball in Philadelphia.

The hit 1992 film A League of Their Own ?

"e;Orioles Magic"e; is a phrase fans still associate with the 1979-1983 seasons, Baltimore's last championship era, when they played excellent, exciting ball with a penchant for late-inning heroics.

Hal Trosky played first base (and was team captain) for the Cleveland Indians during the Great Depression.

Ford Frick is best known as the baseball commissioner who put the "e;asterisk"e; next to Roger Maris's record.

From his first year in the majors, George Herman "e;Babe"e; Ruth knew he could profit from celebrity.

Baseball pioneer J.

The Tobacco State League played an important role in eastern North Carolina for five summers (1946-1950), giving small-town communities a chance to be a part of professional baseball and offering a return to normalcy after World War II.

At six feet, four inches and more than 220 pounds, Roger Clemens (1962- ) was a major figure in baseball for nearly a quarter century.

Perhaps familiar today as an answer to sports trivia questions, Ken Williams (1890-1959) was once a celebrity who helped bring about a new kind of power baseball in the 1920s.

For nearly two decades Alan Trammell displayed an all-around game as a fielder, hitter, and base runner that was rare for shortstops of his era.

It was a novel experiment as baseball's leading men formed the National Association, bringing order to the hodgepodge of professional and amateur clubs that made up the sport from the end of the Civil War through 1870.

Despite his outstanding pitching record, James Francis "e;Pud"e; Galvin (1856-1902) was largely forgotten after his premature death.

The Detroit Tigers were founding members of the American League and have been the Motor City's team for more than a century.

The New York Yankees were the strongest team in the majors from 1948 through 1960, capturing the American League Pennant 10 times and winning seven World Championships.

Cincinnati Reds leadoff hitter Johnny Temple batted over .

Offering the best in original research and analysis, Base Ball is an annually published book series that promotes the study of baseball's early history, from its protoball roots to 1920, and its rise to prominence within American popular culture.

Schooled on the sandlots of Milwaukee, Chicago Black Sox center fielder Oscar "e;Happy"e; Felsch (1891-1964) was a rising star who then blew a promising career for a few bucks by participating in the throwing of the 1919 World Series.

Who was the best baseball team of all time?

The Detroit Tigers gave a memorable performance in the pennant race against the New York Yankees in 1961, the American League's first expansion season.

The struggle to integrate the Baltimore Orioles mirrored the fight for civil rights in Baltimore.

In the world of sports, Iowa is probably best known for wrestling but the state has also produced more than 200 major league baseball players.

Ralph Kiner (1922-2014) was one of the most feared power hitters of his era.

Indiana boasts a rich baseball tradition, with 10 native sons enshrined in Cooperstown.

With virtually the same personnel that had won both the National League pennant and the World Series the previous season, the 1926 Pittsburgh Pirates were favored by the majority of preseason prognosticators to capture the pennant for the second year in a row.

One of the greatest pitchers of the 19th century, Tim Keefe (1857-1933) was an ardent believer in the artisan work ethic that was becoming outmoded in burgeoning industrial America.

After the Civil War, the Yankee textile industry began a steady transfer south, bringing with it the tradition of a mill village, usually owned by the mill's owner, where the workers and their families lived.

More than 300 ballplayers have spent time with both the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, opposing teams in one of the most intense rivalries ever in sports.

In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first all-professional baseball club.

Considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Ty Cobb cast a shadow over the game with his violent behavior on the field and off.

Baseball fans may know the story of the Brooklyn Dodgers, but they don't know the whole story.

The Troy Haymakers were a pioneer baseball team legendary for exploits on and off the field.

The story of the "e;Miracle"e; Braves is one of the most memorable in baseball history, but less well known is what the club did after that spectacular season.

For three decades, Louis Norman "e;Bobo"e; Newsom (1907-1962) was one of the most well-known pitchers in baseball.

Forgotten today, Sam Thompson (1860-1922) was one of the most dominant five skills players of his era.

The 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates were a special team--team being the operative word.

The small and midsized cities of western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia reached their peaks of population and prosperity in the second quarter of the 20th century.

Arguably the greatest ball club in National League history, the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers recorded some staggering statistics.

This is the story of the L.

Honus Wagner's spectacular baseball career spanned 21 seasons from 1897 through 1917.

This is the previously untold story of the London Tecumsehs, an 1870s baseball team that rose to the top ranks of pro ball.

In 1947, as the integration of Major League Baseball began, the once-daring American League had grown reactionary, unwilling to confront postwar challenges--population shifts, labor issues and, above all, racial integration.