Joy in Mudville

This collection of essays by experts on baseball history focuses on the national pastime as a marker of our times and our cultural ideals. Topics include the rise of baseball in the nineteenth century, the influence of iconic players from Honus Wagner to Jackie Robinson, the fates of great teams well known (the Yankees and Orioles) and undeservedly obscure (the Elite Giants), and the advances of Latinos and blacks on the field and in the broader culture.

John B. Wiseman is professor emeritus of history at Frostburg State University. He taught American history for forty years and has written several books and numerous articles on film history. He is working on bringing a minor league baseball team back to Cumberland, Maryland, where he lives.

Edited by John B. Wiseman
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 252
Bibliographic Info: 36 photos, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4228-7
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5716-8
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Foreword by Benjamin G. Rader      1

Introduction      3

PART I: BASEBALL’S RISE AND A CAST OF CHARACTERS      11

1. Becoming the National Pastime: The Crucible of Change

(PETER MORRIS)      15

2. The Science and Business of Baseball: The First Baltimore Orioles

(BURT SOLOMON)      25

3. The Birth of Modern Baseball

(FRANK DEFORD)      34

4. Tinker to Evers to Chance: Poetry in Motion

(PAUL D. STAUDOHAR)      44

5. The Adventures of Spoke and Smoky Joe

(TIMOTHY M. GAY)      58

6. Honus Wagner and Jimmie Foxx: Baseball and the Lives After

(A. FRANKLIN PARKS)      68

7. The Tenth Man: Baseball and Radio Broadcasting

(TED PATTERSON)      78

PART II: BEYOND THE MAJORS      95

8. West Virginia Coalfield Baseball, 1921–1941

(WILLIAM E. AIKIN)      97

9. Boom and Bust: The Elite Giants and Black Baseball in Baltimore, 1936–1951

(ROBERT V. LEFFLER, JR.)      107

PART III: TRANSCENDING RACE      121

10. Jackie Robinson in Baltimore: History and Memory

(THOMAS CRIPPS)      123

11. Jackie Robinson Interview

(TED PATTERSON)

and Speech

(JACKIE ROBINSON)      136

12. An Interview with Carl Erskine

(TED PATTERSON)      144

13. Minnie Minoso and His Footsteps

(TIM WENDEL)      150

PART IV: THOSE DAMN YANKEES AND THE REBELLIOUS CURT FLOOD      157

14. The New York Yankees, 1949–1964: The Price of Dynasty

(HENRY D. FETTER)      159

15. Revisiting Curt Flood

(JULES TYGIEL)      176

PART V: THE GLORY YEARS IN BALTIMORE AND THE GAME’S DECLINE      197

16. The Baltimore Orioles: How They Built a Winner (and Tore It Down)

(JOHN EISENBERG)      199

17. Fall from the Pedestal

(JOHN B. WISEMAN)      211

Chapter Notes      223

About the Contributors      233

Index      237

“a valuable collection that deserves to be on every fan’s bookshelf”—Nine.