One of early baseball’s most popular celebrities, Arlie Latham played for the St. Louis Browns in the 1880s. A brainy hitter and base-runner, he was also the sport’s brashest, funniest player, his “fresh” personality bringing him as much trouble as reward. He played with the 19th century’s greatest names, and was friends with everyone from King Kelly to King George V. He parlayed his stardom into a vaudeville career and the first official major league coaching job. In his fifties he carried the game he loved into world war to cheer Allied troops and in his seventies went to work for the Yankees. Arlie Latham’s baseball odyssey is made more compelling by the parade of players, gamblers, boxers, actors, women and mascots that passes through it, providing a unique glimpse into America’s game and the people who loved it.

L.M. Sutter is an artist, writer and baseball fan. She is a member of SABR and lives in southwest Virginia.

L.M. Sutter
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 280
Bibliographic Info: 10 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6138-7
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9168-1
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Preface and Acknowledgments 1

Introduction 5

 1. Becoming Arlie (1860–1882) 11

 2. “The Dude” (1883–1884) 24

 3. “A fund of buffoonery” (1885–1886) 39

 4. “Inimitable gall, brazen cheek and ready wit” (1887) 60

 5. “Half the strength of the Browns” (1888) 73

 6. “I’m an actor, you bet” (1888) 83

 7. “A screw loose somewhere” (1889) 92

 8. “We are the people” (1890) 109

 9. “Cordially detested and generally disreputable” (1891) 133

10. “Full of ginger and tacks” (1892–1894) 143

11. “The raggedest kind of ball” (1895–1896) 164

12. “Have that ­has-­been sit down” (1896–1908) 173

13. “A good jabberwocky” (1909–1912) 185

14. “The great American ambition” (1917–1931) 213

15. “The zeal of a rookie” (1931–1952) 231

Epilogue 242

Appendix 1: Latham’s Career in Numbers 245

Appendix 2: Latham’s Place in the Records 247

Chapter Notes 249

Bibliography 263

Index 267

“this biography is a refreshing look at the personality, escapades, and foibles of a man who happened to play baseball for a living…a well researched biography….valuable…Sutter’s work demonstrates that biographies of baseball’s lesser-known but eminently intriguing characters can add much to our understanding of how the sport has affected American culture”—Nine; “offers a colorful look at one of the early game’s brightest stars…With this biography, L.M. Sutter has made an important contribution to the literature of 19th century baseball”—SABR Deadball Committee Newsletter.