Cricket in America, 1710–2000
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About the Book
Cricket was played in Virginia in 1710 and was enjoyed on Georgia plantations in 1737. Teams representing New York and Philadelphia faced each other as early as 1838. By 1865, Philadelphia was considered the best cricket-playing city in the United States, competing against Canadian, English and Australian teams from 1890 to 1920. This 30 year span was essential to the formation of America’s sports identity—and by its end, while the sport of baseball drew increasing attention, the game of cricket moved from being the game of America’s aristocrats to a safe haven for America’s nonwhite immigrants who were excluded from baseball because of Jim Crow laws.
Here, the game’s unique multi-ethnic, religious and cultural tradition in the United States is fully explored. The author explains cricket’s ties to the beginnings of baseball and covers the ways in which the game continues to play an important role in America’s inner cities.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
P. David Sentance
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 332
Bibliographic Info: 55 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2006
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2040-7
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Preface 1
1. Cricket’s Prologue in America 5
2. How Cricket in New York Helped Establish Baseball as America’s National Pastime 14
3. Philadelphia: The Cradle of Competitive Cricket in America, 1834–1890 39
4. Cricket in New York and New England from 1890 to 1920 61
5. International Cricket Comes of Age in Philadelphia, 1890–1926 82
6. A Century of Cricket in and Around Chicago, 1836–1936 112
7. Cricket and Baseball on the Western Frontier, 1852–1890 133
8. The California Cricket Rush, 1890–1914 150
9. Southern California’s Cricket Pioneers, 1888–1913 183
10. The Hollywood Cricket Club and the Rebirth of Southern California Cricket 203
11. Cricket for Americans 227
12. Trends in Contemporary United States Cricket 241
Appendix: Chronology of Cricket in the United States, 1710–2000 271
Chapter Notes 283
Bibliography 299
Index 307
