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.

P. David Sentance’s cricket career spans 40 years and five continents. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

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

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