This work focuses on the Norfolk team (nicknamed the Mary Janes), which played in the Virginia, Eastern and Atlantic leagues. Much attention is given to the players, coaches and teams of the Virginia League and the local news coverage from 1884 through 1928 as well as the business of baseball, the relations between major and minor league teams, and the controversy over hosting professional baseball games on Sundays. Photographs of the players, cartoons, and an appendix of league statistics are included.

Peter C. Stewart is a semi-retired associate professor of history (emeritus) at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Peter C. Stewart
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 264
Bibliographic Info: 16 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4808-1
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5686-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vi

Preface      1

1. Early Sports in Hampton Roads      3

2. Professional Baseball Comes to the City by the Sea      7

3. The Virginia League, 1894–1896      20

4. Agony in the Atlantic League, 1897–1898      44

5. Hampton Roads at the Turn of the Century, 1900–1901      58

6. The Era of the Dead Ball, 1906–1910      72

7. “The Tide of Victory Ebbs and Flows,” 1911 –1914      100

8. Mary Jane at Low Tide, 1915–1918      123

9. Stormy Seas, 1919–1923      147

10. Final Voyages, 1924–1928      182

Epilogue      219

Appendix: Leagues and Standings      225

Chapter Notes      239

Bibliography      247

Index      249

“research is impressive”—Journal of Sport History; “Stewart documents the history of professional baseball in Hampton Roads, Virginia, between 1884 and 1928, when the Virginia League disbanded”—Reference & Research Book News.