This is the first full-length biography of Kid Nichols (1869–1953), who won 30 or more games a record seven times and was the youngest pitcher to reach 300 career victories. Much new light is shed on Nichols’ early life in Madison, Wisconsin, along with important influences and experiences as a teenager living in Kansas City.
Nichols’ professional career is documented by drawing heavily from publications of the era and his own words. The high regard in which he was held by fans, teammates and even opponents is contrasted with his contentious relationship with team owners. Nichols’ period of restlessness, ambition and risk-taking following his long stint with Boston’s National League team is detailed, as is the campaign to get him into the Hall of Fame. The book includes previously unpublished photos from his descendants’ archives, many more than a century old.

Richard Bogovich, a contributor to the Society for American Baseball Research’s Inventing Baseball: The 100 Greatest Games of the Nineteenth Century (2012), works for the Wendland Utz law firm in Rochester, Minnesota.

Richard Bogovich
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 270
Bibliographic Info: 34 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6522-4
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9280-0
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

1. B.C.: Before Charles      5

2. Kid Nichols as a Kid      12

3. KC and Pre–MLB      18

4. Boston Was Boastin’      38

5. Regrouping and Rebuilding      70

6. Twirling Twilight?      107

7. Curveballs and Comebacks      140

8. Choices and Changeups      175

9. Calm in Kansas City      196

10. The Kid and Cooperstown      201

11. Commemorating the Kid      228

Chapter Notes      233

Bibliography      248

Index      251