In 1916, over 500 men played in a major league game. Many of those players’ names are inseparable from baseball—39 are members of the Hall of Fame—while others have only one line in the record books. Some enjoyed highly productive careers after leaving the game; others lacked the temperament, skills or opportunities to find success after baseball. This book is the first to focus on a representative group of major leaguers, the Class of 1916, in seeking answers to the questions Who was the average major leaguer in the late deadball era? What was his background? and What became of him when his playing days ended?
Introductory chapters offer background information on the era and discuss the 1916 season; provide information on the players’ ethnic and geographic origins, ages, and average physical sizes; chart player performance; and summarize post-playing careers and mortality statistics for the group. The main body of the work, a biographical dictionary, is arranged alphabetically, and each entry includes career and biographical information, statistics, post-baseball accomplishments and death. Many rare photographs accompany the text.

Paul Batesel is emeritus Professor of English at Mayville State University in Mayville, North Dakota. He does national and international presentations on teaching innovations in higher education.

Paul Batesel
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 215
Bibliographic Info: 164 photos, appendices, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2007
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2782-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0665-1
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      v
Preface      1
Introduction      3

The Players      5

Appendix A. The 1916 Season      167
Appendix B. What Manner of Men Were These?      170
Appendix C. Career Baseball Statistics      175
Appendix D. Occupational and Mortality Data      188
Selected Bibliography      191
Index      193

“truly exceptional…run out to your book store and get…fascinating…wonderful photographs…a good read”—One More Inning.