The Rise of Milwaukee Baseball

When baseball teams began competing in Milwaukee in the 1860s the game, though still recognizably baseball, had some peculiar rules. There were no gloves, no protective gear for the catchers, the pitchers threw underhanded, and the game was over when one team scored 21 runs. Spanning the years 1859 to 1901, this volume presents a detailed study of the history of baseball in Milwaukee. In addition to coverage of the major league teams that played in the city, there is also an extensive history of the many minor league and amateur league teams. Also included are photographs and illustrations of owners, players and teams as well as statistics on Milwaukee players and teams of the era.

Dennis Pajot is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research and is active on the group’s Nineteenth Century and Deadball Era committees. He is a frequent contributor to The Inside Game, the Deadball Era’s newsletter. He was awarded the Sporting News–SABR Baseball Research Award in 2010 for The Rise of Milwaukee Baseball and lives in Milwaukee.

Dennis Pajot
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 362
Bibliographic Info: 44 photos, appendices, index
Copyright Date: 2009
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3951-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      v
Preface      1

1. Organization and War (1859–1864)      3
2. The Cream City Club (1865–1868)      8
3. Many Changes (1869–1874)      23
4. The West Enders (1875–1877)      34
5. Milwaukee: A National League City (1878)      53
6. Amateur Era (1879–1883)      72
7. A Tale of Two Dead Leagues (1884)      92
8. Setting the Foundation (1885–1887)      111
9. Western Association (1888–1890)      140
10. A Baseball War and Merger (1891)      175
11. Allotment and Bicycles Deaden Interest (1892–1893)      192
12. Picking Up the Pieces (1894–1896)      205
13. The Mack Years (1897–1900)      244
14. The Final Step (1901)      288

Appendices:
I: Results of Cream City Match Games with Top Clubs      309
II: Results of West End Games with Top Clubs, 1876–1877      310
III: Batting and Pitching Statistics      312
IV: Players on Milwaukee’s Minor League Teams, 1884 –1900      314
V: Amateur Clubs Organized in Milwaukee, 1860 –1899      317
Chapter Notes      333
Bibliography      341
Index      343

Winner, Sporting News–SABR Baseball Research Award
“covers the evolution of the game through both amateur and professional baseball in the city”—SABR Bulletin; “a detailed account”—Sports Collectors Digest.