| Description |
1 online resource (xiv, 247 pages) : illustrations, map |
| Contents |
Prologue : a dying ember -- First inning : baseball fever and pioneers -- Second inning : organizing clubs, funding, travel, and the game's rituals -- Third Inning : playing fields, gambling, and injuries -- Fourth Inning : the game and Its players -- Fifth inning : sharing the fun -- Sixth inning : barriers of race and gender -- Seventh inning : trouble in baseball's Eden -- Eighth inning : representative teams -- Ninth inning : the thrill departs -- Epilogue : ghosts -- Appendix A. Illinois baseball teams, by town and year founded, 1865-70 -- Appendix B. Bloomington's fifth ward school-grounds neighborhood -- Appendix C. Illinois baseball players, by town -- and team, 1865-70 |
| Summary |
"Baseball's spread across Illinois paralleled the sport's explosive growth in other parts of the country. Robert D. Sampson taps a wealth of archival research to transport readers to an era when an epidemic of "base ball on the brain" raged from Alton to Woodstock. Focusing on the years 1865 to 1869, Sampson offers a vivid portrait of a game where local teams and civic ambition went hand in hand and teams of paid professionals displaced gentlemen's clubs devoted to sporting fair play. This preoccupation with competition sparked rules disputes and controversies over imported players while the game itself mirrored society by excluding Black Americans and women. The new era nonetheless brought out paying crowds to watch the Rock Island Lively Turtles, Fairfield Snails, and other teams take the field up and down the state. A first-ever history of early baseball in Illinois, Ballists, Dead Beats, and Muffins adds the Prairie State game's unique shadings and colorful stories to the history of the national pastime"-- Provided by publisher |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on April 12, 2023) |
| Subject |
Baseball -- Illinois -- History -- 19th century
|
|
Baseball.
|
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SPORTS & RECREATION / General
|
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Illinois.
|
| Genre/Form |
History.
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| LC no. |
2022045147 |
| ISBN |
0252054342 |
|
9780252054341 |
|
