Gentlemen at the Bat

A Fictional Oral History of the New York Knickerbockers and the Early Days of Base Ball

Howard Burman (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

364 Seiten

2010
McFarland & Co Inc (Verlag)
978-0-7864-4720-6 (ISBN)

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Organized in 1845, the New York Knickerbockers were the first organized base ball club to play the game with written rules. Based on research and told in the style of oral history, this fictional work features the principal figures from the Knickerbocker club, including Doc Adams, James Whyte Davis, Alexander Cartwright, and, William Wheaton.

Beginning in 1845, the New York Knickerbockers were the first fully organized base ball club to play the game with written rules similar to those used today. While they did not invent the game, they had an unparalleled role in stabilizing the playing rules and maintaining standards of conduct in a way that fostered an astonishing proliferation of players and clubs. Based on years of research and told in the style of oral history, this fictional work features all the principal figures from the Knickerbocker club, including Doc Adams, James Whyte Davis, Alexander Cartwright, William Wheaton, and Duncan Curry.

Former professor Howard Burman has taught literature overseas and served as an artistic producing director of several professional theatres. He is a full-time writer dividing his time between California and Ireland.

Table of Contents

A Note from the Author

Prologue: A Real Letter from Jim Davis to Edward Talcott

PART ONE: THE EARLY DAYS

1. On Beginnings

2. Meeting Doc and Poor Old Davis

3. And a Few Other Early Players

4. Gentlemen Playing All Manner of Games

5. A Connection Is Made Between Volunteer Fire Companies and Base Ball

6. Playing at Madison Park

7. Moving to Sunfish Pond

8. On the Move Again

9. Alick Makes a Suggestion

10. The Idea of Clubs

PART TWO: ORGANIZING THE CLUB 1845

11. Recruiting Members

12. Writing Rules

13. Gentlemen Inventing a Club

14. A Trip Across the River

15. Playing the First Games as the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club

16. Other Clubs, Other Games

17. Can They Carry On?

PART THREE: FIRST FULL SEASON 1846

18. An Important Decision

19. The First Match Game

20. Returning to Club Games

PART FOUR: STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL 1847–1849

21. The Winters Between

22. Struggles for Survival

23. On Operating a Gentlemen’s Club

24. Games Amongst Members

25. Doc Invents a New Position

26. Sporting New Uniforms

27. On Crowds and Riots

28. Of Bats and Balls

29. Printing the Rules

30. Going for the Gold

PART FIVE: THE NATIONAL GAME 1850–1854

31. Members Old and New

32. Base Ball, Base Ball, Base Ball

33. Return to Playing Other Clubs

34. On Matters Political

35. Dinners and Diversions

36. The National Game

37. Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds

38. Good Players

39. Spectators

40. The Umpire Issue

PART SIX: BASE BALL FEVER 1855–1857

41. The Fever Spreads

42. Club Squabbles

43. Time to Organize

44. To Plan a Convention

45. The First Meeting

46. The Rules Committee

47. Recommendations

48. Playing the Fly Rule

49. On Maintaining Standards

50. First Nine Matches

51. Challenges

52. Women at the Games

53. Papers Taking Note

54. The Changing Game

55. New Equipment

56. The Pennant

57. An Impediment?

PART SEVEN: THE GREAT BASE BALL MATCH 1858

58. The Second Convention

59. The National Association

60. Another Rules Committee

61. A Symbol

62. Laying Plans

63. To Play or Not

64. The Day Approaches

65. The First Fashion Course Game

66. Aftermath of the Game

67. Getting Even

68. Rubber Match

69. Praise and Complaints

70. Season’s Play

PART EIGHT: AN ILL WIND 1859–1860

71. Beginning of the End

72. Going National

73. Sunday Play

74. Chadwick’s Guides

75. Out-of-Control Cranks

76. The Spectre of Professionalism

77. To Be Competitive

78. On Running a Club

79. Other Clubs to the Forefront

80. Of Bounders and Flys

81. Banning Entertainments

82. A New Park

83. Rule Changes

PART NINE: PLAYING THROUGH THE WAR 1861–1865

84. Things Unravel

85. Membership Matters

86. Maintaining Control

87. Creeping Commercialism

88. How They Played

89. Other Clubs’ Matches

90. Down to a Few

PART TEN: COMMERCIALISM 1866–1870

91. Base Ball Mania

92. Paid to Play

93. To Distinguish Between Amateur and Professional

94. All-Professional Clubs

95. A Question of Race

96. Leaving the Association

97. On Their Own

98. Dirty Dealings

99. Gate Money Principles

100. Difficult Times for Davis

101. Collapse of the Association

PART ELEVEN: AMATEURS AND PROFESSIONALS 1871–1875

102. Red Stockings Reversal

103. All-Amateur Association

104. Blurring the Lines

105. The Professionals Regroup

106. Club Doings

107. Chicanery on the Field

108. Tinkering with the Rules

109. Availability of Goods

110. On Curvers and Long Throws

111. Celebrating Davis

PART TWELVE: NATIONAL LEAGUE 1876–1879

112. A New Approach

113. Suspicions

114. Changes

115. Old-Timers

116. New Amateurs

117. And Then There Was One

PART THIRTEEN: THE END 1880–1882

118. Final Days

119. A Quiet End

Epilogue

Erscheint lt. Verlag	28.2.2010
Zusatzinfo	Halftones, black and white
Verlagsort	Jefferson, NC
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	481 g
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Sport ► Ballsport
Themenwelt	Weitere Fachgebiete ► Sportwissenschaft
ISBN-10	0-7864-4720-6 / 0786447206
ISBN-13	978-0-7864-4720-6 / 9780786447206
Zustand	Neuware