Baseball's Wildest Season

Three Leagues, Thirty-Four Teams and the Chaos of 1884

William J. Ryczek (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

277 Seiten

2024
McFarland & Co Inc (Verlag)
978-1-4766-9114-5 (ISBN)

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At the end of the 1883 baseball season, things looked rosy - attendance had skyrocketed and the National League and American Association were at peace. A year later the sport was in disarray. This book tells the story of the momentous yet overshadowed 1884 season.

At the end of the 1883 baseball season, things looked rosy--attendance had skyrocketed and the National League and American Association were at peace. A year later the sport was in disarray. A third major league, the Union Association, waged a bitter war that rocked the baseball world. The following season, the UA dissolved in a sea of red ink, the AA dropped four teams, and the minor leagues hoped to survive until spring. Amid the chaos were some historic moments. Iron-man pitcher Hoss Radbourn won 59 games and led the Providence Grays to victory over the New York Metropolitans in the first World Series. There were a record eight no-hitters. There were fascinating figures--some famous, some lost to history--like Hustling Horace Phillips, Dan O'Leary and Edward (The Only) Nolan. This book tells the story of the momentous yet overshadowed 1884 season.

William J. Ryczek is a finance professional from Wallingford, Connecticut, who writes about early baseball, football, the Yankees, and the Mets.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Prologue to Chaos

1. “More money is made and expenses are less than is generally supposed”

2. The Game

3. The Players

4. “The blacklist shackle”

5. The Magnates

6. “More famous for his quaintness and eccentricity than his managerial skill”

7. “There are few men in any business who should be clothed with this authority”

8. The Drunks

9. “There will be no more foolishness this year”: National League Preview

10. “Too many—it is going to weaken us”: American Association Preview

11. The Wreckers: Union Association Preview

12. “He said he’d pitch his arm off to win the flag”: National League Season

13. “The Metropolitan Club is a strong one”: American Association Season

14. “To keep a correct record of the Union Association is worse than solving a Chinese puzzle”: Union Association Season

15. The Pitchers

16. “Shadows of their former selves”

17. The Others

18. “Champions of the world”

19. “On the Ragged Edge”

Appendix A: Rules of the Brooklyn American Association Club

Appendix B: The Lake Front Battleground

Appendix C: Players Active in Multiple Leagues

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	06.03.2023
Zusatzinfo	23 photos
Verlagsort	Jefferson, NC
Sprache	englisch
Maße	175 x 251 mm
Gewicht	499 g
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Sport ► Ballsport
Themenwelt	Weitere Fachgebiete ► Sportwissenschaft
ISBN-10	1-4766-9114-2 / 1476691142
ISBN-13	978-1-4766-9114-5 / 9781476691145
Zustand	Neuware