A Great Day in Cooperstown: The Improbable Birth of Baseball's Hall of Fame

by Reisler, Jim

• ISBN13: 9780786718696
• ISBN10: 0786718692
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-02-08
• Publisher: Da Capo Pr

Summary

Using an iconic photo of the game's original superstars a group that included, among others, Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Honus Wagner, and Connie Mack as his starting point, Jim Reisler explains the unusual origins of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and delivers a delightful history of not only the game's early stars and the house built to honor them, but also the myth of baseball America. With his trademark eye and ear for the spirit of the game's golden age, Reisler explains that the construction of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY was as much an attempt to revive the economy of a struggling draught-ravaged farming town at the height of the Depressioin as it was a tribute to the National Pastime. Weaving quirky, anecdotal stories about the Hall's first eleven inductees in and out of the story of how two industrious businessmen convinced a nation that a former Union general named Abner Doubleday created the game of baseball (which he didn't) and that the first pitch was thrown in the sleepy hamlet of Cooperstown (which it wasn't), Jim Reisler provides us with a fascinating story to be cherished by baseball fans and Americana enthusiasts alike.

Author Biography

Jim Reisler is the author of Babe Ruth: Lauching the Legend; Black Writers/Black Baseball; Babe Ruth Slept Here: The Baseball Landmarks of New York City; and Before They Were the Bombers. Reisler has written for Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, and the New York Times, and recently appeared on the YES Networks new documentary, History of the Yankees: Moments and Mystique. He is the editor of Guys, Dolls, and Curveballs: Damon Runyon on Baseball. A Pittsburgh native, he lives with his wife and daughter in Irvington, NY.