Did modern baseball spontaneously arise from the genius of the American people? Did professionalism arise simply from a desire to turn baseball into a business? Did William Hulbert, organizer of the National League, really "save" baseball? These are three of the questions examined in this work about early baseball's role in American culture. Beginning with an introduction to the sport as achievement and expression, the author takes a close look at the early demand in New York for "the best against the best" in baseball and argues that this demand was contradictory to society's equally persistent demand that displays of "the best against the best" be locally accessible. This work offers insights into how baseball operated in its early days, with special attention paid to the National Association and how the National League came into being.

Early Baseball and the Rise of the National League

Melville, Tom

Reference

McFarland

Cricket for Americans: Playing and understanding the game (Sports and culture series)

Book by Melville, Tom, Chappell, Ian

Cricket for Americans: Playing and Understanding the Game (Sports and Culture Series)

Sports & Outdoors

Chappell, Ian

Other Team Sports

Popular Pr of Bowling Green State

Tom Melville presents a well-documented history of cricket playing in America, focusing on its period of growth in the 1840s and its periodic revivals. Cricket failed to take on, or resisted, an American identity, but the sport had considerable appeal both as a sport and as an activity that fostered sportsmanship, control, public manners, and decorum. Cricket found acceptance mainly in the upper class but also appealed to working-class people.

The Tented Field: A History of Cricket in America

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Popular Press 1

Tom Melville presents a well-documented history of cricket playing in America, focusing on its period of growth in the 1840s and its periodic revivals. Cricket failed to take on, or resisted, an American identity, but the sport had considerable appeal both as a sport and as an activity that fostered sportsmanship, control, public manners, and decorum. Cricket found acceptance mainly in the upper class but also appealed to working-class people.

Cricket in America achieved its greatest acclaim, most extensive organization and highest level of competition in Philadelphia in the mid-19th century. The city took upon itself the burden of representing the entire U.S. during the sport's emerging international popularity. It was a story of amazing successes, abysmal failures and engaging personalities--like John B. King, revered to this day as one of the all-time greatest players--and eventual decline and demise. This meticulously researched history examines the origin, rise and demise of America's cricket legacy.

This Too Was America: Philadelphia's Era of Cricket

History

Americas

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Melville, Tom. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Melville, Tom

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Melville, Tom. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Early Baseball and the Rise of the National League

Cricket for Americans: Playing and Understanding the Game (Sports and Culture Series)

The Tented Field: A History of Cricket in America

The Tented Field: A History of Cricket in America

This Too Was America: Philadelphia's Era of Cricket