The National Pastime Summer 2015 Issue

Since 2009, The National Pastime has served as SABR's convention-focused publication. Published annually, this research journal provides in-depth articles focused on the respective geographic region where the national convention is taking place in a given year. The SABR 45 convention took place in Chicago, and here are 25 articles on baseball in and around the bat-and-ball crazed Windy City. Contents Introduction by Stuart Shea Sputtering Towards Respectability: Chicago’s Journey to the Big Leagues by Brian McKenna The Windy City – Collar City Connection:The Curious Relationship of Chicago’s and Troy (NY)’s Professional Baseball Teams (1870–82) by Jeff Laing Mike González:The First Hispanic Cub by Lou Hernández Bibb Falk: The Only Jockey in the Majors by Matthew M. Clifford Ted Lyons: 300 Wins—Closer with a Closer? by Herm Krabbenhoft Mel Almada: The First Hispanic to Homer at Several Historic American League Stadia by Lou Hernández Andy Pafko: Darling of the 1945 Cubs by Joe Niese Bill Murray’s Prediction by Rob Edelman The Top 10 Chicago White Sox Games of the 1950s by Stephen D. Boren Mr. Cub by Joseph Wancho How Good Was the White Sox’ Pitching in the 1960s? by Brendan Bingham The ’67 White Sox: “Hitless” Destiny’s Grandchild? by Bryan Soderholm-Difatte The Chicago White Sox, 1968–70: Three Years in Hell by Sam Pathy Black Sox on Film by Rob Edelman If Gil Hodges Managed the Cubs and Leo Durocher the Mets in 1969, Whose “Miracle” Would it Have Been? by Mort Zachter Split Season 1981, Chicago Style by Jeff Katz Palmer House Stars by Leslie Heaphy The Peculiar Professional Baseball Career of Eddie Gaedel by Eric Robinson When They Were Just Boys: Chicago and Youth Baseball Take Center Stage by Alan Cohen Stories of the White Sox: Farrell, Lardner, and Algren by James Hawking Curse of the Billy Goat: An Adaptive Coping Strategy for Cubs Fans by Jeremy Ashton Houska, Ph.D. Of Black Sox, Ball Yards, and Monty Stratton: Chicago Baseball Movies by Rob Edelman Memories That Will Never Go-Go by Francis Kinlaw Chicago Goes Hollywood: The Cubs, Wrigley Field, and Popular Culture by David Krell Buying the White Sox: A Comic Opera Starring Bill Veeck, Hank Greenberg, and Chuck Comiskey by John Rosengren William Hulbert: Father of Professional Sports Leagues by David Bohmer The Western Baseball Tours of 1879 by Brock Helander The Legacy of the Players League’s 1890 Chicago Pirates by Gordon Gattie There Was Almost No World Series in 1905, Too: How Charlie Comiskey Could Have Ended the Fall Classic Before it Started by Chuck Hildebrandt The Last Best Day: When Chicago Had Three First-Place Teams by Mark S. Sternman Why did Wrigley, Lasker, and the Chicago Cubs Join a Presidential Campaign? by Mark Souder Silas K. Johnson: An Illinois Farm Boy Who Made Baseball History by Matthew M. Clifford A Fall Classic Comedy, Game Six, 1945 by John Rosengren Bears, Cubs, and a Moose, Oh My by Joseph Wancho Dean of Chicanery: Jerry Reinsdorf’s Plan to Enlist Hank Greenberg to Umpire the Northwestern Law School Student-Faculty Game and How it Backfired by John Rosengren “Don’t Tell Them Any Different”: ‘Don Kessinger Night’ Caps a Long Career by Mark Randall Lasting Impressions of Harry Caray by Suzanne Wright The Game That Was Not: Philadelphia Phillies at Chicago Cubs, August 8, 1988 by Steven Glassman The Chicago History Museum’s Baseball Photo Treasure Trove: The Chicago Daily News Glass Plate Negative Collection by Mark Fimoff From the North Side to the Deep South by Francis Kinlaw

In Tumultuous Times in America’s Game: From Jackie Robinson's Breakthrough to the War over Free Agency, Bryan Soderholm-Difatte provides a comprehensive examination of major developments and key figures in Major League Baseball from the integration of Jackie Robinson in 1947 to the owners-instigated catastrophic players’ strike of 1994-95. While many fans will recall those decades with fond remembrances of the baseball stars who played then—from Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and Willie Mays to Roberto Clemente, Pete Rose, Reggie Jackson, and Cal Ripken—they were also a time of substantial challenges that upended more than half a century of tradition that was the backbone of the major leagues. Tumultuous Times in America’s Game includes histories of each of the major league franchises, presented alongside Soderholm-Difatte’s detailed examination of the controversies, developments, and innovations from these significant decades in professional baseball. Recaps of several of baseball’s most exciting pennant races round out the narrative, making this book a valuable read for fans and historians of the national pastime.

Offering the best in original research and analysis, Base Ball is an annually published book series that promotes the study of baseball's early history, from its protoball roots to 1920, and its rise to prominence within American popular culture. This volume, number 10, brings together 14 articles on a wide range of topics, including the role of physicians in spreading early baseball; the game's financial revolution of 1866, when teams began charging a 25-cent admission price; the prejudice that greeted Japan's Waseda University team during its American tour in 1905; the Addie Joss benefit game and its place in baseball lore; the 1867 western tour of the National Base Ball Club; and entrenched ideas about class and early baseball, with a focus on the supposedly blue-collar Pennsylvania Base Ball Club.

Baseball and law have intersected since the primordial days. In 1791, a Pittsfield, Massachusetts, ordinance prohibited ball playing near the town’s meeting house. Ball games on Sundays were barred by a Pennsylvania statute in 1794. In 2015, a federal court held that baseball’s exemption from antitrust laws applied to franchise relocations. Another court overturned the conviction of Barry Bonds for obstruction of justice. A third denied a request by rooftop entrepreneurs to enjoin the construction of a massive video screen at Wrigley Field. This exhaustive chronology traces the effects the law has had on the national pastime, both pro and con, on and off the field, from the use of copyright to protect not only equipment but also “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” to frequent litigation between players and owners over contracts and the reserve clause. The stories of lawyers like Kenesaw Mountain Landis and Branch Rickey are entertainingly instructive.

FEATURES Under the Sea By Kathleen Ryan Bill Johnson dives into chip carving to create enchanting marine life The Doane Woodcarving Experience By Kathleen Ryan Join this workshop to sharpen your carving skills, meet the top instructors in the country, and make friends. Carving Family Fun By Kathleen Ryan Linda Langenberg Curtis’s carving lessons are a legacy of love and learning for the next generation TECHNIQUES Designing Celtic Knotwork By Dave Western Use simple techniques to design elaborate knotwork patterns Carving a Female Face By Dave Stetson Softness and symmetry are key for creating an attractive female caricature PROJECTS Wild Rose By Charley Phillips Bring the beauty of a summer meadow inside with this floral carving Pirate Captain Caricature By Larry Gladu Corner-cut a blank to bring this scurvy dog to life Carving a Cowgirl By Kristina Brown Practice – or teach – caricature by making this cute cowpoke and her stick pony Whittling an Eagle By Greg Young Grab a chunk of wood and a knife to carve this majestic eagle Lady Liberty By Vernon DePauw Let freedom ring with this patriotic folk-art decoration Chip Carving a Reef Fish By Bill Johnson Power carve this realistically shaped fish and embellish it with chip carving Power Carving a Saw Whet Owl By Hugh Parks Learn the basics of carving a realistic bird with this owl in a simple pose Dancing Jester By Floyd Rhadigan Convey movement and action with the pose of this comedic caricature PATTERNS Chip Carving a Flower By Wayne Barton Break out of the mold with this organic ornament

Widely acknowledged as the preëminent gathering of baseball scholars, the annual Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture has made significant contributions to baseball research. This collection of 15 new essays selected from the 2015 and the 2016 symposia examines topics whose importance extend beyond the ballpark. Presented in six parts, the essays explore Biography: From Mythology to Authenticity, Gender and Generations, Race and Ethnicity on the Base Paths, Ballparks Abandoned and Envisioned, Baseball Cinema, and Business, Law and the Game.

During the Civil War, Americans from homefront to battlefront played baseball as never before. While soldiers slaughtered each other over the country's fate, players and fans struggled over the form of the national pastime. George Kirsch gives us a color commentary of the growth and transformation of baseball during the Civil War. He shows that the game was a vital part of the lives of many a soldier and civilian--and that baseball's popularity had everything to do with surging American nationalism. By 1860, baseball was poised to emerge as the American sport. Clubs in northeastern and a few southern cities played various forms of the game. Newspapers published statistics, and governing bodies set rules. But the Civil War years proved crucial in securing the game's place in the American heart. Soldiers with bats in their rucksacks spread baseball to training camps, war prisons, and even front lines. As nationalist fervor heightened, baseball became patriotic. Fans honored it with the title of national pastime. War metaphors were commonplace in sports reporting, and charity games were scheduled. Decades later, Union general Abner Doubleday would be credited (wrongly) with baseball's invention. The Civil War period also saw key developments in the sport itself, including the spread of the New York-style of play, the advent of revised pitching rules, and the growth of commercialism. Kirsch recounts vivid stories of great players and describes soldiers playing ball to relieve boredom. He introduces entrepreneurs who preached the gospel of baseball, boosted female attendance, and found new ways to make money. We witness bitterly contested championships that enthralled whole cities. We watch African Americans embracing baseball despite official exclusion. And we see legends spring from the pens of early sportswriters. Rich with anecdotes and surprising facts, this narrative of baseball's coming-of-age reveals the remarkable extent to which America's national pastime is bound up with the country's defining event.

The 1960s were among the most compelling years in the history of the United States, from the intensifying clamor for civil rights to the tragic incidents of assassination and war. Caught up in this sea of restlessness was major league baseball, and the manner in which baseball addressed the challenges of this decade would have a lasting impact on the game. In The New Boys of Summer: Baseball's Radical Transformation in the Late Sixties, Paul Hensler looks at the key issues confronting baseball during this tumultuous time. Hensler carefully examines how domestic racial issues, the war in Vietnam, assassinations of prominent public figures, youthful rebellion, and drug use each placed their imprint on the game just as baseball was about to celebrate its centennial season. The expansion of both the American and National leagues is also covered in depth, as are the new divisional alignments and major rule changes that were implemented in 1969. Other factors impacting the national pastime include the appointment of Bowie Kuhn as commissioner, the rising influence of Marvin Miller as the director of the players association, the construction of modern stadiums, and the rapid developments in information technology. An earlier generation of players was venerated as the Boys of Summer, and indeed, they continue to hold their rightful place in baseball’s legend and lore; but in the late 1960s, a fresh cast of characters made their own mark as transformations in the game brought baseball into the new modern era. Baseball historians and fans alike will be entertained and informed by this fresh look at the national pastime in the decade of discontent.