- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press; illustrated edition edition (31 Mar 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0268022852
- ISBN-13: 978-0268022853
- Product Dimensions: 24 x 16.2 x 3.4 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,725,172 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Synopsis
Jerrold Casway's fascinating biography of legendary baseball player Ed Delahanty (1867-1903) offers a compelling examination of the first "King of Swatsville's" life and career, including the enigma surrounding his tragic and untimely death. Through Delahanty's story, Casway traces the evolving character of major league baseball and its effect on the lives and ambitions of its athletes. Delahanty's career spanned the last decades of the nineteenth century during a time when the sons of post-famine Irish refugees dominated the sport and changed the playing style of America's national pastime. In this "Emerald Age" of baseball, Irish-American players comprised 30-50 percent of all players, managers, and team captains. Baseball for Delahanty and other young Irishmen was a ticket out of poverty and into a life of fame and fortune. The allure and promise of celebrity and wealth, however, were disastrous for Delahanty. He found himself enmeshed in desperate contract dealings and a gambling addiction that drove him to alcohol abuse. The owner of the fourth highest lifetime batting average, Delahanty mysteriously disappeared and was found at the bottom of Niagara's Horseshoe Falls.
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First Sentence
It was a typical July Fourth holiday in the nation's capital in 1903. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
It was a typical July Fourth holiday in the nation's capital in 1903. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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10 reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Lessons To Be Learned
4 July 2004
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Jerrold Casway has provided us with an in-depth study of 19th century baseball star Ed Delahanty. Like so many other athletes in his time Delahanty lived for today rather than postpone immediate gratification for a greater future reward. The lure of the racetrack while wintering in New Orleans and later alcohol were contributing factors leading up to the decline of this once great superstar. "The Only Del" toiled for unheralded losing teams such as the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Senators. Baseball wars were on and Delahanty had the problem of not caring how many contracts he signed as long as he played with the team that offered him the most money. I felt the author did a good job of sorting through the possibilities regarding Delahanty's death on the International Bridge crossing the Niagara River between Fort Erie, Ontario, and Buffalo, New York. Delahanty was removed from the train for abusive behavior, and from what information we have available it appears that he stumbled over railroad ties in an effort to elude the bridge watchman. His body was discovered below the Canadian Horseshoe Falls in the Niagara River one week later on July 9th. This was an era in which the owners had it all their way, and players had no financial benefits that today's players enjoy. Players usually reentered the regular workforce once their playing days were over. Delahanty, however, lived lavishly during his playing days without a thought to his post-playing days. Information is also provided on his baseball playing brothers in addition to his wife and daughter after Ed's death. If you enjoy 19th century baseball history I believe this is another book from that colorful age that you will find enjoyable to read.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
A Slugger and His Flaws
10 Dec 2004
Format:Hardcover
This is one of the best baseball biographies I have read. Unlike some that mainly take you on a timeline from one noteworthy game (with dutiful descriptions of achievements or failures) to the next, Casway does an excellent job of going behind the player to reveal the person, flaws and all. It is fascinating to see the 1890s version of the immature superstar with only one marketable skill (crushing a baseball) as he tries to cope with personal and family problems as that skill rapidly deteriorates. You know the outcome, but it is still a great read. I found the descriptions of the Phillies management very interesting, and learned a few new things about John McGraw. Clearly a lot of careful research went into this book. If you enjoy baseball biographies, you'll like this one.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Superb
24 Jun 2004
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Forget the sour grapes of that other review, this is a superb baseball history. It is extemely well researched with an incredible amount of information in a very readable package. Anyone who is truly into baseball history will want this book and will want to know and understand the 19th Century and the players. The sociology of baseball has been the sociology of this country and the early players are the heroes and pioneers who gave us the perfect game of baseball. Buy the book!
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