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The Summer Of Beer And Whiskey: How Brewers, Barkeeps, Rowdies, Immigrants, And A Wild Pennant Fight Made Baseball America's Game (2013)

by Edward Achorn(Favorite Author)

3.61 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1610392604 (ISBN13: 9781610392600)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

PublicAffairs

review 1: The baseball historian will thrill to this detailed analysis of the 1884 season in the American Association - the cheaper, boozier, crasser competitor to the struggling and stuck-up National League of the era. Focusing on the pennant race between the Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Browns, its focus is split 20/50/30: history of the Browns and the establishment of the "baseball for the people" American Association/game and season recap/historical player bios. It also explores the history of the Browns (not the failed franchise Brown Stockings of 1875-1877, nor the Browns of 1902-1953 who became the Orioles, but the Brown Stockings of 1882-1898 who became the Cardinals. Quite the affinity for Brown socks in St. Louis apparently.) particularly their mercurial owner ... moreand president Chris Van der Ahe, whose antics made the team possible, but probably also cost them the pennant in that season. Much of this book is reliving old games. Imagining the punishment that playing with no glove, pitching 350+ innings a season, and having few substitutes when an ankle was sprained or a nose was broken is an intriguing thought experiment. The slice of live it presents of the era is also fascinating. The Athletics of this era moved to Kansas City, then on to Oakland, so the loyalty and excitement this might generate for that fan base is limited. But Cardinals fans will love reading about their city and the alleged fact that the word "fan" itself derives from the fanatic following this team earned through its no-holds-barred style of play.
review 2: Another great baseball history book telling the tale of the rebirth of American "base ball" and the storied season of 1883. I learned a lot about the beginnings of the National League, the rival American Association, and some of the key surviving franchises, especially the Cardinals and Reds. It's a fascinating, colorful cultural history. I appreciated the wrap-up chapter that tells what became of many of the personalities who appear throughout the book. I liked this book as much as the two baseball histories by Robert Weintraub I read earlier.One quibble: This is yet another book that uses endnotes instead of footnotes. less

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