Baseball Books - Vol 1 : Fifty-Nine in '84

Fifty-nine in '84:

Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball

& the greatest season a pitcher ever had.

This book Tell's the story of the Providence Grays National League pennant winning season, and of them winning the first ever World Series, It focuses on Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn, a silent, hardworking pitcher whose arm was hanging off.When pitchers were deemed less manly or weak if they failed to finish a game they started, When most of the Home Runs came for the Chicago White Stockings (Cubs), because of the ball field. When the Red Sox were called the Beaneaters, & prostitution and Syphilis were rife with no penicillin.Achorn tells us of the feat nobody will ever beat, when the Home team didn't always bat in the bottom of the inning or wear gloves. About Charles Radbourn, the woman he loved and lived in sin with, and of Grays Manager Bancroft.The book has everything, rivalry, corruption, envy, love, Cap Anson & baseball. It was only two decades after the Civil War, and America like baseball was growing and finding itself.Wonderfully written, well researched and a fine weekend read.

"If this was fiction it would be the great american novel"

Of course as a card collector i use a card as my book mark and here is the card in question a 2010 Topps Cards Your mother threw Out of Carl Yastrzemski.

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Martyn