{"product_id":"american-legion-baseball-9781476685748","title":"American Legion Baseball","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e   In the wake of the 1919 White Sox scandal and the suspension for life of eight players, baseball saw a precipitous decline in popularity, especially among America''s youth. To combat this, a group of World War I veterans who were members of the newly formed American Legion created an organization to promote teenage interest in baseball. Led by John L. Griffith, who became the first commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, the Legion undertook the revival of baseball. In the 1920s and through the Great Depression and World War II, Legion baseball  grew steadily. By 1950 it had become the principal training ground for major league players, boasting at its peak more than 16,000 teams across the country. Tracing the long history of this uniquely American institution, this work details each year''s American Legion World Series and the ups and downs of participation over nearly a century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments\tviii\u003cbr\u003e1. Americanism and Baseball, 1924–1932\t1\u003cbr\u003e2. It's True What They Say About the South, 1932–1940\t22\u003cbr\u003e3. The Golden Years, 1941–1951\t39\u003cbr\u003e4. The Fifties: Lou Brissie, Cars, Rock and Roll, and Cincinnati, 1952–1961\t62\u003cbr\u003e5. The Rulon Years, 1961–1975\t83\u003cbr\u003e6. Mid–Atlantic Dominance, 1976–1986\t115\u003cbr\u003e7. Toward Parity, 1987–2000\t139\u003cbr\u003e8. Storms on the Horizon, 2000–2010\t165\u003cbr\u003e9. Shelby: A Home for the American Legion World Series, 2011–2019\t188\u003cbr\u003eChapter Notes\t215\u003cbr\u003eBibliography\t227\u003cbr\u003eIndex\t231","brand":"McFarland \u0026 Co Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51040495042903,"sku":"9781476685748","price":27.54,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781476685748.jpg?v=1750946931","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/american-legion-baseball-9781476685748","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}