Description
Book Synopsis At the end of the 1883 baseball season, things looked rosy--attendance had skyrocketed and the National League and American Association were at peace. A year later, however, the sport was in total disarray. A third major league, the Union Association, had come on the scene and waged a bitter war that rocked the baseball world. By the dawn of the 1885 season, the UA had dissolved in a sea of red ink, the AA had dropped four teams, and the minor leagues were desperately hoping to make it through the season.
Amid the chaos of 1884 were some historic moments. Iron-man pitcher Hoss Radbourn won 59 games and led the Providence Grays to victory over the New York Metropolitans in the first World Series. Fleet Walker broke baseball''s first color line. There were a record eight no-hitters and a cast of fascinating figures--some famous, some lost to history--like Radbourn, Hustling Horace Phillips, Dan O''Leary, and Edward (The Only) Nolan. This book tells the story of the mome
Trade Review
The 1884 campaign had it all—three major leagues, the first momentous challenge to the recently created Reserve Clause, the first Black players to openly play big time ball, the first influx of talent all the way from the West Coast, to cite only a few of the things that make 1884 unique. In Baseball's Wildest Season it's all there. All the scandals, stars, scoundrels, minor league mountebanks, and hustlers galore. You name your 1884 favorite figure; chances are excellent Ryczek has something new to say about him."—David Nemec, author, Major League Baseball Profiles: 1871-1900
