by Chris Epting
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Product Description
Roadside Baseball is a fascinating read as well as a fantastic travel guide and history book all in one. Baseball’s rich history is celebrated in Cooperstown, N.Y., but it’s only a glimpse of baseball’s storied past. Baseball history lives in the city streets of Brooklyn to the country fields of Iowa. It’s in these places you’ll find birthplaces, shrines, museums, final resting places and out-of-the-way spots where Baseball’s history was made or still is preserved. Buckminster Hotel, (Boston, MA), where the "Black Sox" planned their fix of the ’19 Series; Original "Little League" field and Museum in Willimsport, PA; Birthplace of Jackie Robinson in Cairo, GA; Fayetteville, NC, where Babe Ruth hit his first professional Home Run; Baxter Springs, KS, where Mickey Mantle was discovered by Yankees Scout Tom Greenwade; Kansas City, MO, birthplace and location of the Negro League Hall of Fame; Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, CA, the first stadium named Wrigley Field, 1925 – 1966; Information and selected photos for over 300 baseball historical sights; Regional, state-by-state layout.
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Average Customer Review:
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Take Me Out To The Ballgame! Great book..., 2006-08-27
I bought this book several mos. ago and it has lived up to its reputation as one of the best baseball books around. Great book to take "on the road" and fills a real niche for the baseball historian/enthusiast. I've actually taken this one on the road and it does the job and does it quite well. Kudos to the author on this one.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
America's Pastime - On the Road, 2005-06-01
Nothing is more quintessentially symbolic of America than baseball and road trips, and Chris Epting has brought the two together in this delightfully quirky road guide to all things baseball throughout the land. The book is divided first into sections (East, South, Midwest, West, & Outside the Lines),and further divided into states, listed alphebetically, within each section to make it convienent to use as you travel. And even the most knowledgable and die-hard baseball fan is likely to discover events and places within its covers to surprise and delight them.
While 'Roadside Baseball' can direct you to well known present and former shrines of baseball (Wrigley Field; the Ebbets Field apartments with its cornerstone marker commemorating the Dodger's old home field on that site), it is the many lesser known and often quirky places it discovers that really gives it its charm. Epting has discovered roadside markers, plaques, statues, memorials, and museums all over the country dedicated to baseball players, stadiums, and history. Some are charmingly kitchy, like the bed and breakfast in New Hampshire once owned by Babe Ruth's daughter, in which room #2 where the Babe often stayed has been maintained with all of its original furnishings. Others tie baseball history to the history of America, like the marker in Postville, Illinois marking the location of a field where Abe Lincoln played townball, an early form of baseball. And some mark arcane baseball history, like DeVault Memorial Stadium in Bristol, Virginia, where minor leagure Ron Necciai (a pitcher once deemed by Branch Rickey to be of the same quality as Dizzy Dean) once threw a 27 strikeout game, before disappearing into obscurity.
It was seeing many of the references that I know from my own experience that proved to me how comprehensive this book truly is. As a Pittsburgher, I was pleased to see not only the outfield wall and preserved homeplate of Forbes Field listed, but the roadside plaque in nearby Homestead that commemorates the great Negro League team the Homestead Grays. I also found here the tiny church yard in rural Ohio where Cy Young lies buried directly behind the grave of my great grandfather, who was his neighbor; a surprise find I had made years earlier while working on my genealogy. Very little seems to have escaped Mr. Epting when he compiled this wonderful little book.
If you love baseball, road trips, and Americana at its best, you can't afford to miss this outstanding guide to all three.
Theo Logos
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Visiting the shrines of Baseball, 2004-07-11
For many, baseball is almost akin to a religion in America. Many undertake the pilgrimage to all the Major League ballparks, but Epting has created the ultimate cultural tour of history that goes far beyond these parks. Sure, anyone can go to see where Babe Ruth hit his final home run, but would we know where to go to see where he hit his first (or as Epting makes the distinction, where he hit his first professional home run, and where he hit his first professional home run in a regular season game)? No event escapes Epting for potential inclusion in this journey into our heritage. Each site is identified with an address, often a photo and an explanation of why it is important to note. But also, Epting's book can serve as a warning to us. So many of the important sites from the early years of baseball have been lost; they have become the victims of "progress." He takes the time to try and show us where historic fields are, but too often they are fully tossed aside, with an apartment building, or a parking lot now occupying the spaces where the pioneers played and set our early records. For each ballpark that has been lovingly restored or kept in good condition, there are two that have become lost to the wrecking ball. This is one of the ways that Epting's book should open up our eyes to prevent further loss of our sports history in the name of progress. Someone like Epting helps make sure that we never forget, even if others have. Put this in your glove box, and find a bit of our national pastime history across the country.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
uncovering hidden treasures, 2003-06-22
I found this book very enjoyable. It is 288 pages of baseball monuments from all over the United States. Each historic baseball artifact and locale is given a brief and concise description. It was interesting to see which region was famous for who or for what. The book covers alot of ground and has introduced me to many new topics within baseball, and led me in search of other books covering the various players and places that i have read about here. I really enjoyed it.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
THE ULTIMATE BASEBALL BOOK, 2003-05-23
I cannot remember enjoying a baseball book this much. It focuses on hundreds of historic baseball landmarks, and the breadth of places is fascinating. There are all of the classic former ballpark sites like the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field, complete with a description and photos of what is there now. Dozens of baseball museums I never knew existed, historically placed markers identifying famous homeruns by Babe Ruth, the home of Connie Mack, sacred baseball burial grounds and much more. I cannot believe how much I learned from this book (and I have studied the game for a long time). Some fine detective work here--like where Lou Gehrig really played his last game, the birthsite of Jackie Robinson, and where Babe Ruth pitched a notable yet obscure game against Walter Johnson in California. Lots of historic Negro League sites, too--for we baseball fans who love the road and who love history, this is our ultimate guide and I've never seen anything like it.
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