Baseball in Blue and Gray
Subtitle: The National Pastime during the Civil War
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: February 25, 2003
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 168
ISBN-13: 9780691057330
Subjects: American history: c 1800 to c 1900; Baseball; Cultural studies; c 1800 to c 1900; United States; History; Sports & Recreation; Sports; USA; United States - Civil War; Baseball - History; American History; History / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877); 19th century
First sentence: This "Massachusetts game" generally matched sides of eight to fifteen men on a square field with bases or tall stakes (up to five feet high) at each corner.
Description: "During the Civil War, Americans from home front to battlefront played baseball as never before. While soldiers slaughtered each other over the country's fate, players and fans struggled over the form of the national pastime. George Kirsch gives us a color commentary on the growth and transformation of baseball during the Civil War. He shows that the game was a vital part of the lives of many a soldier and civilian - and that baseball's popularity had everything to do with surging American nationalism.".

"By 1860, baseball was poised to emerge as the American sport. Clubs in northeastern and a few southern cities played various forms of the game. Newspapers published statistics, and governing bodies set rules. But the Civil War years proved crucial in securing the game's place in the American heart. Soldiers with bats in their rucksacks spread baseball to training camps, war prisons, and even front lines. As nationalist fervor heightened, baseball became patriotic.

Fans honored it with the title of national pastime. War metaphors were commonplace in sports reporting, and charity games were scheduled. Decades later, Union general Abner Doubleday would be credited (wrongly) with baseball's invention. The Civil War period also saw key developments in the sport itself, including the spread of the New York-style of play, the advent of revised pitching rules, and the growth of commercialism.".

"Kitsch recounts vivid stories of great players and describes soldiers playing ball to relieve boredom. He introduces entrepreneurs who preached the gospel of baseball, boosted female attendance, and found new ways to make money. We witness bitterly contested championships that enthralled whole cities. We watch African Americans embracing baseball despite official exclusion. And we see legends spring from the pens of early sportswriters."--BOOK JACKET.