Tales from the Deadball Era

Mark S. Halfon is professor of philosophy at Nassau Community College in New York. He has published work in various scholarly journals and written two books on moral philosophy. He is the author of Can a Dead Man Strike Out? Offbeat Baseball Questions and Their Improbable Answers.

"Halfon transports his readers back to that time, giving them an inside look at the minds of the baseball legends of that day. Tales From The Deadball Era is highly recommended for baseball history buffs."—The Writer's Journey "For anyone interested in baseball's past, Halfon's Tales from the Deadball Era provides an introduction not only to the sport itself but to American culture as well."—Matthew Teutsch, ARETE"If you're looking for a fun summer read I highly recommend Halfon's Tales From the Deadball Era."—Mike Lynch, Seamheads"Most fans will enjoy reading this book and spending the time traveling back to these decades long ago."-Gregg Kersey, Gregg's Baseball Bookcase "Tales from the Deadball Era etches early twentieth-century baseball far different from today's. Fixed games, patrons on the diamond, and players belting hecklers were all in a day's work. So, too, were cash and flowers given regulars, 'joke' and charity games, and a batter willingly getting hit—anything for a run. In this delightful book about Ty Cobb's and John McGraw's era, Mark Halfon recalls an age when baseball has seldom been more alive."—Curt Smith, author of Pull Up a Chair: The Vin Scully Story“It strikes baseball enthusiasts today that a homer or strikeout approach to tallying runs prevails. Not during the Deadball Era. Mark Halfon shows us-with a historian’s eye and unfailing love of the game-how [the scarcity of baseballs in pre-1920] was the mother of invention.”-Ken Shouler, author of The Real 100 Best Players of All Time and Why "Mark Halfon captures a raucous era in baseball history, when the sport was characterized by cheating, gambling, and violence—on the part of both players and their fans—and he recounts intriguing tales of baseball's mythical figures."—Ronna S. Feit, PhD, State University of New York

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart 1: Deadball Era Highlights1. Big League Cheating2. Baseball at the Turn of the Century3. A Pitchers’ Paradise4. Inside Baseball5. RowdyismPart 2: Deadball Era Standouts6. Little Napoleon7. The Georgia Peach8. The Big Train9. A Game for the AgesPart 3: Beyond the Deadball Era10. Baseball at the Crossroads11. The Black Sox Scandals12. The Black Sox MythPostscriptNotesBibliographyIndex