Deadball Era World Series

Christy Mathewson, New York, NL - World Series batting practice, Bain 1911

Photo Credit: George Bain Collection, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs

Steve Steinberg & Tom Simon, Editors

Burlington, Vermont attorney Tom Simon and I are editing a book on the Deadball Era World Series (1903-1919), a collaborative effort with members of SABR’s Deadball Era Committee.

Long before television, even before radio, baseball fans followed the World Series in the daily newspapers. Sportswriters were kings and kingmakers and had national followings (many were syndicated across the country).They worked magic, conjuring up vivid images that were much more lyrical and expressive than what fans read today.

Our book will be photo-laden and photo-driven—with both action and still shots—drawing on rare and seldom-seen images from both public archives and private collections across the country, as well as images from families of ballplayers who participated in these World Series between 1903 and 1919. These pictures will be accompanied by accounts from sportswriters (as well as managers and players), vivid firsthand accounts that capture a “feel” for the times. There has never been a book that combines rare, evocative images with colorful and descriptive prose from contemporary writers of the times, including legendary sportswriters such as Broun, Dryden, Lardner, Rice, and Runyon.

Tom and I hope to have the final manuscript by early 2013.