Overview

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 the sport was in disarray. A third major league, the Union Association, waged a bitter war that rocked the baseball world. The following season, the UA dissolved in a sea of red ink, the AA dropped four teams, and the minor leagues hoped to survive until spring. Amid the chaos 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. There were a record eight no-hitters. There were fascinating figures--some famous, some lost to history--like Hustling Horace Phillips, Dan O'Leary and Edward (The Only) Nolan. This book tells the story of the momentous yet overshadowed 1884 season.

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9781476691145

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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

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

Author Information

William J. Ryczek is a finance professional from Wallingford, Connecticut, who writes about early baseball, football, the Yankees, and the Mets.

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