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Lunch » Tags » Books » Reviews » Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game

Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game

1 rating: 4.0
A book by John Thorn.

"It is said in folklore circles that when a custom is too old for its origins to be remembered, a story is often devised to rationalize what would otherwise be baffling," writes noted baseball historian Thorn (Total Baseball). "Such has … see full wiki

Genre: History, Sports
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
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America's game invented

  • Jul 30, 2011
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Rating:
+4
It is a well-known absurdity by now that Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown, NY.  John Thorn brings a scholar's approach and an archeological researcher's depth to the topic of who really invented both the game and its official history, as well as when, how--and perhaps, most importantly because most often overlooked--why.

Baseball had many antecedents in American, British, and even earlier history (George Washington is recorded as playing a game of wickets--an earlier variant using cricket wickets for bases--with the troops at Valley Forge in 1778!), and Thorn mines the most unlikely of sources as he untangles the family threads that lead to modern baseball.   He also details the history of the 1905 commission that established Doubleday as the dubious founder of the feast, relying on the commission's complete file of original research, missing for decades and presumed destroyed by fire, but uncovered and donated to the Hall of Fame (in Cooperstown, of course) in 1999.

But perhaps most importantly, Thorn talks much about why--
  • Why did a localized game witn many variants become dominated by a single version that became "America's" pastime? His answer doesn't reach back into a pristine past, but prefigures what we always assume is the more soiled present:  gambling, statistics, and publicity were the key drivers in Thorn's view.
  • Why was Doubleday the honored one, instead of more deserving men, some unremembered by the 1905 commission, some very much alive and in lively disagreement with the commission's membership and findings?   The intricate and sometimes speculative research (based on some fascinating artifacts from unlikely sources like ebay auctions of old memorabilia) had a hold on me as I followed Thorn through his mysterious trails like a hardball Indiana Jones.
  • Why was it even important to name baseball's founder and establish a sanctioned creation story for the game at that point in history?    Here's where things really get weird with tangled family relationhips and the mystical religious sect of Theosophy dominating many of the leading characters in the account.  

I don't want to reveal more of the answers and steal the reader's joy in following Thorn's honest love for the game transmitted through his classic style of restrained humor and hard-facts historiography.

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August 22, 2011
It never continues to amaze me when I read something in a contemporary work that lists Doubleday as the inventor of baseball, since it has been definitively known for a long time that he did not. This is a great review and stimulates my roots as a fan of baseball.
 
August 03, 2011
Sounds like an interesting read, especially for fans of the sport.
 
July 30, 2011
Sounds very interesting. Reminds me of a similar book I read some years ago called "But Didn't We Have Fun?" which I have reviewed here on Lunch.
 
July 30, 2011
Quote: "Why did a localized game with many variants become dominated by a single version that became "America's" pastime? His answer doesn't reach back into a pristine past, but prefigures what we always assume is the more soiled present: gambling, statistics, and publicity were the key drivers in Thorn's view. " Response: In short, the answer involves reaching out to a common popular presentation which appeals to everyone . Simplicity is always easier to market and package for the masse consumer.
August 03, 2011
Very good points you mentioned in this comment!
 
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