Noah Brooks' "Our Base Ball Club and How It Won the Championship" (1884) is the first novel devoted entirely to baseball and an excellent example of local colour fiction popular during the time. Throughout the story, intense town rivalry forces the Catalpa, Illinois, community and its ball club to confront game-throwing players and to enter the debate about amateur versus professional teams. In his introduction to the book, Al Spalding champions Brooks' vivid portrayal of "the ups and downs, the trials and the triumphs of a base ball club," concluding that "while nothing is really needed to popularize the game, I am sure the story will commend itself to every lover of pure and wholesome literature." Volume editors Trey Strecker and Geralyn Strecker provide a publication history, an analysis of the text and background on baseball in the late 1800s. An appendix includes the two baseball chapters from Brooks' earlier novel "The Fairport Nine".
- ISBN10 0786425679
- ISBN13 9780786425679
- Publish Date 1 January 2006
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 23 November 2006
- Publish Country US
- Imprint McFarland & Co Inc
- Format Paperback
- Pages 205
- Language English