A Great Day in Cooperstown: The Improbable Birth of Baseball's Hall of Fame

A Great Day in Cooperstown: The Improbable Birth of Baseball's Hall of Fame by Reisler, Jim. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780786718696.

Using an iconic photo of the games original superstars — a group that included, among others, Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Honus Wagner, and Connie Mack — as his starting point, Jim Reisler explains the unusual origins of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and delivers a delightful history of not only the games early stars and the house built to honor them, but also the myth of baseball America. With his trademark eye and ear for the spirit of the games golden age, Reisler explains that the construction of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY was as much an attempt to revive the economy of a struggling draught-ravaged farming town at the height of the Depressioin as it was a tribute to the National Pastime. Weaving quirky, anecdotal stories about the Halls first eleven inductees in and out of the story of how two industrious businessmen convinced a nation that a former Union general named Abner Doubleday created the game of baseball (which he didnt) and that the first pitch was thrown in the sleepy hamlet of Cooperstown (which it wasnt), Jim Reisler provides us with a fascinating story to be cherished by baseball fans and Americana enthusiasts alike.