Death at the Ballpark - 2nd Edition by Robert M Gorman & David Weeks (Paperback)

About the Book

Previous edition is a comprehensive study from 1862 to 2007.

Book Synopsis

When we think of baseball, we think of sunny days and leisurely outings at the ballpark--rarely do thoughts of death come to mind. Yet during the game's history, hundreds of players, coaches and spectators have died while playing or watching the National Pastime.

In its second edition, this ground-breaking study provides the known details for 150 years of game-related deaths, identifies contributing factors and discusses resulting changes to game rules, protective equipment, crowd control and stadium structures and grounds. Topics covered include pitched and batted-ball fatalities, weather and field condition accidents, structural failures, fatalities from violent or risky behavior and deaths from natural causes.

Review Quotes

"an excellent reference resource...a quality reference work and should have a place on the shelves of all historians researching connections between sport, violence, and safety"-Journal of Sport History; "this book belongs in large public library and college or university baseball collections but its distinctive subject matter will be of interest to a wide range of baseball fans as well as many baseball players of all ages and to researchers interested in the sociology of sports"-ARBA; "Reviews of the first edition" "recommended"-Library Journal; "fascinating anecdotes...exhaustively researched...a fascinating read...a fascinating resource"-Nine; "the definitive account of baseball fatalities"-S.L. Price, Sports Illustrated; "fascinating account"-Charlotte Observer; "fascinating"-Times-News, magicvalley.com; "the definitive account of baseball fatalities"-SI.com; "an excellent reference book and a triumph of difficult research"-Tim Wiles, Director of Research, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

About the Author

Robert M. Gorman is a retired university reference librarian with more than 40 years of professional research experience. He lives in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The late David Weeks was a former research librarian at Winthrop University's Dacus Library. He and Robert Gorman received the McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award in 2003 for the article "Foul Play: Fan Fatalities in Twentieth-Century Organized Baseball." He lived in Rock Hill, South Carolina.