The Half-Game Pennant of 1908 - by Charles C Alexander (Paperback)

About the Book

"With five games left in the season, each of the league's four westernmost teams still had a shot at the championship. It was the height of the "deal-ball era" of spectacular pitching and mostly low-scoring, quickly played games, with an abundance of colorful characters and controversial, often bizarre episodes"--

Book Synopsis

The 1908 American League pennant race was described as a "a fierce and fluctuating fight." With five games left in the season, each of the league's four westernmost teams still had a shot at the championship. It was the height of the Deadball Era, noted for its spectacular pitching, low scoring, quickly played games, and memorable characters. It was also a time when professional baseball truly came into its own as America's national pastime. This lively account details a neglected chapter in the game's history.

Review Quotes

"The book reanimates many of the central characters of the Dead Ball Era, and paints a tableau of American life in the first decade of the twentieth century...a thorough recounting of the season...a welcome addition to the literature of baseball's Dead Ball Era. Not only does the book fill a gap in the literature by focusing on the overlooked American League pennant race, but the book leaves the reader with a vivid impression of the players who partook in the race, and of the times in which they lived"-The Inside Game (SABR Deadball Era Committee Newsletter); "I love this book. The Half-Game Pennant of 1908 is half of my favorite year in baseball...the half you may have thought you knew, but didn't. Charles C. Alexander knows the era as no one else does, making you suspect that he personally chatted with all the ancient mound heroes: Ed Walsh, Addie Joss, Rube Waddell, old Cy Young, young Walter Johnson. He tosses off anecdotes and commentary with the casual mastery that has marked his long, splendid career."-John Thorn, official historian, Major League Baseball; "Distinguished historian Charles Alexander delightfully brings to life one of baseball's most underappreciated great pennant races and the accompanying collection of fascinating characters."-Dan Levitt, author, In Pursuit of Pennants.

About the Author

Charles C. Alexander, Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus, Ohio University, has written 14 books, the last eight of which have dealt with American baseball history. He lives in Hamilton, Ohio.