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

by Jim Reisler

Book Overview

Using an iconic photo of the Hall of Fame's original inductees--including 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. In the process, Reisler delivers a history of not only the game's early stars and the house built to honor them, but also the creation of the myth of baseball in America. With his trademark eye and ear for the spirit of the...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786716258
• ISBN13: 9780786716258
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers
• Length: 241 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

An extremely Enjoyable Read

This book, even for someone who is not a lover of baseball history, was somuch fun to read. And, the book was extremely well written by the author. Not only does it tell the true story of the beginnings of the Hall of Fame, but it weaves the story around the history of some of the greatest players in the game. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys baseball & especially to those who have been to the Hall of Fame.

Birth of a Myth

For me Reisler's book was a very timely story, as I read it just before visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in June 2008. He begins with the interesting public relations and (and almost religious) story regarding baseball's creation myth - that Gen. Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown in 1839, a myth that caused the Hall of Fame to be placed there. The Museum itself both honors the myth and discredits it in neighboring rooms. Also entertaining are Reisler's accounts of how the first enshrinees handled that first day of immortality in 1939. Even among those who'd spent their working lives before the public, there were some who didn't quite appreciate the throng that gathered in Cooperstown. A fun puzzle is to try to identify the Hall of Famers on the front cover, both before you read the book and as you go through. Recommended to baseball fans, particularly to fans of the history and lore of the game. Others might wonder what all the fuss was about, as baseball has been elbowed aside by other sports (pro football in particular) for the adulation of American sports fans. Me, I like baseball.

A great day to read this book

Like a relaxing train ride, "A Great Day in Cooperstown" is a wonderful trip to the past. Mr. Reisler captures the mood and tempo of an earlier time, when the heroes were giants and baseball was the apple of the nation's eye. Myths are gently laid aside and bronze plaques are left in their place. If only things were still so simple.