The Old Ball Game: How John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, and the New York Giants Created Modern Baseball

Frank Deford takes you there. This book is definitely about baseball and it's evolution around the turn of the century, but it also sits you down in the early 1900's. Historical descriptions of the Manhattan of the day are fascinating. You feel as though you're reading the headlines of the day one minute and sidled up next to the personalities of a very tough time in American history the next minute. If you're interested... Read Full Review

What I liked about the book was that Deford gave the reader credit for knowing baseball and knowing the times of the story. The background information built upon that knowledge. To say this was a glorified article can only be made if one knows that Deford was a sportswriter for SI and others. It was not and many baseball books have taken small subjects. One suggestion (and this covers almost all sports bios) is to give... Read Full Review

Christy Mathewson was one of the 5 inductees in the first class of the baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. John McGraw was inducted a year later in 1937. It can be argued that both were the greatest in their respective positions on the field - Mathewson as a pitcher and McGraw as a manager. It's interesting to note that Mathewson and Walter Johnson were voted into the Hall of Fame one year before Cy Young even though Young retired... Read Full Review

I bought this book because I enjoy reading Frank Deford. This book captures the mood and scope of the nations sports landscape at the turn of the century and how it's subjects grew to become the most recognizable sports figures in the land. Both McGraw and Mathewson were fascinating individuals who never would have crossed paths in the real world had it not been for baseball. The story of their successful professional and... Read Full Review

John McGraw and Christy Mathewson became two of baseball's most recognizable personalities with the arrival of the 20th century. McGraw made his name initially as a third baseman with the scrappy Baltimore Orioles in the 1890's. Mathewson was one of a very few college players, and found himself being tried as a first baseman along with pitching for the Giants when McGraw was brought to New York to lead the Giants for the... Read Full Review