Product Description: Jerrold Casway’s fascinating biography of legendary baseball player Ed Delahanty (1867–1903) offers a compelling examination of the first "King of Swatsville’s" life and career, including the enigma surrounding his tragic and untimely death. Through Delahanty’s story, Casway traces the evolving character of major league baseball and its effect on the lives and ambitions of its athletes.
DelahantyÂ’s career spanned the last decades of the nineteenth century during a time when the sons of post-famine Irish refugees dominated the sport and changed the playing style of AmericaÂ’s national pastime. In this "Emerald Age" of baseball, Irish-American players comprised from 30 to 50 percent of all players, managers, and team captains. Baseball for Delahanty and other young Irishmen was a ticket out of poverty and into a life of fame and fortune. The allure and promise of celebrity and wealth, however, were disastrous for Delahanty. He found himself enmeshed in desperate contract dealings and a gambling addiction that drove him to alcohol abuse. The owner of the fourth highest lifetime batting average, Delahanty mysteriously disappeared and was found at the bottom of NiagaraÂ’s Horseshoe Falls.
This rich biography, which relies on previously unavailable family papers and court transcripts, as well as the colorful sports reporting of the period, will appeal to anyone interested in baseball, sports, or Irish history.
Ed Delahanty in the Emerald Age of Baseball ^ This is a well written book on the life of Ed Delehanty and the Delahanty family. It is thoroughly researched. I could not put this book down once I started reading it.
Review- "Ed Delahanty in the Emerald Age of Baseball" by Jerrold Casway ^ I just finished reading Jerrold Casway's epic work which focuses on the life, times and career of "contract-jumper" Ed Delahanty, little-known (at least to me, up until I read this book) Hall of Fame baseball player who starred in the late 1800s- early 1900s.
This book is painstakingly and meticulously researched (45 pages of footnotes alone, no less!)-- and the enormity of this undertaking by a highly skilled author is readily apparent with every turn of the page. Anyone who appreciates and enjoys the game of baseball (formerly called "Base Ball" as so documented in the book) should find this to be a VERY insightful read-- not only about the EVOLUTION of our National pastime (artfully related IN CONTEXT with key news, events, and "snapshots" of the surrounding world outside-- i.e. Presidents, wars, strife, natural disasters, etc. at any given time along the continuum in which the story is being told)-- but also about the life, times, mighty feats, travails and the ultimate demise of a skilled but wanton, highly intemperate (off the field) slugger.
To this reader, it became apparent while reading this masterpiece is that a great many parallels can be drawn from a MANAGEMENT/PLAYER relations standpoint between today's game and that of yesteryear. In other words-- "the more things change, the more they stay the same". I have now learned that adversarial relationships have always existed between these parties. This is not at all unique to today. Skilled ballplayers sought the highest bidder for their services then, as now. Ed Delahanty, though, was the ultimate "contract-jumper". He'd strike a new deal while the ink was still drying on another one that he had just signed. Being mindful of the limited window of opportunity that he had (before his playing skills would deteriorate), he played this card for all it was worth-- or not.
The game was in a rather constant state of "flux" during Delahanty's time-- what with new "upstart" leagues raiding the incumbent leagues for key talent. Legal decisions and eventual reversals of those decisions abounded. Signed contracts would ultimately be voided by the courts. The emotional turmoil of being "caught in the middle" of this tug of war.. A "pickle" of his own making.. Whilst feeling the "crunch" of legal obligation to several teams at once-- was a source of great distress to Delahanty... and helped lead to his eventual demise... His liquor problems notwithstanding.
But there is much, much more to the story. I simply suggest that you just pick up this book and read it. You will not be disappointed. Another aspect that I thoroughly enjoyed was the manner in which the author "works in" various "snippets" of columns written by the sportswriters of that era-- offering their "take" on the various baseball news items-- and there are many-- that came up. This book is extremely well-documented.
One caveat- unless you are a Evelyn Wood grad, you will find it very difficult to "speed-read" through. That is because a great many paragraphs are jam-packed with facts and detail. This book is also written for the intelligentsia amongst the baseball/Irish history buff contingent. In other words, this is a college-level book. If your reading level is 6th-grade, for example, you may not be able to keep up. On the other hand, this book is VERY intellectually stimulating to those of us that truly appreciate MASTERFUL application of the English language-- a very COLORFUL and ARTFUL one, at that. So, grab your favorite beverage, curl up on the couch and enjoy this fine work.
I rate this book FIVE AND A HALF-STARS OUT OF A POSSIBLE FOUR!
Tim Fitzgerald, Chicago IL
Emerald age, my eye ! ^ While this biography of a fine, mysterious player is adequate, Casway's assertion that 19th Century baseball was an "Emerald Age," due to Irish dominance is ludicrous. Almost all the top ball players were of English ancestry at the time, which reflected the U.S. immigrant population. With the exclusion of Negroes, Latins etc. Irish did stand out as a "colorful" minority.
A Slugger and His Flaws ^ This is one of the best baseball biographies I have read. Unlike some that mainly take you on a timeline from one noteworthy game (with dutiful descriptions of achievements or failures) to the next, Casway does an excellent job of going behind the player to reveal the person, flaws and all. It is fascinating to see the 1890s version of the immature superstar with only one marketable skill (crushing a baseball) as he tries to cope with personal and family problems as that skill rapidly deteriorates. You know the outcome, but it is still a great read. I found the descriptions of the Phillies management very interesting, and learned a few new things about John McGraw. Clearly a lot of careful research went into this book. If you enjoy baseball biographies, you'll like this one.
Then let us sit and tell sad tales of the death of kings.... ^ We all know of players like Cy Young and Ty Cobb, but for most of the baseball world, the late 1890's and Early 19th century is a forgotten period of baseball. Even Larry Anderson, one of the Philadelphia Phillies broadcasters, was unaware of how teh late Phils slugger Ed Delahanty died. (I'm not telling you, you'll find out easy enough, anyway.) He only found out recently during a blow out game, when a certain player had a chance for hitting 4 home runs in single game. A feat, which was accomplished by the Only Del.
In the 1890's, the Phillies had one of the best teams ever to be featured on a baseball diamond. None the less, they were never able to put together a champion. Most of the blame should go to the Phillies owners, who insisted on paying their players far below their worth, and the hiring of string after string of bad managers, not to mention constant inteferance with said managers by the Front Office.
Of Course, the players didn't have much say in any of these things. They could do what they did on the playing field, but a pay raise was hard to come by. In fact, many players saw their salaries go the other way during the 1890's. The reserve clause bound you to your team, and the others in the league weren't allowed to sign you. This set of circumstances led to the creation of the short lived Player's League in the early part of the 1890's and later the formation of the American League in 1901. (At least in part.)
Ed was one of the many great Irish players in baseball at the time. The Irish far outnumbered any other minority in baseball during this period. Irish Ed was one of the greatest players of his (or any other) time, and other teams repeatedly offered the Phillies rather large sums of money in exchange for Big Ed. Ed batted over .400 for a good chunk of his career, and played at every position except pitcher and catcher. He was an amazing left fielder, but kept being moved back to first base for various reasons. (Injuries to other player's, mostly.)
Ed had a love for the arts, and this is the only part of the book that is never really expanded on. Big lived a "Superstar" lifestyle without much regard for his or his families future, rather foolishly thinking that baseball could support him forever. Sadly, he only wanted to be paid what he was worth, and this led him to jump to the American League's Washington Senators in 1902. The departure of Delahanty and the core of the great Phillies team left the Phils in such a state that it took the franchise years, even decades to recover.
Big Ed didn't seem to be as loved in Washington as he was in Philadelphia. At first, maybe, but as time went on, most of the media and cranks (Rowdy bleacher fans) turned on him. During this period of time, Ed began his descent that would end in his death. He had problems with gambling and alcohol late in his life, and after losing a good chunk of cash betting on the racetrack Ed attempted to jump back to the National League for the New York Giants. It was a lucrative contract with a huge, unheard of, bonus for it's time. But it didn't work out. Ed was beset by the owners of the Phillies and Senators, and the rest of the League Owners, and eventually during the winter and spring of 1903, Ed was forced to return to the Senators.
He had already spent most of his bonus, and the two teams agreed to take the money out of Ed's salary. Ed was now being paid almost nothing for his services, and debts began to mount for him and his family.
Ed continued to have deeper and deeper problems with alcohol, depression, and gambling as the season went on, in that order. He wasn't in great shape, and his playing suffered at times. Finally, desperate, drunk, and depressed Ed decided to try to Jump again to the Giants after a few players had successfully switched leagues just recently. After a drinking binge and subsequent confrontation by his monther and teammates in Detroit, Ed boarded a train leaving them behind and heading across Canada for Buffalo, where he would switch to a train bound for New York. He never told anyone where he was heading, and even left his mother strnaded in Detroit, with no money to return to Cleveland, their familiy home.
He never arrived in New York. It is a sad tale, but a tale worth reading. Casway has written a fine book, one of the most detailed books about baseball ever written. The Life and Times of Ed Delahanty will come to life in this book. It truely was the Emerald Age of baseball, and it should not ever be forgotten again. If you think for a moment that my desciption of this book in any way gives you the jist of the story, you are sadly mistaken. No review could come close to ever doing this magnificent book justice. If you like baseball, or just sad tales of the death of Kings, this book is a must read
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