Bert Sugar's Book A Must Read For Anyone Who Enjoys Baseball

Bert Sugar’s Baseball Hall of Fame a Living History of America’s Greatest Game is a fascinating read. The book is a chronicle of how the hall of fame started and where the hall of fame stands today. It is geared towards everybody who loves even to the most knowledgeable of fans.

Sugar’s introduction informs readers of how the hall of fame came into existence, including the usage of a quote by Mark Twain on how Cooperstown, New York was a befitting place for the baseball hall of fame museum.

He further shows his understanding of the history of baseball by using an example of how Abner Doubleday became the inventor of baseball by default even though baseball root’s date back further in history. Furthermore it offers a glimpse at some of the most recognizable players in baseball’s history including the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Ted Williams, Roberto Clemente, Satchel Paige, and more.

Sugar is able to educate even the most diehard baseball fans on other aspects that aren’t often looked at. One of the more intriguing parts of the book was how women played a role in baseball’s history.

The example of Jackie Mitchell is used as the first woman to appear in a professional game and she was able to face the New York Yankees in an exhibition game. This allowed Mitchell to open the door for other firsts for women in baseball’s history including the first umpire.

Besides women in baseball, the game has evolved throughout its history. One example that Sugar points out are the changes to the pitcher’s mound. Some of these alterations include the changing of the distance of the mound from home plate and another alteration was the height of the mound.

Sugar then analyzes the decades since the 1900’s to where baseball is at currently. He goes over the teams of each decade. There were the dominating teams and the teams that came out of nowhere to shock the baseball world.

Advertising has played a key role in baseball. With the roots of advertising going back to 1889. Cap Anson and Buck Ewing lent their names to be put on a Burke Ale poster and both players were compensated for allowing the company to use their name and image for marketing purposes.  

There is a section in the book entitled “Pride and Passion the African American Baseball Experience” which goes into detail on the role African Americans played in baseball.  The section explains, even though blacks were not allowed to play organized baseball it didn’t deter them from creating their own leagues.  Black players like Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Double-Duty Radcliffe, and many others were used as examples of players who were comparable or better talent wise to white professional players. 

Stadiums were another topic in the book. This includes the old time ballparks to the baseball stadiums of today. There are more stories of how the first night game was thought of, how Bill Veeck helped create promotions, and how Harry M. Stevens thought of concessions and to charge fans for scorecards and refreshments like coke.

One of the more alluring exhibits in the hall of fame museum detailed in the book is the World Series display. The section is called “Autumn Glory.” It offers a glance of the history of the World Series and how it first formed.  With the history of the World Series Sugar also goes over the more memorable plays in World Series history such as the triple play turned in 1920, Al Gionfriddo’s catch on a ball hit by Joe Dimaggio in the 1947 Series, and of course Willie Mays’s catch in 1954 which is simply known as “the catch.”

Next up are the examples of baseball cards and the history behind the cards as they evolved into a big business.  Including the story of baseball’s most expensive card, which is of Honus Wagner and is valued at two million dollars.

The accounts of Abbot & Costello’s routine and “Take Me out to the Ballgame” were covered.  Sugar has put all the lyrics to the song, not just the lyrics that are heard during the seventh inning stretch.

Sugar also looks into writers for baseball and how the writers first started all the way back in the 1850’s. After sports writing became big, radio was introduced in 1910, and finally with TV the invention of the play-by-play announcer came into play. 

Also seen was the role that baseball had on Hollywood. Movies have impacted the game from the early 1900’s to the more current movies of today.  

For the more visual person there’s an art exhibition that has sculptures, paintings, etc… It includes famous artists from J.G. Brown to Norman Rockwell.

Sugar describes that the hall of fame has some artifacts that are transported  throughout the country on display. It allows fans of all ages to take a little look at the examples of what is actually in the hall of fame. Other programs are geared for taking the hall of fame globally due to the influx of foreign players. Sugar describes the induction ceremony for Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn in 2008. The ceremony had over 20,000 fans in attendance to hear the speeches of the newest hall of fame members in Ripken and Gwynn.

What gives the book the most value though are the visuals. Throughout the book you are able to see the pictures of what you are reading about and this allows you to be able to capture the significance of that event in baseball’s history. At the very end of the book included are each player’s plaques in the baseball hall of fame and on the very last page is the very first hall of fame class, which was in 1936.  

This book is an excellent read and collectable for baseball fans!