The authoritative compendium of facts, statistics, photographs, and analysis that defines baseball in its formative first decades.This comprehensive reference work covers the early years of major league baseball from the first gameMay 4, 1871, a 2-0 victory for the Fort Wayne Kekiongas over the visiting Cleveland Forest City teamthrough the 1900 season. Baseball historian David Nemec presents complete team rosters and detailed player, manager, and umpire information, with a wealth of statistics to warm a fans heart.Sidebars cover a variety of topics, from odditiesthe team that had the best record but finished secondto analyses of why Cleveland didnt win any pennants in the 1890s. Additional benefits include dozens of rare illustrations and narrative accounts of each years pennant race. Nemec also carefully charts the rule changes from year to year as the game developed by fits and starts to formulate the modern rules. The result is an essential work of reference and at the same time a treasury of baseball history.This new edition adds much material unearthed since the first edition, fills gaps, and corrects errors, while presenting a number of new stories and fascinating details. David Nemec began the lifetime labor that helped produced this work in 1954 and admits it may never end, as there always will be some obscure player whose birth date has not yet been found. Until perfection is achieved, this work offers state-of-the-art accuracy and detail beyond that supplied by even modern baseball encyclopedias. As Casey Stengel, who was born during this era, was wont to say, you could look it up. Now you can.