Our Recommended Reading List
Below, you'll find a wide selection of ballpark & baseball related books we've found well-worth reading. For more information or to purchase any book, click on the title. BallparkTour has affiliated with Amazon to bring you the best prices and fastest shipping on all available titles
The Ballpark Book
by Ron Smith, Kevin Belford
"A nice package for young or old folks who still consider baseball our national pastime. This is a book for the real fans."--The Washington Times
In The Ballpark Book, The Sporting News takes readers on a sentimental journey through the past and present fields where major-league baseball is played. Fans learn the historical texture of each field, the very places where the game's greatest moments took place, and experience the ambience and feeling of each ballpark, old and new, as if they were sitting in the stands. All of the nostalgic ballparks are here--from the Gone But Not Forgotten Era (Ebbets Field, Candlestick Park) to the New Wave Era (Camden Yards, Jacobs Field) and everything in between--49 past and present ballparks in all. Hundreds of full-color photos and illustrations make this an attractive addition to any baseball fan's collection.
Take Me Out to the Ballpark: An Illustrated Guide to Baseball Parks Past & Present
by Josh Leventhal, Jessica M. Macmurray
This dazzling, full color, stadium-shaped book is the ultimate tribute to the hallowed homes of baseball past and present, vividly bringing to life the facts, legends, lore and excitement of America's favorite sport. Every current major league ballpark, fields under construction, famous stadiums from baseball's past and the most interesting minor and Negro league parks are presented in huge full-color photographs and illustrations-over 250 in all. The captivating detailed text reveals the thrill of being in them-from bygone classics like the Polo Grounds, Ebbetts Field and Comisky Park to current favorites like Fenway, Camden Yards and Dodger Stadium. Fascinating stories about teams new and old and unforgettable moments, vital statistics and profiles of the greatest players-presented in colorful sidebars and boxes-highlight the distinguishing stories and characteristics of each ballpark. Fun features on food at the ballpark, famous announcers, mascots and more tell all the inside stories behind the stadiums.
Ballparks: Then & Now
by Eric Enders
Baseball is one of America's favorite and constant pastimes. The parks in which the games are played, however, have changed significantly over time. Most of the wooden-bench original stadiums are gone, bulldozed to make way for huge, multi-seat emporiums for the modern successful baseball team. This book uses old photographs to look at these wonderful old baseball grounds that are so full of nostalgia for the true fan and shows their modern counterparts in contemporary photographs. Sometimes the old ball park has given way to the new, but more often than not, the park itself has moved entirely to another bigger site. Ballparks Then and Now includes the current American and National League ball parks, as well as former league stadiums.
America's Ballparks
by Kenneth Hogan
Examine our national pastime through 76 Major League stadiums, past present, future. Included are 275 beautiful and historic photos, mostly color. Twenty-five percent of the profits from this book will be donated to the New York Police and Fire Widow's and Children's Benefit Fund.
Kenneth Hogan is a New York City Firefighter and former New York City Police Officer and U.S. Coastguardsman. He has previously written one book, the Old Firehouse, and is a staff writer for FIREFIGHTER'S QUARTERLY.
Stadia, A Design and Development Guide
by Geraint John, Rod Sheard
This completely updated third edition is an essential design guide for those responsible for designing and providing new stadia and also making major alterations to existing buildings. Stadia are one of the most exciting building types; designed well, they can enhance and provide a comfortable venue for great occasions. One new chapter for this edition. This authoritative and comprehensive guide to stadia design will be invaluable to those responsible for the provision of new stadia or refurbishment. Both authors have been involved in the design of stadia, arenas and grandstands for many years and this book reflects their wealth of experience and expertise.
Fodor's Baseball Vacations
by Bruce Adams, Margaret Engel
Want to know which team has the funniest mascot? Which ballpark has the best contests for fans? Which stadiums serve loganberry juice, buck-a-bone BBQ, and buttermilk pie? And what you can do before and after the game? (How about whitewater rafting, rollercoastering, listening to live country music, or riding the steepest passenger railway in the world?) The authors cover the Baseball Hall of Fame and travel from the Cape Cod Leagues to California's Rancho Cucamonga. The fresh, lively anecdotes and compelling baseball lore that fill every chapter are sure to amuse -- even if the family favorite doesn't win. The Adams family, parents, and children tell all: How to get foul balls, collect autographs, and save money on tickets; family-friendly diners, cafeterias, and restaurants; where the visiting team stays; where to sit, where to park, what to eat; plus the best giveaways and contests.
Joe Mock's Ballpark Guide
by Joe Mock
This book takes readers on a tour of all of the stadiums in Major League Baseball in use through the 2002 season, providing a look at the best and worst elements of each park. Readers learn tips about getting to each stadium, its history, landmark events which have occurred there, the author's favorite aspects of the park, little-known facts, the best (and worst) places to sit and how to buy tickets. Printed on high-quality coated paper, the 112 full-color photos of ballparks, and the colorful graphics, make this tour of the Majors truly enjoyable.
Lawrence Ritter, author of Lost Ballparks and The Glory of Their Times, said, "I am an enthusiastic admirer of Joe Mock’s Ballpark Guide. It makes great reading. No matter what page I open to, I find something interesting and informative."
Baseball Vacations : Great Family Trips to Minor League
and Classic Major League Ballparks Across America
by Margaret Engel, Bruce Adams
Not surprisingly, this is a great book for the family that loves baseball. The authors set out with their 8-year-old daughter, 5-year-old son, and a worthy goal: "to help families plan realistic trips that include baseball." To that end, they traveled over 50,000 miles and cheered on over 110 major- and minor-league teams, from the Durham Bulls to the Bronx Bombers. They then divided the best stadiums they saw, as well as the best hotels, restaurants, and attractions that surround them, into 30 long-weekend trips spanning the entire country.
The book is also a great resource for any family that doesn't want to spend their vacation trudging a well-worn path from monument to state park to fast-food restaurant. The authors have high standards for what a family vacation should be, and for what kids should see and do when they travel. Fortunately, they also have a reasonable understanding of what you can expect your kids to sit through. The supplementary attractions and restaurants that accompany the ballpark listings reveal this--they favor down-home diners over chains, living history over moribund museums, the authentic over the synthetic. If you don't know much about baseball, or haven't traveled much with children, the book makes an excellent cribsheet. But even if you've taken the brood to Cooperstown and back a dozen times, you're likely to learn something new.
Like a trip to the ballpark, the family vacation isn't so much about where you go or what you do, but the people you do it with. Traveling, or going to a game, can bring families together in a special way--why else would we put up with the hassle? This guide reflects a wonderful awareness of that fact, and a willingness to make the most of it. Not just a digest of ballparks, the book is a celebration of that other national pastime, the family vacation. As both, it is a stirring success. --Andrew Nieland
SPECIFIC BALLPARKS
The Final Season: Fathers, Sons, and One Last Season in a Classic American Ballpark
by Tom Stanton
After the Detroit Tigers' owners announced that 1999 would be the last season played in 87-year-old Tiger Stadium, Michigan journalist Tom Stanton (Rocket Man: Elton John from A-Z) fulfilled his childhood dream of attending all 81 home games. Describing the stadium as one of "the points on our personal maps where we find our treasured memories and replenish our hungering souls," in The Final Season: Fathers, Sons, and One Last Season in a Classic American Ballpark Stanton takes us through the season game by game, revisiting his indelible connections to the stadium along the way. There, his father and uncles survived depression, illness and bereavement through love of baseball, and there Stanton grieved after his "fevered delusions of a baseball career snapped like a hard curveball." Ultimately, Stanton mourns "the loss of our fathers and grandfathers" and decries the process that has "splintered the sport into haves and have-nots," though he doesn't dig deeply into the team's desire to move to the wealthy suburbs from a poor African-American neighborhood.
St. Louis' Big League Ballparks (Images of Baseball)
by Joan M. Thomas
Philadelphia's Old Ballparks (Baseball in America)
by Rich Westcott
Philadelphia's rich baseball heritage as seen through its baseball parks is vividly brought to life in this colorful and anecdotal book. Experienced sportswriter Rich Westcott once again dives into a labor of love, taking us back in time to an era when Philadelphia's ballparks were as famous and as much a part of the game as the teams that took the field.
Philadelphia's baseball history goes beyond Shibe Park. Philadelphia's Old Ballparks is both a documentary and an oral history, providing detailed descriptions of all of the old professional parks and the many teams that played in them, including Baker Bowl, with its right field wall so close to home plate, it prompted sportswriter Red Smith to quip, "It might be exaggerating to say the outfield wall casts a shadow across the infield. But if the right fielder had eaten onions at lunch, the second baseman knew it." Shibe Park is also well-documented with its idiosyncracies, as are the others. The recollections of dozens of people--players, owners, vendors, ushers, grounds keepers, and fans combine to recreate the world that was held within those walls.
Wrigley Field: The Unauthorized Biography - New release!
by Stuart Shea
Wrigley Field's Last World Series:
The Wartime Chicago Cubs And The Pennant Of 1945 - New release!
by Charles N. Billington
Wrigley Field : A Celebration of the Friendly Confines
by Mark Jacob (Author), Stephen Green (Photographer), Ernie Banks
With its famous ivy-covered outfield walls and old-fashioned, hand-operated scoreboard, Wrigley Field is regarded as a jewel of a ballpark by baseball fans across the nation. That this ballpark, which opened for business in 1914, is situated in the midst of a Chicago neighborhood gives it added ambience and charm. The Cubs may be perennial losers, but Wrigley Field itself has always been a winner. As Cubs legend Ernie Banks states in the book, "I won every time I stepped onto the grass at Wrigley Field." Most Cubs fans will find this book of photographs by Green, the official Cubs photographer since 1981, a beautiful depiction of Wrigley. The anecdotal text by Chicago Tribune assistant news editor Jacob covers all the colorful characters that have inhabited Wrigley, from players to ushers to everyday fans. This book will fly off the shelves at most Chicago-area libraries and is a good bet for large sports collections elsewhere.
RETURN TO TOP
Fenway : A Biography in Words and Pictures
by Dan Shaughnessy
A religious shrine or a giant pinball machine? Museum or amusement park? Historical or hysterical? These are just some of the puzzlers posed by Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaugnessy in this lovely homage to the second oldest, single most complex ballpark in the majors. The answers are debatable. What remains absolute are the images Boston's Fenway Park has burned into the imaginations of the faithful and the faithless since the day it opened, a short week after the Titanic sank.
Shaugnessy and photographer Stan Grossfeld combine to offer an often-spectacular visual tribute that looks both back in time and into the heart of all the park's odd nooks, crannies, shadows, and hiding places. They go inside the hand-operated scoreboard on the fabled Green Monster. There's even a lovely picture of a pastoral Fenway covered in snow. Shaughnessy's text--"When they raze Fenway, it'll be like cutting down an old tree. Count the rings. There's one for each celebration and heartache suffered by Red Sox fans"--is affectionate and quite personal. He adds to it with a series of short, lyrical reminiscences from those who've mused about the field-- David Halberstam, Bob Costas, Stephen King, and Doris Kearns Goodwin--and those who've played on it: Don Zimmer, Bucky Dent, Dennis Eckersley, and Carl Yastrzemski. Fittingly, Ted Williams pens the foreward. The result of the amalgamation is an altogether splendid celebration of a landmark about to be pushed by progress into memory.
by Stew Thornley
"I think Stew Thornley's book on the Polo Grounds is a worthy one. There are other books on old ball parks...but I don't think anything else is as definitive on this historic ball park. Thornley brings to life not only the various Polo Ground sites but the significant figures in Giants lore—John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, Carl Hubbell, Mel Ott, and Willie Mays among others. I think I know more than a little about the Giants and the Polo Grounds, but I found myself learning more about the team and the ball park. Thornley has done exhaustive research.... I would want this book in my library for sure."
—Stan Isaacs, National Headliners Award-winning sportswriter, former columnist for Newsday, and co-author (with Marty Glickman) of The Fastest Kid on the Block
"I went to high school at Boys High in Brooklyn and after classes we ran to Ebbets Field to try to sneak in before game time. But on weekends I took the subway to my true love, the Polo Grounds, to root for my heroes—Mell Ott, Carl Hubbell, and the great Jo-Jo Moore from Gausse, Texas. Thanks, Stew, for bringing it all back so vividly."
—Larry Ritter, author of The Glory of Their Times
The Giants of the Polo Grounds: The Glorious Times of Baseball's New York Giants
by Noel Hynd
Out of the welter of teams and leagues that characterized baseball in the late 19th century, the New York Giants emerged in 1883. They had some winning seasons and some losing ones as the century drew to a close, but they really came into their own when John McGraw arrived to take charge in 1902. He remained for 30 years and made the team the darling of the city with his aggressive, bunt-and-steal type of play, winning numerous pennants. But the death of his style of baseball was announced with the advent of Babe Ruth in 1921. McGraw surrendered the reins to Bill Terry, who was replaced by Mel Ott; later, manager Leo Durocher resurrected the McGravian style and led theGiants to the most exciting victory of all in 1951. The owners, stars like Mathewson and Mays, various eccentric players are all here in this vivid history by Sports Illustrated contributor Hynd. Photos not seen by PW.
Hit Sign, Win Suit: An Irishman's Tribute to Ebbets Field
by Thomas Porky McDonald
Yankee Stadium: Drama, Glamor and Glory
by Ray Robinson, Chris Jennison
Yankee Stadium, a lavish, anecdotal tribute to "the house that Ruth built," brims with colorful characters on and off the field: managers, players, owners, some of the greatest sports heroes from Babe Ruth to Lou Gehrig and Jackie Robinson, from Joe DiMaggio to Mickey Mantle, and personalities from Yogi Berra and Phil Rizzuto to Bob Costas and Pete Hamill. Momentous events mix with obscure but telling human incidents. The course of the great pennant races and World Series championships is touched with the reverie of timeless long-ago summer afternoons. A chronological text is studded with boxed features highlighting special events, milestones, championship lists, and brief essays and reminiscences. Stunning illustrations include both classic images and rare, unpublished photographs. This is a book baseball fans—especially of the Bronx Bomber persuasion—will treasure forever.
The Yankee Encyclopedia: Includes Panoramic Foldout of Yankee Stadium
by Mark Gallagher
The New York Times Book Review April 7, 1996 Richard Gid Powers
What this country has long needed is a good Yankees encyclopedia. Mark Gallagher has done a beautiful job. he begins with a spirited history of the Yankees, a team that (despite a few insignificant recent blips) stands as a peerless standard of excellence. Biographies of the 180 most notable Yankees extract their statistics with the team from those of the rest of their careers, and there is a listing for everyone who ever played for the team along with a chronological section on managers, which unaccountably fails to explain why kid Eberfield (1908) was called "the Tabasco Kid." There are terrific season-by-season summaries, a long section on the World Series and Yankee statistics in every conceivable category.
by Mark Langill
The Perfect Pitch: The Biography of Roger Owens,
the Famous Peanut Man at Dodger Stadium
by Daniel S. Green
Park Life: The Summer of 1977 at Comiskey Park
by Peter Elliott
Chicago photojournalist Peter Elliott brings to life the rhythms and character of this revered stadium during 1977 one of its most celebrated seasons. Elliott's recent discovery of negatives lost for 23 years proudly displays the earthy, forgotten life of old-time Chicago baseball before the advent of corporate sky-boxes and gourmet hot dogs. His refined style demonstrates both the lush eye of youthful talent and the singular drive that brought him back to Comiskey Park over and over again during that strange and captivating time known as "the summer of the Chicago Hit Men." The old park never looked so good. And its reappearance through the artistry of Peter Elliott permits it to live again in the hearts of life-long fans and everyone who loves baseball. An engaging narrative accompanies the photographs and catalogues the history and foibles of park, team, and fans.
Comiskey Park (Images of Baseball)
by Irwin J. Cohen
Goodbye Old Friend: A Pictorial Essay on the Final Season at Old Comiskey Park
by Frank Budreck, John Regnier, Tim MacWilliams
Places Around the Bases: A Historic Tour of the Coors Field Neighborhood
by Diane Bakke, Jackie Davis
Uncovering the Dome
by Amy Klobuchar
Was the public interest served in Minnesota's ten-year political brawl over the Metrodome? This case study tells the story of how a $55 million domed stadium called the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome came to be built in Minneapolis. More importantly, it offers an opportunity to explore the way things work in American politics: the shifting coalitions and uncertain outcomes; the scattered interests and chaotic atmosphere; the differing conceptions of what serves the public interest. This is not an idealized version of how things should work in American politics, but a story of how they do work!
Home Sweet Home: Memories of Tiger Stadium (Honoring a Detroit Legend)
by Detroit News
When it comes to the grand old ballparks that have been home to Major League Baseball through the years, few have had the endurance and historical significance of Tiger Stadium in Detroit, which hosted its last game at the end of the 1999 baseball season. Since 1912 Tiger Stadium has been a mecca for baseball fans throughout the state of Michigan. Three generations of fans have been witness to the storied exploits of baseball legends like Ty Cobb, Hal Newhauser, Mickey Cochrane, Hank Greenberg, George Kell, and Al Kaline, along with other greats like Denny McLain, Mickey Lolich, Alan Trammel, Jack Morris, Lou Whitaker, and Kirk Gibson.
"Home Sweet Home: Memories of Tiger Stadium", from "The Detroit News", gives Tigers' fans a lovingly-drawn portrait of one of baseball's great treasure troves of happy memories. This historical reference, told for the most part through over 200 color and black-and-white photos, chronicles all of the greatest events and players that have made Tiger Stadium so special for nine decades. During that time the Tigers have played in six World Series, bringing home the World Championship in 1935, 1945, 1968, and 1984. For generations, "The Detroit News" has been the authoritative source relied upon by Tigers fans. Now the newspaper captures the uniqueness of Tiger Stadium in the beautiful pictorial history, "Home Sweet Home: Memories of Tiger Stadium". Foreword by Al Kaline!
Tiger Stadium (Images of Baseball)
by Irwin J. Cohen
Irwin J. Cohen worked in Tiger Stadium as a writer and photographer and was employed in the front office when the team won the World Series in 1984. He viewed the historic ballpark from every seat as well as from many vantage points not accessible to the public. Mr. Cohen is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research and has written several other books, including Arcadiaís Jewish Detroit.
Michigan and Trumbull was the address for professional baseball in Detroit for 104 seasons. From 1896 when Bennett Park opened, until the last game at Tiger Stadium in 1999, Michigan and Trumbull was the most famous street corner in Michigan. This book takes you on a visual tour of baseball in the Motor City from the beginning of the Tigers franchise to the historic final game played at Tiger Stadium. Here you will find Tiger legends Cobb, Gehringer, Greenberg, Kaline, Lolich, Trammell, and others, many captured in never before published photographs.
A Place for Summer: A Narrative History of Tiger Stadium (Great Lakes Books)
by Richard Bak
Crosley Field: The Illustrated History of a Classic Ballpark
by Greg Rhodes
Ballpark: Camden Yards and the Building of an American Dream
by Peter Richmond
Named one of the "Ten Best Sports Books" by The Sporting News, Ballpark is the compelling story of how Baltimore's magnificent Camden Yards ballpark was born, and the effects it has had on the city, the team, and the whole course of stadiumbuilding across the country. It's both an examination of the city's psyche and a close look behind the scenes at our national pastime. This is a quintessentially American story of progress, movement, change, triumph, and of an eternal renewal of hope.
Home of the Game: The Story of Camden Yards
by Thom Loverro
"If you consider baseball to be sports theater, a drama played out in green cathedrals," suggests Loverro in this spirited exploration of how one ballpark changed the essential experience of the fans and a city's image of itself, "then Camden Yards has become the stage for the game." Indeed it has, and the model for things to come as well. In the first half of his Camden yarn, Loverro reconstructs the complex thinking and planning that went into creating the archetype of new-wave retro ballparks. As he examines the confluence of events (including the remarkable collaboration between baseball and Baltimore) required to raise a mecca for the game and a renaissance for a city in decline, he also offers a smartly concise history of stadium evolution and shows the influence Camden Yards has had on every park built since. The book's second half is devoted to memorable moments on the field itself--none, of course, more dramatic and inspirational than the thrilling 1995 series against the Angels in which Cal Ripkin tied and then broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive-game streak. It was an event that first stirred baseball from its poststrike doldrums, a high drama played out on a stage that seemed custom-built for its very occasion.
Cleveland Stadium: The Last Chapter
by Jim Toman, Gregory G. Deegan, James A. Toman
The book takes Cleveland sports fans back to the era when Cleveland Municipal Stadium was the main sports venue in Cleveland. The book traces the history of the Indians and Browns at the stadium, and recalls the many other events that were held there, including religious events, rock concerts, and carnivals. The book also includes chapters on construction and demolition, and has a 16-page center color photograph spread.
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