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Baseball in Northwest Iowa
Baseball in Northwest Iowa
Baseball in Northwest Iowa
Ebook209 pages1 hour

Baseball in Northwest Iowa

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While new railroad tracks cut through Northwestern Iowa in the mid-19th century, hardy pioneers cultivated the fertile soil, and the burgeoning sport of baseball took root and flourished. An integral element of the developing culture, it promoted community pride. Eight Northwestern Iowa towns supported professional teams by 1912, the first being Sioux City in 1888. Over time, that city's clubs produced hall-of-fame shortstop Dave Bancroft and initiated the still-existing American League. Homegrown talent from an abundance of professional, semiprofessional, and amateur clubs throughout the area's 19 counties yielded 38 major-league players before 1960 and more since.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 20, 2017
ISBN9781439659700
Baseball in Northwest Iowa
Author

Joan Wendl Thomas

Freelance writer Joan Wendl Thomas developed a passion for baseball history while living in St. Louis for decades. There, she wrote two books on that city's lengthy history of the sport. Recently returning to live in her former Northwestern Iowa home, she became captivated with the depth of its baseball past. This book reveals her remarkable findings.

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Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    More photo album than book – no surprise, considering the subtitle – this is nevertheless a captivating volume concerning America’s pastime in one corner of the buckle of the Corn Belt. This is essentially a history of baseball in 19 counties of the Hawkeye State as told through black-and-white photographs. Why the focus on less than two dozen sparsely populated rural counties? The two-page Introduction doesn’t say, but suggests that this area was a hotbed of development back in the early days and which gave rise to the present American League. Eight chapters cover a handful of counties each. Browsers will be rewarded with many historical tidbits, such as learning that Herbert Hoover, our nation’s 31st President, was not only an ardent fan, but the state’s only native son to occupy the White House. Besides being of interest to current and former residents and baseball aficionados, this slender volume will also be of use to those involved in genealogy research, especially if they know of family members that played the game.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Thanks to Librarything and Arcadia Publishing for a free copy of this book."To grow up and play with a clean ball and a special bat most likely inspired many a youngster to choose baseball as a career."Baseball in Northwest Iowa (Images of Baseball) is more than just a history of baseball in that state starting in the late 1800's. It provides the reader with a slice of Americana. There is a multitude of fascinating photos spanning from the early 1900's to the present that portray the fashions and trends of the time. You don't have to be a baseball fan or even American to enjoy this book. I am interested in history and found myself intrigued right from the beginning to the end. I had no idea that polo matches were played after baseball games in the 1880's until its popularity waned while baseball's popularity grew. I was also surprised to find out that there were all black, interracial, and girls' teams. One such team, the Bloomer Girls would make stops to play against local teams while travelling around the country in a pullman car. Whether you're a baseball fan or would just like a taste of small town America in the past 100 years or so, I highly recommend this book.

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Baseball in Northwest Iowa - Joan Wendl Thomas

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