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September 22, 2022

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Deadball Trailblazers, by Ron Waldo

I’m sure most of you are aware of author Ron Waldo’s outstanding baseball essays and books. Many of Ron’s essays have appeared over the years on our Old-Time Baseball Photos Facebook page and have always been well-received. Ron’s latest book, Deadball Trailblazers, Single-Season Records of the Modern Era, has just been published. Ron asked me to write a review of the book and I was happy to do it. The review is now published on Amazon and I’m also posting it here. It’s a book I highly recommend to all baseball fans:

 Deadball Trailblazers, by Ron Waldo

Reviewed by

Gary Livacari

If you’re a fan of the Dead Ball Era as I am, you’ll find Ron Waldo’s new book, Deadball Trailblazers to be a real gem. But here’s a secret: It’s a book that will have great appeal to baseball fans of all ages and all eras.

Ron has thoroughly researched the early decades of twentieth-century baseball—which we know today as the Deadball Era—and showcases twelve of the period’s most notable personalities and their accompanying records. Many of these records still stand today, like Jack Chesbro’s 41 wins, Rube Marquard’s 19 straight victories, and Owen “Chief” Wilson’s 36 triples. Ron achieves this with short but detailed chapters that form an interesting vignette of each featured player. Even greater appeal is that he dovetails this with the many contemporary personalities and events from the player’s life and career. As such, the book serves as a unique, historical tour through life in America during these early decades, with baseball serving as the guiding force.

Many of the players Ron features will be familiar to knowledgeable baseball fans: Rube Waddell, Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker, and Ty Cobb. More good news is that Ron gives much-needed exposure to some of the era’s lesser-known stars, like Vic Willis, Frank “Wildfire” Schulte, and “Chief” Wilson. I found these chapters to be some of the most enjoyable in the book.

Those of you who have read any of Ron’s previous books or articles know he’s a talented storyteller possessing a skilled pen. Here’s an example of his distinctive, engaging writing style, taken from the introduction to the chapter on Rude Waddell:

“Exciting and unique characters dominated the conversation as baseball became more popular, transforming from its early version to the brand of diamond action that entertained fans throughout the Deadball Era. The combination of exquisite, beautiful athletic poetry, courtesy of talented players, along with a rough and tumble attitude, allowed some of these distinctive personalities to rise in stature and become deeply loved by adoring rooters beyond the city those individuals called home. One player stood above all others, merging eccentric and oddball traits with a high level of raw diamond talent, allowing him to become one of the period’s most fascinating and remarkable performers. Inimitable southpaw pitcher George Edward “Rube” Waddell was that player.”

No matter how much you think you know about the players from the Dead Ball Era, I guarantee you’ll learn more. We all know that Rube Waddle was eccentric, but did you know that in the minor leagues he would often “leave the field, stroll over to the bleachers, and have a fan cut one-half inch off his undershirt sleeve”? Or that Rube was once a batboy and later became an actor and a butcher? Or that Jack Chesbro once pitched for an insane asylum?  Are you familiar with the origins of the spitball? How about the formation of the American League and the initial struggles and conflicts between the two leagues? This is just a small sampling of the details Deadball Trailblazers has to offer. You can pick and choose through the chapters that catch your interest, or you can do as I did, and read the book in its entirety.

As a baseball historian and avid fan of the Deadball Era, I thought I knew a lot about this interesting period in baseball’s history. Ron Waldo’s new book, possibly his best, Deadball Trailblazers, has shown me how much I didn’t know. It’s a book I heartily recommend to all baseball fans.

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