Autumn Glory: Baseball's First World Series

by Louis P. Masur

A suspenseful account of the glorious days a century ago when our national madness began

A post-season series of games to establish supremacy in the major leagues was not inevitable in the baseball world. But in 1903 the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates (in the well-established National League) challenged the Boston Americans (in the upstart American League) to a play-off, which he was sure his team would win. They didn't--and that wasn't the only surprise during what became the first World Series. In Autumn Glory, Louis P. Masur tells the riveting story of two agonizing weeks in which the stars blew it, unknown players stole the show, hysterical fans got into the act, and umpires had to hold on for dear life.

Before and even during the 1903 season, it had seemed that baseball might succumb to the forces that had been splintering the sport for decades: owners' greed, players' rowdyism, fans' unrest. Yet baseball prevailed, and Masur tells the equally dramatic story of how it did so, in a country preoccupied with labor strife and big-business ruthlessness, and anxious about the welfare of those crowding into cities such as Pittsburgh and Boston (which in themselves offered competing versions of the American dream). His colorful history of how the first World Series consolidated baseball's hold on the American imagination makes us see what one sportswriter meant when he wrote at the time, Baseball is the melting pot at a boil, the most democratic sport in the world. All in all, Masur believes, it still is.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, History, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Bobby Smieszny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid recap of the first World Series in 1903. Each game gets its own chapter, and interspersed between are chapters about the battles and negotiations between the American and Nationals leagues leading up to organizing the World Series. For a baseball or Red Sox fan, there are some fun stories to enjoy!

[Tom Gase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just what I wanted for a book on the 1903 and first World Series ever played. The series was between the Pirates and the Boston Americans (later to be called the Red Sox) and this book does an excellent job of describing not only the action during the games, but between the games as well. I felt as if I was right there in 1903 watching the games in Boston and Pittsburg (the city for whatever reason didn't have the "H" for a few years). The author, Louis P. Masur also writes chapters describing how the two teams did in the regular season as well as how a World Series was finally agreed on to play. I won't tell you who wins, but Cy Young, Buck Freeman, Jimmy Collins, Honus Wagner, Tommy Leach and Fred Clarke are also discussed a lot in this book. I wish there was a World Series book for each year written like this one. A short book at 227 pages or so, but I didn't feel as if the book lacked any information. Good stuff.

[Scott Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars) This work looks at the first World Series of 1903, when Boston (Nationals) took down the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the midst of recapping each of the games, the author discusses the status of baseball, how the World Series came to be, and the course of the season for the two teams. This reads as a near-pure sports recap, and for the baseball fan, there is a lot of history to learn. For the non-baseballer, maybe not the book for you.

[Du · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and researched. The author is a fan, and his enthusiasm helps move the book along. I liked the in between chapters covering the era baseball existed in at the time more than the recounting of the games themselves. Overall very enjoyable.

[Brandon Minster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well done. An enjoyable read.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great narrative story of first world series with alternating chapters providing history of the National and American leagues and the rivalry.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the end, critics concluded, "no amount of eloquence can alter the fact that a foul is not a strike, any more than it is a strawberry shortcake."

"When the Americans swept the White Sox at Huntington Avenue Grounds, and then beat Detroit with Cy Young entering the game in relief, Boston had earned its eleventh consecutive victory. The games "had the true ring of championship ball," but fans were cautious in their expectations. After all, Boston had competed for the pennant in 1901 and 1902, only to fall back a handful of games by season's end." (Proof again how some things rarely change, Linda)

….democracy blossomed in the stands. "Baseball is the melting pot at a boil, the most democratic sport in the world and, in the stands and bleachers all are equal during a hard game," proclaimed Hugh Fullerton in his treatise on "Fans." The game broke down social identity: "The spectator at a ball game is no longer a statesman, lawyer, broker, doctor, merchant, or artisan, but just a plain every-day man." The game also allowed for the release of tension: it "clutches spectators and squeezes them till they yell." Some went so far as to assert that it acted as a safety valve for the dispersal of energies that, directed in other ways, would be harmful to the country: "[A] young, ambitious and growing nation needs to 'let off steam'. Baseball…serves the same purpose as a revolution in Central America or a thunderstorm on a hot day."

[M.E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone interested in the national pastime and how it became the game we so love today, this book is indispensible. The people, times, and attitudes of America at the turn of the century, and the series of games that made everyone stop as ask, "What's the score?" are carefully presented. Along with many interesting and humerous anecdotes, this book tells about how the legeds like Cy Young earned the title. This book embodies what baseball should be.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this book while browsing through the baseball section of the local B&N... was in the mood for an historical baseball book. This fit the bill: well written and researched, along with some great photographs.

[Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a lot of fun to learn about the first World Series but I'm not a big non-fiction guy. my link text

[Mshawactuary · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter gave this to me because I love baseball, but I found the historical context as interesting as the game descriptions.

[Bec]

Not my type of book...would be great if you were a baseball fan

[Ron Kaplan · Rating 3 out of 5]

history,World Series

[Brandon Rathbun · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's about baseball! Enough said!

[Shelley Alongi · Rating 4 out of 5]

How did he reconstruct all those plays? It's a place to start and I might need to read this again. However, I did recognize some of the historical names and I said oh that's when they played.