Baseball's Hall of Fame

by Ken Smith

A history of the Baseball Hall of Fame, with profiles of its members, by the one-time Director the Hall.

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Nonfiction

Paperback

Published January 1, 1973

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

baseball

Reviews

[Josh Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in the 1950's, Ken Smith's look at the Hall of Fame might seem odd to modern readers, as so much has changed since he wrote it. But I found it delightful, a sort of time capsule -- reading about the history of the Hall and of Cooperstown itself. I'm someone who takes a deep interest in baseball history, so reading about the perception of all-time greats from the perspective of those much closer to them was fascinating. And I learned a lot about how the Hall of Fame came to be where and what it is today. (Did you know that Cooperstown was named after James Feinmore Cooper's parents? I didn't!)
Great read for any fan of baseball history.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I miss the days of lyrical, discursive, imaginative sportswriting. Don't get me wrong, there's some great stuff being written today. But the old-timey style that was prominent in the first half of the 20th century had a sort of magical, awestruck sensibility that's rarely seen nowadays. (I read the revised edition, published in 1970, but I don't think Smith edited the book much other than to add short bios of the newest Hall members.)

Anyway, Smith does a fine job telling the story of the Hall, how it came to be, its opening, and its members. There's no modern analysis and even the stats provided are bare-bones. But if you like that old style of writing and are nostalgic for baseball's golden age, this is a good read.