Ed Delahanty in the Emerald Age of Baseball

by Jerrold I. Casway

Jerrold Casway's captivating biography of legendary baseball player Ed Delahanty (1867-1903) offers a compelling examination of the life and career of the first "King of Swatsville," including the enigma surrounding his tragic and untimely death. Through Delahanty's story, Casway traces the evolving character of major league baseball and its effect on the lives and ambitions of its athletes.

Genres: Baseball, Nonfiction

400 pages, Hardcover

First published February 28, 2004

Reviews

[bup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jerrold Casway wants everyone to call the late 1800's version of baseball "the Emerald Age" for its Irish predominance. He's got a good case, I guess. He throws out lots of data about how prevalent Irish ancestry was in the players and managers of the day, especially first generation immigrants. But I'm not sure he's going to make fetch happen. I've never heard it called "the Emerald Age" outside this book. So that's a little odd.

Oh! Ed Delahanty. It's a book about Ed Delahanty. He comes across as a tragic figure, whose fatal flaw is that he's emotionally stunted, self-absorbed, untrustworthy, and impulsive. He's not even likeable as an anti-hero, like Old Hoss Radbourn or John McGraw. He's just a right jerk.

But he played baseball very, very well.

[Chris Witt · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those interested in Delahanty, Irish ballplayers or baseball in the late 19th century, kind of hard to think you wouldn't enjoy this read.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Satisfying as a biography of great 19th century ballplayer Ed Delahanty but less satisfying as a history of the Irish impact on early baseball, Casway's book is a well-researched quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed. The only problems were the author's attempts to fit snippets of Irish baseball history into straightforward biographical chapters, making some sections of the book a little clumsy and forced.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a phenomenal read, giving insight into a player I knew very little about and an era I never fully understood was so impacted by the Irish. the only thing I really knew about Ed was his ending, but it turned out I didn't even know much about that. as I read, it seemed impossible to me that he'd be heading for that end until it was right upon him, and I assume that's about how it went for him as well.