Pastime Lost: The Humble, Original, and Now Completely Forgotten Game of English Baseball

by David Block

Long before baseball became America’s national pastime, English citizens of all ages, genders, and classes of society were playing a game called baseball. It had the same basic elements as modern American baseball, such as pitching and striking the ball, running bases, and fielding, but was played with a soft ball on a smaller playing field and, instead of a bat, the ball was typically struck by the palm of the hand. There is no doubt, however, that this simpler English version of baseball was the original form of the pastime and was the immediate forerunner of its better-known American offspring. Strictly a social game, English baseball was played for nearly two hundred years before fading away at the beginning of the twentieth century. Despite its longevity and its important role in baseball’s evolution, however, today it has been completely forgotten.

In Pastime Lost David Block unearths baseball’s buried history and brings it back to life, illustrating how English baseball was embraced by all sectors of English society and exploring some of the personalities, such as Jane Austen and King George III, who played the game in their childhoods. While rigorously documenting his sources, Block also brings a light touch to his story, inviting us to follow him on some of the adventures that led to his most important discoveries.
 

Genres: Baseball, Sports, History

328 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2019

Reviews

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

While there has been much research and writing dedicated to the origins of American baseball and disproof of the myths surrounding that origin, there has been little written about the game of English baseball, which as the author makes known throughout the book is NOT the same as the game of rounders. David Block has written a very interesting book on the game, combing through various publications and archives to research his material and come to some conclusions about the game.

What is most noteworthy about the book is that the majority of it discusses the literary and journalistic sources that mention the game of English baseball. The first reference that Block notes is from John Newbury’s children’s book A Pretty Little Pocketbook. Published in 1744, there is a passage that reads “The Ball once struck off,/Away flies the Boy/To the next Destin’d Post/And then Home with Joy.” A drawing that illustrates this accompanies the prose, illustrating a boy with a ball in his hand ready to toss it. Many researchers believe this is the first reference to baseball in any form, including those who research the origins of the American game.

From there, the reader will be taken along Block’s journey through the archives of many English sources as he scoured them for more references to the game. Many people know of the famous passage in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abby. This is just one of the numerous passages that Block mentions and/or quotes on his journey. Block covers the entire period that the game has references and was played, which was from the 18th century to the early 20th century. He also includes a chapter in which he explains the game as much as possible from the information he has gleaned from these sources.

Even though this is excellent information for readers who are interested in baseball or literary history, what makes this book an enjoyable read is the writing style of Block. He takes the reader on his journey to find out about English baseball with some self-deprecating humor and other wit along the way. This makes for an excellent combination of information and entertainment that is sure to please any reader interested in the aforementioned topics.

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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[M. Apple · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book — based on the uncovering of the roots of baseball, one that has tangled roots, indeed — but much of the first half of the book reads like unedited blog entries (largely because they are). The folksy first person language and snide asides are occasionally entertaining, but personally I was more interested in the game itself rather than anecdotes and personal narratives about heroically typing in key search words in various library online databases.

Still, it’s an interesting read for any baseball fan who wants more evidence to tell their British friends that baseball is not simply rounders, and that in fact the English invented modern baseball’s ancestor. Baseball is much older than we thought it was.

[Margaret Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yep, Abner Doubleday did not invent baseball. Besides much of my joking to the contrary, neither did Jane Austen--but she had good reason to name it in Northanger Abbey. David Block gives a spectacularly good overview of the obscure game of English baseball. It's probably not what you think.