Abner Doubleday: Young Baseball Pioneer

Young Patriots

by Montrew Dunham, Harold D. Underdown (Editor), Cathy Morrison (Illustrator)

Young readers will share Abner Doubleday's enthusiasm and love of baseball and recognize him as a heroic general who fought bravely in two wars in this installation of the Young Patriots series. An early adapter of modern baseball rules, Abner adored the sport and helped bring it into mainstream American sporting life. As a boy, he loved nothing more than playing ball—whether it be "one old cat" or "three old cat"—with his brother and friends. When not on the playing field, Abner sought out adventures, which lead him to a historic meeting with the French Revolutionary War–hero General Lafayette, the recovery of a stolen trunk in the woods, and a hitched ride aboard a rickety stagecoach. Even as a child, Abner displayed the leadership skills and good sportsmanship that helped him advance the rules of baseball and lead his soldiers into battle during the Mexican-American and Civil Wars. Special features include a summary of Abner's adult accomplishments, fun facts detailing little-known tidbits of information about him, and a time line of his life.

Genres: Sports

108 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

The legend that Abner Doubleday invented baseball in 1839 has been conclusively proven to be a myth. Fortunately, this book does nothing significant to back up that myth. All that Doubleday is described as doing is playing games that let to the development of baseball and perhaps being one of the people that codified it into one with four sequential bases, a pitcher’s mound and the two sides taking turns after a set number of outs. This really does not differentiate Doubleday from many other boys growing up in the first half of the nineteenth century, similar games were played all over the United States with the rules being fluid, both locally and from place to place.
Although Doubleday had a distinguished military career, rising to the level of General and fighting at Gettysburg, only eleven pages are devoted to that part of his life. The rest is about his childhood, which could have been the life of millions of energetic boys growing up in the United States at that time. It was a time of exploration, getting dirty, wearing your best clothes on special occasions and playing the most popular games as often as possible with your friends. In that sense, this book is very generic.

[Terry]

This book is very classic and uses practical language to bring to life the story of Abner Doubleday as a young boy. It is reminiscent of the Laura Ingalls Wilders’ books about her own childhood. The characters are well created; their personalities shine through their actions. Each of them is very distinct, showing virtue and passion for what they do. The plot is not particularly suspenseful or complicated, but is rather a simple story of the adventures that occurred in Abner’s everyday life as a child. This book is best suited for readers aged 8 to 12. The language used and the events incorporated into the plot best fit their reading comprehension level. I think that reading this book would greatly benefit them by allowing them to have a glimpse into life in the 19th century and into the origins of baseball. Young readers could learn greatly from Abner’s passion for what he did, which successfully shines through in this book.

To read our full review (complete with the kids' opinions!) go to The Reading Tub®.

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. I would rate it 4 and 1/2 and he really like baseball.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Book

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just wasn't too interested in this one.