EdD
05-30-2002, 10:28 AM
I just wanted to let Dead Ball Era fans know about a Hal Chase novel (“A Prince At First”) I wrote which has just been published by McFarland (officially September, but it’s already being sold via the McFarland Web site and Amazon (where it listed as “A Prince at 1st”). Neither sites provide an excerpt, but if you email me I’ll gladly send the first chapter.
I became obsessed with the Dead Ball Era when I was a kid visiting my aunt in Philadelphia and discovered a book filled with anecdotes from the period. Germany Schaefer stealing first base, that sort of thing. Later, like many of you guys, I came upon “The Glory of Their Times,” which I read countless times. Sometimes front to back. Sometimes picking out chapters at random. Even though I developed into more of a literary writer and graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, I couldn’t shake the need to write the kind of book on the Deadball Era that I wanted to read, one that was chock full of baseball, covering all aspects of the period. During my research I kept coming across Hal Chase and eventually decided that he would be a suitable vehicle, given that he played town ball, semi-pro, college, minor league, major league, Federal League, Sunday ball in New Jersey, and finally in the outlaw mining leagues when he was washed up.
So, if anyone would like to sample the book, let me know.
Thanks.
I became obsessed with the Dead Ball Era when I was a kid visiting my aunt in Philadelphia and discovered a book filled with anecdotes from the period. Germany Schaefer stealing first base, that sort of thing. Later, like many of you guys, I came upon “The Glory of Their Times,” which I read countless times. Sometimes front to back. Sometimes picking out chapters at random. Even though I developed into more of a literary writer and graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, I couldn’t shake the need to write the kind of book on the Deadball Era that I wanted to read, one that was chock full of baseball, covering all aspects of the period. During my research I kept coming across Hal Chase and eventually decided that he would be a suitable vehicle, given that he played town ball, semi-pro, college, minor league, major league, Federal League, Sunday ball in New Jersey, and finally in the outlaw mining leagues when he was washed up.
So, if anyone would like to sample the book, let me know.
Thanks.