Henry Chadwick once wrote, "Thanks to Base Ball--the entering wedge of the great reformation which has since taken place--we have been transformed into quite another people, and, as we never do things by halves, but generally rush into furors and extremes, the chances are that from being too neglectful of out-of-door sports we shall become too fond of them." Chadwick had a lifelong love affair with the sports of his time, from cricket, to sailing, to billiards, to chess, and though his fondness abounded in them, he took none for granted. While he wrote about such recreational diversions, he developed a particular interest and enthusiasm for baseball. A prolific writer and editor, he was the first to chronicle the game and its various appurtenances in more than one hundred newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, guides, and books during a journalism career that spanned more than a half century. His descriptive...