Chris von der Ahe knew next to nothing about base¬ball when he risked his life's savings to found the franchise that would become the St. Louis Cardinals. Yet the German-born beer garden proprietor would become one of the most important—and funniest—figures in the game's history.Von der Ahe picked up the team for one reason—to sell more beer. Then he helped gather a group of ragtag professional clubs together to create a maverick new league that would fight the haughty National League; reinventing big-league baseball to attract Americans of all classes. Sneered at as “The Beer and Whiskey Circuit†because it was backed by brewers; distillers; and saloon owners; their American Association brought Americans back to enjoying baseball by offering Sunday games; beer at the ballpark; and a dirt-cheap ticket price of 25 cents.The womanizing; egocentric; wildly generous Von der Ahe and his fellow owners filled their teams' rosters with drunks and renegades; and drew huge crowds of rowdy spectators who screamed at umpires and cheered like mad as the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns fought to the bitter end for the 1883 pennant.In The Summer of Beer and Whiskey; Edward Achorn re-creates this wondrous and hilarious world of cunning; competition; and boozing; set amidst a rapidly transforming America. It is a classic American story of people with big dreams; no shortage of chutzpah; and love for a brilliant game that they refused to let die.
#297233 in Books 2012-05-08 2012-05-08Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 .41 x 2.09 x 5.12l; 5.07 #File Name: 1608194922640 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Fantastic book! Marty avoids boring baseball fans with the ...By Michael HipiusFantastic book! Marty avoids boring baseball fans with the old and worn out stories (he does briefly mention them). There are so many interesting things he brings up that fall into the "Wow! I never knew that before!" category. Great for all Yankee fans; but I think all baseball fans will still enjoy this a lot. Do you know how the Yankees got their name or where Wally Pipp was when Lou Gehrig's consecutive game streak ended? Get the book and find out!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Pinstripe Empire: A Yankee and MLB ClassicBy KennethAs good a great classic book as you will ever read; on the inception of the NY Highlanders/Yankees; the inception of the American League; in an Era; when corrupt Mayors; Police Chiefs; Baseball Team owners; and Politicians; of every walk of life. The men who ran the metropolis cities; in such a time; were more often than not; corrupt; con-men; scam artist; illegal gambling parlors; bordellos; bookies; and other corrupt mob-like men; who made their living by destroying the lives of others. The men in NYC who ran the metropolis through The infamous Tammany Club; a who's who of power brokers in charge of NYC affairs; from where the sub-ways were to be built; train tracks; parks; land barons. These are the men; who almost got away with destroying the credibility of the NY Highlanders owner; and AL President and Founder; Ban Johnson. Against all odds; when Johnson was the owner of the Baltimore Orioles. The NY Giants owner; Freedman; bought the majority stock in the Orioles under Johnson's nose; then proceeded to stock his NY Giants Team with its star players. John McGraw being the major player. After Freedman's bold move to create a Oriole's team in decline by selling off its key players after the majority stock buyout of the Oriole's; Freedman then proceeded to buy all the available land in NY City with his cronies who ran the Tammany Club of NYC.Such attempts to block the move of the Orioles to NY; and desecrate the new found American League (AL); this story is one; that cannot be put down from the readers eyes. It is that impacting and stunning. I thought I knew the basics of the rich yankee history; until I read this book; and the book "Yankee Century" both comparable books; with different eyewitness accounts; journal entries; newspaper articles of different stories; both books are comparable classics; and must reads; for any self discerning Yankee or MLB fan.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A wonderful history filled with lasting and great memories and emotionsBy Charlie XA virtual history of many of the greatest times in baseball; and not only of the Yankees. For any baseball fan; a true treasure
