Live All You Can

Laying waste to the notion that Abner Doubleday established the modern game of baseball, the author makes a bold case for A.J. Cartwright (1820-1892), an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and avid ballplayer whose keen perception and restless spirit codified the rules of the sport and engineered its rapid spread throughout the country. Consulting Cartwright's personal correspondence and papers, its shown how he synthesized a number of elements from popular ballgames into the program, bylaws, and positions we find on the field today. After formalizing his blueprint, Cartwright worked tirelessly to promote baseball nationwide, appealing to both upper- and lower-class spectators and ballplayers and weaving a trail of influence across nineteenth-century America. Addressing the controversy that has rolled for years around the claims for Doubleday and Cartwright, the author revisits the original arguments behind each camp and throws into sharp relief the competing ambitions of these figures. -- from Book Jacket.