| Book Reviews | The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 132.2

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| Book Reviews | The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 132.2 | The History Cooperative

Book Reviews

Base Ball in Philadelphia: A History of the Early Game, 1831–1900. By John Shiffert. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006. ix, 288 pp. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $29.95.)
On the back cover of John Shiffert's book, Base Ball in Philadelphia, baseball historian John Thorn says, "Never has anyone written better on the rise of baseball in the Quaker City." This statement best summarizes the expectations and disappointments of this text. The history of the national pastime is closely linked with the game's evolution and success in Philadelphia, and until Shiffert's work no one had fully explored this theme. Though the author is to be commended for his effort, the book falls short of fulfilling its promise. Base Ball in Philadelphia has significant omissions, some factual errors, and an inappropriate time line.	1
Although Shiffert's intent was to write a history of nineteenth-century baseball in Philadelphia, the founding of the American League's Athletics, the break-up of the 1901 Phillies, or the opening of Shibe Park in 1909 would have been more fitting termination points than 1900. A reader also must be alerted to the fact that one-third of the book is comprised of biographical summaries of nineteenth-century Philadelphia baseball figures, much of which is available in other sources.	. . .

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