Philadelphia's Old Ballparks (Baseball In America) - Hardcover

"An old ballpark has an allure that cannot be dismissed. It evokes warm memories while suggesting another era when baseball was a kinder, gentler game. One cannot simply forget it. It's grip is far to strong."

Philadelphia's baseball history goes beyond Shibe Park. Philadelphia's Old Ballparks is both a documentary and an oral history, providing colorful descriptions of all the old professional parks and the many teams that played in them. Baker Bowl, with its right field wall so close to home plate, for instance, prompted sports writer Red Smith to quip, "It might be exaggerating to say the outfield wall casts a shadow across the infield. But if the right fielder had eaten onions at lunch, the second baseman knew it". Shibe Park's idiosyncrasies are also well-documented, as are the others. The recollections of dozens of people: players, owners, vendors, ushers, groundskeepers, and fans have been called upon in recreating the world that was held within those walls.