Acknowledgments
Prologue A Dying Ember
First Inning Baseball Fever and Pioneers
Second Inning Organizing Clubs, Funding, Travel, and the Game’s Rituals
Third Inning Playing Fields, Gambling, and Injuries
Fourth Inning The Game and Its Players
Fifth Inning Sharing the Fun
Sixth Inning Barriers of Race and Gender
Seventh Inning Trouble in Baseball’s Eden
Eighth Inning Representative Teams
Ninth Inning The Thrill Departs
Epilogue Ghosts
Appendix A Illinois Baseball Teams, 1865-70
Appendix B Bloomington’s Fifth Ward School-Grounds Neighborhood
Appendix C Illinois Baseball Players, 1865-70
Notes
Bibliography
Index