The Louisville Grays and the myth of baseball's first great scandal / Wendell Lloyd Jones.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jones, Wendell Lloyd, 1963- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sports betting--History--19th century.

Sports betting.

Baseball--Corrupt practices--History--19th century.

Baseball.

Louisville Grays (Baseball team)--History--19th century.

Louisville Grays (Baseball team).

Major League Baseball (Organization)--History--19th century.

Major League Baseball (Organization).

Physical Description:

vii, 186 pages : illustrations ; 33 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, [2024]

Summary:

"The National League was in its second season of existence in 1877. In mid-season, the Louisville Grays suddenly took the league by storm and by mid-August were considered a lock to win the pennant. Then, disaster struck. The Grays fell out of first place, and the pennant was lost. Suspicions were high that the club had sold out to gamblers. Three players were tricked into confessing to the selling of exhibition games and were blacklisted from the sport along with a fourth player who refused to cooperate with the investigation. Since then, historians have presented a simple narrative about how the Grays sold the pennant to gamblers, how that treachery was discovered, and the steps that followed. However, none of this is true. For nearly 150 years the story of the Louisville Grays has been told, and the story has been wrong. For the first time, the objective evidence that was there all along is examined in comparison to the narrative that has been told about the Grays. The evidence shows the Grays did not sell the pennant; they simply lost it. This is the story of how Major League Baseball's first great scandal never truly happened"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Beginnings

The first season

The Louisville four come together

A myth is born

Losing the pennant

Investigation and confession

Aftermath.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781476694382

1476694389

OCLC:

1391212233

Publisher Number:

90100981909