Creating the National Pastime

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The book explores the evolution of baseball from a marginal urban activity linked to drinking and gambling to its revered status as America's national pastime. G. Edward White highlights how the nostalgic desires of team owners, alongside self-interest, influenced pivotal business decisions that shaped the sport's identity. He examines baseball's role in childhood rituals and American values of individuality and fair play throughout the twentieth century, detailing the owners' concerted efforts, often backed by legal frameworks, to maintain its idyllic image.