Thomas W. Brucato - Major Leagues

Cover

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edited by

David B. Biesel

1. Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles by James Overmyer, 1993.

2. The United States and World Cup Competition: An Encyclopedic History of the United States in International Competition by Colin Jose, 1994.

3. Slide, Kelly, Slide: The Wild Life and Times of Mike King Kelly, Baseball's First Superstar by Marty Appel, 1996.

4. Baseball by the Numbers by Mark Stang and Linda Harkness, 1997.

5. Roller Skating for Gold by David H. Lewis, 1997.

6. Baseball's Biggest Blunder: The Bonus Rule of 19531957 by Brent Kelley, 1997.

7. Lights On! The Wild Century-Long Saga of Night Baseball by David Pietrusza, 1997.

8. Windy City Wars: Labor, Leisure, and Sport in the Making of Chicago by Gerald R. Gems, 1997.

9. The American Soccer League 19211931: The Golden Years of American Soccer by Colin Jose, 1998.

10. The League That Failed , by David Quentin Voigt, 1998.

11. Jimmie Foxx: The Pride of Sudlersville by Mark R. Millikin, 1998.

12. Baseball's Radical for All Seasons: A Biography of John Montgomery Ward by David Stevens, 1998.

13. College Basketball's National Championships: The Complete Record of Every Tournament Ever Played by Morgan G. Brenner, 1998.

14. Chris Von der Ahe and the St. Louis Browns by J. Thomas Hetrick, 1999.

15. Before the Glory: The Best Players in the Pre-NBA Days of Pro Basketball by William F. Himmelman and Karel de Veer, 1999.

16. For Pride, Profit, and Patriarchy: Football and the Incorporation of American Cultural Values by Gerald R. Gems, 2000.

17. Sunday at the Ballpark: Billy Sunday's Professional Baseball Career, 18831890 by Wendy Knickerbocker, 2000.

18. Major Leagues by Thomas W. Brucato, 2001.

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A related title by the series editor:

Can You Name That Team? A Guide to Professional Baseball, Football, Soccer, Hockey, and Basketball Teams and Leagues by David B. Biesel, 1991.

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Thomas W. Brucato

American Sports History Series, No. 18

The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Maryland, and London 2001

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SCARECROW PRESS, INC.

Published in the United States of America
by Scarecrow Press, Inc.

4720 Boston Way, Lanham, Maryland 20706

http://www.scarecrowpress.com

4 Pleydell Gardens, Folkestone

Kent CT20 2DN, England

Copyright 2001 by Thomas W. Brucato

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.481992.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

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To Julie,

my princess forever

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I owe thanks first and foremost to God. He has given me great and innumerable gifts, among them family, friends, and both the ability and the desire to write.

I would like to thank my wife and Executive Research Assistant, Julie Brucato, for her help in creating this work. I thank her for her active participation in the seemingly endless research stages, as well as for her undying patience during the creation of the book itself.

I owe a deep debt of gratitude to my parents: my mom for instilling in me a love of sports (especially baseball) and my dad for instilling a love of writing.

I also owe special thanks to my sister-in-law Mary Ann Kasselmann for the contacts she provided.

Jodie Adams, Springfield Lasers (World TeamTennis)

Albany Firebirds (Arena Football League)

Anaheim Bullfrogs (Roller Hockey International)

Arena Football League

Ashley of Major League Roller Hockey

Robert Bradley, Founder and President, Association for Professional Basketball Research

Herb Branham of the Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida)

A. J. Carr of the News and Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)

Sydney Carrick, General Manager, Idaho Sneakers (World TeamTennis)

Dick Clark, Society for American Baseball Research

Doug Colby, ManagerCommunity Relations and Promotions, British Columbia Lions (Canadian Football League)

Brian Craggs, Saskatoon Heritage Society

Anne Cribbs, Cofounder, American Basketball League

Susan Daly, Director of Marketing, New Jersey Red Dogs (Arena Football League)

I owe thanks to my good friend Dermid Strain, who has been an invaluable international resource.

I would like to thank Molly McCarthy of Modern Office Methods for her assistance and ever-present generosity.

I am deeply grateful to David B. Biesel, editor of the American Sports History Series, for providing sound advice, critical assistance, and a wealth of information. Without his help this book would be far less than it is.