cover image The Minors: The Struggles and the Triumph of Baseball's Poor Relation from 1876 to the Present

The Minors: The Struggles and the Triumph of Baseball's Poor Relation from 1876 to the Present

Neil J. Sullivan. St. Martin's Press, $19.95 (307pp) ISBN 978-0-312-03864-9

This impressive history of baseball in the smaller towns and cities of the U.S. is divided into three sections. The first covers the years from 1877 to 1920, when the modern game was evolving and the general outlines of major and minor leagues were taking shape; the second treats the period from 1920 to 1950, the golden age of the minors; the third is devoted to the expansion of the majors and the rise of television, both of which all but destroyed the minors, reducing the number of leagues from 59 to 21. Sullivan ( The Dodgers Move West ) has done his research well, examining not only the so-called ``high'' minors like the International League and the American Association but also lower-profile teams like those in Shamokin, Pa., and Calumet, Mich. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)