Deadball Era Resources

a Website of the Deadball Era Committee

   

The Deadball Era Committee of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) focuses its research, writing, and discussion on baseball in the "Deadball Era" defined as 1901-19. The demarcations in offseasons 1900-01 and 1919-20 are conventional but do approximate important historical events. SABR has a Nineteenth Century Committee whose official scope includes the 1900 baseball season. Visit 19th Century Resources.

Deadball Era Resources is an official website of the Deadball Era Committee, maintained by Paul Wendt. Numerous DEC members have contributed (contributions welcome). Acknowledgments, including references to published sources, are at the foot of each page.

Contact David Jones, DEC Chair about joining the Deadball Era Committee or the 'deadball' egroup;
contact Scott Cowan about egroup administration such as change of email address; contact Paul Wendt about this site.

What's New? - red marks the latest

Contents : Business : Players and Teams : Miscellaneous

Business

Book Award

  • Larry Ritter Book Award (winners, candidates - updated, Jan 2007)
    5th Annual Award (July 2006) :
    Richard Bak    , Peach: Ty Cobb in His Time and Ours (Sports Media, 2005)
    The Deadball Era Committee established the Larry Ritter Book Award to honor the best book published each year, primarily set in or primarily about the deadball era. The Award is presented at the annual DEC meeting, during the Annual Convention of SABR, near midsummer in the year after publication.

    Deadball Era Committee projects

  • Deadball Stars of the National League
    The DEC recently completed its first project, a 367-page magazine-size book edited by then-chairman Tom Simon. It features 138 biographies of players and others, illustrated with photographs and autographs, set in brief Era-histories of the League and its eight clubs. One copy of the book was a 2003 SABR membership benefit.
     - Read more or buy the book.
     - Subjects of biographies (138 players and others)
     - Authors of biographies (65) and team lineups (12)
     - Designer Glenn LeDoux.
  • Deadball Stars of the American League is expected Summer 2006.
     - Subjects of biographies (136 players and others) - revised, Nov 2006
     - Authors of biographies (91) and team lineups (13) - revised, Nov 2006

    Deadball Era Committee Newsletter, The Inside Game

  • The Inside Game is edited by Charles Crawley quarterly. The latest is volume 6, number 4, November 2006.
  • archives

     

    Players and Teams

    D.E.Committee Icon and Favorite Players
  • Icon, Dode Paskert
     - Paskert playing statistics and more ( Baseball-Reference )
  • "Mascot" Terry Turner made his major league debut in 1901 and last played in 1919.
     - Turner playing statistics and more ( Baseball-Reference )
     - Bobby Wallace played in 18 of the 19 seasons; Turner, Red Ames, Eddie Plank, Sam Crawford, and Honus Wagner played in 17.
  • Favorite Players ( committee survey )

    Player Statistics
    Season Leaders
  • Outfielding Leaders, 1900 to 1905 (OF as one position)
    Deadball Era Leaders
  • Games Played by Fielding Position (including OF as one position)
  • Outfield Games Played (Left-Center-Right detail)
  • Total Baseball Ratings by Position ( TB6 [1999] )
    All-Time Leaders
  • Career Batting Leaders, before 1901 and after 1919

    Players - Contemporary Awards & Honors
    Annual Awards - contemporary
  • details of the Chalmers MVP vote, 1911-14 (official)
  • All America Teams, 1908-19 ( Baseball Magazine )
     - count player appearances on those 12 teams
  • 1905 All Stars ( League Presidents )
    Career Honors - contemporary
  • 1911 "Hall of Fame" ( Baseball Magazine )

    Players in Hindsight
    Annual Awards - hypothetical or retroactive
  • Cy Young ( SABR, Bill Deane/TB, STATS, Thorn-Holway )
  • Rookie of the Year ( SABR, Bill Deane/TB, STATS )
     - details of the SABR Rookie vote for 1901-10
  • Most Valuable Player ( Bill Deane/TB, STATS )
  • All Stars ( STATS )
    Decade and Era Awards
  • All Stars, Aughts and Teens ( Bill James )
  • All Stars, Deadball Era ( STATS )
  • Gold Gloves, Aughts and Teens ( SABR, STATS )
    Career Awards
  • Hall of Fame members
  • Deadball Honor Roll ( committee survey )

    Teams in Hindsight
  • Top 16 Teams ( committee survey )

     

    Miscellaneous

  • Member Websites ( by DECmte members with some others about D.E. baseball ) - newest listing, Apr 2005)
  • Websites and Email Lists of other SABR research committees

    Artefacts and Ephemera

  • Slippery Elm for a better Spitball
  • more about the Spitball and its Regulation

  • Federal League T-shirts 2004 ( designs by Glenn Ledoux from FL uniforms)

    Contributions

    Contributions are welcome. Published lists and tables are one important source, which is worth illustration and explanation here.

    Material from STATS, Inc.
    STATS, Inc., named retroactive winners of several popular annual awards for every MLB season from 1876, in The All-Time Major League Baseball Sourcebook (1998). Committee member Bob Allen provided several lists of Deadball Era selections by STATS that are now included here: MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, annual All Stars, decade Gold Gloves. (Those are not all of the STATS honors, which include Manager of the Year and some pre-1920 --not annual but all-time-- selections from Negro baseball.)

    Material from published sources.
    STATS, Inc. is only one example. Most of the "Player Statistics" and "Player Awards" available here are presentations of data from published sources. I will be happy to accept more such data for my development, or to provide space for your own presentation of suitable Deadball Era material. Please provide lists and tables in digital plain text format, or discuss format with me in advance.

    Data such as the names of pitchers honored by STATS and by Thorn & Holway are copyright-free. The rationale for an honor, like any other discussion, is covered by copyright.

     

    Collective Acknowledgment. Thanks to Bob Allen, Bill Bishop, Steve Constantelos, Phil Gawthrop, David Jones, Angelo Louisa, Doug Pappas, Stuart Schimler, and Lyle Spatz for lists and tables in digital format. Thanks to Steve Steinberg, Dan DesRochers, and Diane Wendt for other items. Thanks to Glenn LeDoux for improving several images (and providing some). Thanks to Wayne McElreavy for reading the words carefully and reporting errors.
    Particular acknowledgments including references to published sources are provided at the foot of each page.

    2001-02-25
    Last modified: 2007-01-23 (new tags)
    Paul Wendt
    © Society for American Baseball Research, 2001-2007