Bret Wills, a still-life advertising photographer for such diverse magazines as Sports Illustrated and Food & Wine, was given free reign with his camera over the collections of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Writer Gwen Aldridge then proceeded to write captions and short pieces on each of the photographs, detailing the history of each photographed artifact and, in the process, also detailing the history of baseball itself.

The book is divided into five chronological chapters. "The Early Years" opens with a beautiful up-close shot of "The Doubleday Ball." This baseball was found in an attic in Fly Creek, NY, a few years ago, and historians believe it dates back to 1839, making it the oldest known baseball still in existence today. It looks nothing like a modern baseball. The cover is made of four separate pieces, instead of the modern two, all the stitches are broke, and the inside is a loose ball of yarn. But it's a baseball. And it brings to life the term "dead ball." Other great artifacts photographed in this first section include George Van Haltren's silver-plated trophy bat from 1898 and a Chief Zimmer wooden baseball game with beautiful artwork that dates from 1893.

George Van Haltren's trophy bat, 1898, NY Nationals

Chapter Two is on "The Deadball Era." My favorite photograph in this section is a chipped-up, deteriorating block of cement. What makes the cement special is the letters that have been carved into it–"Ebbets Field, 1912." It's the original cornerstone for what may be the most famous ballpark in the history of the game. A close-up picture of Ty Cobb's sharpened spikes do a fantastic job of illustrating the ex-Tiger star's celebrated ferocity.

Babe Ruth is the most famous player of "The Golden Age," chapter three in Baseball Archaelogy, and many momentos of his career have been beautifully photographed by Wills. My personal favorite is Ruth's bowling ball and bag. The tag on the front of the bag reads in that oh-so-familiar handwriting, "Babe Ruth."

Perhaps the most striking artifact of all is pictured at the start of chapter four, "War and the Revolution." A 24-inch long, 45-pound pitching rubber that was used in Yankees pitcher Allie Reynolds second no-hitter of 1951. The rubber has been carefully autographed by all the members of the Yankees and the Red Sox, the names Ted Williams and Casey Stengel leap out at you. Yankee Jerry Coleman, now famous as an announcer, added a "Wahoo! Wahoo!" to his signature to help honor the Big Chief. Seems that Coleman always had a sense of humor. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1942 letter to Kenesaw Mountain Landis urging the majors to continue play during World War II is a reminder of how loved baseball was in America even during some of our darkest hours.

I cracked up laughing when I saw one of the photographs in chapter five, "Modern Times." Seems that a lucky Department of Motor Vehicles employee in Georgia in 1973 was on-hand when famed slugger Hank Aaron came in to renew his drivers license. The employee kept Aaron's expired license, and Wills' photograph of it will bring a smile to any baseball fan's face. I kept picturing Aaron having to stand in line for hours at the DMV, just like us non-baseball immortals.

Though Alridge's text is enjoyable and well-written, Baseball Archaelogy is above all else a book of photographs. It's not a long book, only 111 pages, but a true baseball history nut will spend hours pouring through the hundreds of wonderful pictures. I especially recommend it for those long winter nights when it seems like spring training will never arrive.

Baseball Archaeology may be available for purchase on the net at one of these sites.

--Jingle Bob, March 3, 1999

© 1999 JC White