Baseball Panel Discussion & World Series Trophy @ Central

St. Louis, MO . . . The St. Louis Public Library is proud to present a panel discussion focusing on all aspects of our national pastime, baseball. Cosponsored by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and Left Bank Books, the program takes place at Central Library, 1301 Olive Street, on Thursday, July 26 at 4 p.m. The event is FREE and open to the public. Copies of the panelist’s books will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of Left Bank Books.

As a very special added bonus, the 2006 World Series trophy will be on display free of charge in Central Library’s Great Hall during normal business hours on July 26-27 courtesy of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Panelists will include:

*     Jean Ardell, author of Breaking Into Baseball: Women and the National Pastime. Ardell devotes a chapter to each of the seven ways women participate in the game—from the stands as fans, on the field as professionals or as amateur players, behind the plate as umpires, in the front office as executives, in the press box as sportswriters and reporters, or in the shadows as Baseball Annies.

*     Benita and Burton Boxerman, authors of Jews and Baseball: Volume 1: Entering the American Mainstream, 1871-1948. The book examines the interrelated histories of baseball and American Jews to 1948—the year Israel was established, the first full season that both major leagues were integrated, and the summer that Hank Greenberg retired.

*     Vince Gennaro, author of Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball. Gennaro’s is a member of the Society for American baseball Research. His innovative analytical work on the business of baseball has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Sporting News, and The New York Times.

*     Lee Lowenfish, author of Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman. In this definitive biography of Rickey—the man sportswriters dubbed “The Brain,” “The Mahatma,” and, on occasion, “El Cheapo”—Lee Lowenfish tells the full and colorful story of a life that forever changed the face of America’s game.

*     Cait Murphy, author of Crazy ’08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History. The book  recounts the 1908 season and the greatest pennant race the National League has ever seen. The American League had its own three-cornered pennant fight, and players like Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and the egregiously crooked Hal Chase ensured that the junior circuit had its moments. But it was the National League's—and the Cubs'—year.

For more information, call 314-206-6779.

7/20/2007