ST. LOUIS, MO — While St. Louis and the rest of the baseball world wait for Opening Day, a new book can help fans pass the time and anticipate the 2020 season.
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St. Louis-based Reedy Press has released Baseball in St. Louis by Ed Wheatley, a book that unlocks the history of St. Louis baseball and its surprising impact on the community.
Baseball in St. Louis is available wherever books are sold. While physical book stores are closed, Baseball in St. Louis can be ordered from Reedy Press with free shipping at ReedyPress.com.
Discover the history of the Major League’s Browns and Cardinals and the great teams of the Negro Leagues, but also find the ways baseball intertwined itself within the city’s culture.
Local author and baseball player Ed Wheatley lays out the unique role baseball has played in St. Louis and that which St. Louis has played in the world of baseball in Baseball in St Louis. Through the hardships of multiple World Wars, the poverty of the Great Depression, and times of civil and social disorder, baseball has been there, taking St. Louisans around the bases with hope and recreation.
St. Louis is a baseball town through and through, full of baseball lovers, and this book is their story. From young children playing in farm fields and brick alleys, moving on to little leagues, high schools and colleges. Some made it to the major leagues from St. Louis, some played simply for the love of the game. This is the story of St. Louis baseball and its impact on the community, for those who played, and those who watched, and those of us still watching today.
Everyone knows the rich tradition of the St. Louis Cardinals—the winningest franchise in the National League. Cardinals fans grew up listening to the likes of France Laux, Dizzy, Dean, Harry Caray, and Jack Buck on radio and television. They’ve earned the appreciation and respect throughout the baseball world as the kind of fans that cheer their team’s players, yet give a roar of applause for a great defensive play by the opposing team.
In the end, it’s simply the love of the game—or is it more?
Book Details: Baseball in St. Louis: From Little Leagues to Major Leagues, by Ed Wheatley, ISBN 9781681062532, hardcover 11.5 x 9, 240 pages, $39.95 MEDIA NOTES: For author interviews by phone or Skype or additional images, contact Nancy Milton or Julie Lally with Insight PR St. Louis, insight@insightrocks.com; 314-962-6400 (o) or 618-791-807 (m - Nancy) or 314-749-5915 (m - Julie). ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ed Wheatley grew up in and around the world of baseball, from the time in his youth when his dad played professionally to his own baseball activities. He continues playing in senior league games across the country today. As President of the St. Louis Browns Historical Society & Fan Club, he works to preserve the history and legacy of this transplanted American League team. Ed has authored two books on baseball. He co-authored The St. Louis Browns: The Story of A Beloved Team and authored Incredible Cardinals. The Browns book’s was selected as the best book published on baseball in 2017 and its success led to a documentary, The St. Louis Browns – The Team Baseball Forgot, shown on the PBS network in 2018 that he helped produce. The film received an EMMY nomination and selection into the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s 13th Annual Film Series in Cooperstown in 2018 where Ed had the honor of introducing the film and speaking on the team. The film’s success and the memories stirred by it led to a second film that he also helped produce titled A Baseball Legacy – Fans Remember the St. Louis Browns that premiered on PBS stations in August 2019 and was subsequently selected for the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s 14th Annual Film Series in September 2019 where he was once again was invited to speak at the Baseball Hall of Fame. In this new book, he chronicles the St. Louis region’s rich baseball history preserving the memories of the game for future generations.
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