Renowned baseball historian Ronald Waldo returns with the follow up to the engaging “Deadball Trailblazers,” bringing baseball enthusiasts back to early days of the twentieth century. It was an era where pitchers enjoyed success, and the long balls hadn’t quite started launching, but as Waldo writes, it was a period of baseball history with no shortage of gripping stories and mind-boggling characters.
In “Deadball Mayhem,” Waldo shares stories involving some of the lesser-known baseball stars to fans of today’s game. Don’t worry, Waldo has a complete chapter on the antics of the polarizing Ty Cobb and the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the mysterious death of slugger Ed Delahanty. “Big Ed,” a future hall of famer, lost his life in the Niagara River in bizarre circumstances. Waldo sketches out the life and career of southpaw Rube Waddell, know for his eccentric behavior. Neither Delahanty nor Waddell would live to see their 40th birthdays.
Chapters also include riveting stories of:
* Mike Donlin
* Win Mercer (a great name for a pitcher)
* Chick Stahl
* Carl Mays (threw a fatal pitch in 1920)
* Harry Pulliam
In the introduction, Waldo points out there were stories that weren’t included in “Deadball Mayhem” due to constraints. I am hoping the author is able to offer many of the stories that didn’t make the cut in an expanded edition or perhaps released in volume two.
By: Ronald Waldo
Narrated by: David Cantor
Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
Release date: 06-23-25
Publisher: Beacon Audiobooks, Sunbury Press