--- product_id: 5554196 title: "The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)" price: "$29.79" currency: USD in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/5554196-the-glory-of-their-times-the-story-of-the-early store_origin: US region: United States of America --- # The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) **Price:** $29.79 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) - **How much does it cost?** $29.79 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.us](https://www.desertcart.us/products/5554196-the-glory-of-their-times-the-story-of-the-early) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) [Ritter, Lawrence S.] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) Review: One Of The Best Baseball Books Ever! - With an idea birthed in 1961 after the death of Ty Cobb, "The Glory Of Their Times" is filled with first-person interviews of some of the most note-worthy baseball players of first quarter of the 20th Century Baseball (such as Stan Coveleski, Sam Crawford, Fred Merkel, Rube Marquard, Smoky Joe Wood, Fred Snodgrass, Goose Goslin - to name only a few) and several from the second quarter (such as Hank Greenberg and Paul Waner). Also included are interviews from many baseball players that you've probably NEVER heard of including Davy Jones, Bill Wambsganss, Tommy Leach, Hans Lobert, and Jimmy Austin - all great players in their own right but for whom time has largely forgot. Not only do these players talk about growing up playing baseball, their sometimes circuitous and or tortured routes to the major leagues, and their playing careers, but they also talk at length about their peers, memorable events and games, and such immortals of the game as Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, John McGraw, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Frank Chance, Honus Wagner, and even Jim Thorpe and the 1919 Black Sox. Recorded over a five-year span, the interviews that author Lawrence Ritter taped are both unforgettable and irreplaceable. Back when baseball was more a team sport and the men played for the love of the game and not the money, the stories in the book make for an interesting and telling comparison to many of today's players who seem to have trouble talking about anything other than themselves. Many of the stories I liked best in the book were of the "challenged player makes good" variety. Read about Smoky Joe Wood going from lights-out World Series champion starter to useful outfielder. Or Chief Meyers' & Hank Greenberg's stories about overcoming racial prejudice. Or 19 year old Paul Waner showing up at training camp with the San Francisco Seals and going from a sore-armed starter into a Hall of Fame outfielder. Or how Sam Crawford could be one of the most under-rated players in Major League history (despite being in the Hall of Fame) due to sharing the same outfield with Ty Cobb. Or how the deaf and mute "Dummy" Hoy overcame his seeming disabilities to craft a very good 14 year career. Stories like this are very seldom found in baseball books which focus on the stars of the day to the almost complete absence of everyone else. As if the book needed anything else, the pictures that are included in the book are fabulous. One of the reviewers has already mentioned a photo of Walter Johnson casually standing next to friend Clyde Milan and almost all of the interviews include at least one photo of the player in question and also included are many of the players, teams, plays, and places that these old timers describe in almost unbelievable detail 30-40 years after the fact. It's useful to read the author's notes and the forward and he illustrates the path that he took in creating the book and states that much time was spent in corroborating the stories, plays, and stats that the players seemingly threw out off the tops of their heads. The glossary at the end of the book is also useful as a reference if you want to go back to a story about a particular player or team. All put together, this book is an engrossing page turner which every baseball fan should own! Review: One of the best baseball books you will read - Believe what they say. This truly is one of the best baseball books ever produced. If you've seen Ken Burns' "Baseball" or read much of anything about baseball around the turn of the twentieth century, then you will likely notice that a fair amount of their material is drawn from this book. The book is essentially a primary source to baseball in the old days. When Ty Cobb died, Lawrence Ritter decided that someone needed to interview the ballplayers from that era before they were all gone. This book is the result of those interviews. Ritter wisely chooses to omit his questions, so each chapter, devoted to a single ballplayer, simply reads as though that particular player is giving his own reflections. There are a few places where the player repeats the question in his response, and at those moments you realize that he is being interviewed. Mostly, however, the chapters just read as though you are sitting back and listening to these gentlemen recall their glory days. Ritter's editing is well done because it is so inconspicuous in this way. His editing is also masterful, however, in how he chooses to end each chapter. No doubt the conversations did not end precisely as the book chapters do, but Ritter almost always manages to conclude the chapter in a satisfying way, with the player coming back to some fun anecdote he had mentioned earlier, or a life lesson that ties his recollections together into a meaningful whole. While the players themselves are telling the story, Ritter weaves what they have to say in a way that never feels random or boring. And, of course, just reading about the game as it was and the players as they were is more than worth the price of the book. Were the ballplayers of old better than those today? Is it the other way around? Personally, I don't think that's such a straightforward question. Today's athletes tend to be built like superheroes, but they also swing from their heels with two strikes and strike out unapologetically. The average fastball speed is probably faster now with modern mechanical and training techniques, but it is doubtful that anyone has thrown a ball harder than Walter Johnson, or Smoky Joe Wood in his prime. It was harder to hit a ball blackened by licorice and tobacco, spat on with chewed up coffee beans, given scuff marks, etc., than it is to hit a ball that is perfectly white and untouched. Whatever you decide on how different eras compare, you will certainly walk away from this book with respect for those who came before. They truly were the glory of their times. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,531 Reviews | ## Images ![The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61Gc3SCppCL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One Of The Best Baseball Books Ever! *by C***K on November 18, 2011* With an idea birthed in 1961 after the death of Ty Cobb, "The Glory Of Their Times" is filled with first-person interviews of some of the most note-worthy baseball players of first quarter of the 20th Century Baseball (such as Stan Coveleski, Sam Crawford, Fred Merkel, Rube Marquard, Smoky Joe Wood, Fred Snodgrass, Goose Goslin - to name only a few) and several from the second quarter (such as Hank Greenberg and Paul Waner). Also included are interviews from many baseball players that you've probably NEVER heard of including Davy Jones, Bill Wambsganss, Tommy Leach, Hans Lobert, and Jimmy Austin - all great players in their own right but for whom time has largely forgot. Not only do these players talk about growing up playing baseball, their sometimes circuitous and or tortured routes to the major leagues, and their playing careers, but they also talk at length about their peers, memorable events and games, and such immortals of the game as Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, John McGraw, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Frank Chance, Honus Wagner, and even Jim Thorpe and the 1919 Black Sox. Recorded over a five-year span, the interviews that author Lawrence Ritter taped are both unforgettable and irreplaceable. Back when baseball was more a team sport and the men played for the love of the game and not the money, the stories in the book make for an interesting and telling comparison to many of today's players who seem to have trouble talking about anything other than themselves. Many of the stories I liked best in the book were of the "challenged player makes good" variety. Read about Smoky Joe Wood going from lights-out World Series champion starter to useful outfielder. Or Chief Meyers' & Hank Greenberg's stories about overcoming racial prejudice. Or 19 year old Paul Waner showing up at training camp with the San Francisco Seals and going from a sore-armed starter into a Hall of Fame outfielder. Or how Sam Crawford could be one of the most under-rated players in Major League history (despite being in the Hall of Fame) due to sharing the same outfield with Ty Cobb. Or how the deaf and mute "Dummy" Hoy overcame his seeming disabilities to craft a very good 14 year career. Stories like this are very seldom found in baseball books which focus on the stars of the day to the almost complete absence of everyone else. As if the book needed anything else, the pictures that are included in the book are fabulous. One of the reviewers has already mentioned a photo of Walter Johnson casually standing next to friend Clyde Milan and almost all of the interviews include at least one photo of the player in question and also included are many of the players, teams, plays, and places that these old timers describe in almost unbelievable detail 30-40 years after the fact. It's useful to read the author's notes and the forward and he illustrates the path that he took in creating the book and states that much time was spent in corroborating the stories, plays, and stats that the players seemingly threw out off the tops of their heads. The glossary at the end of the book is also useful as a reference if you want to go back to a story about a particular player or team. All put together, this book is an engrossing page turner which every baseball fan should own! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of the best baseball books you will read *by D***N on September 2, 2019* Believe what they say. This truly is one of the best baseball books ever produced. If you've seen Ken Burns' "Baseball" or read much of anything about baseball around the turn of the twentieth century, then you will likely notice that a fair amount of their material is drawn from this book. The book is essentially a primary source to baseball in the old days. When Ty Cobb died, Lawrence Ritter decided that someone needed to interview the ballplayers from that era before they were all gone. This book is the result of those interviews. Ritter wisely chooses to omit his questions, so each chapter, devoted to a single ballplayer, simply reads as though that particular player is giving his own reflections. There are a few places where the player repeats the question in his response, and at those moments you realize that he is being interviewed. Mostly, however, the chapters just read as though you are sitting back and listening to these gentlemen recall their glory days. Ritter's editing is well done because it is so inconspicuous in this way. His editing is also masterful, however, in how he chooses to end each chapter. No doubt the conversations did not end precisely as the book chapters do, but Ritter almost always manages to conclude the chapter in a satisfying way, with the player coming back to some fun anecdote he had mentioned earlier, or a life lesson that ties his recollections together into a meaningful whole. While the players themselves are telling the story, Ritter weaves what they have to say in a way that never feels random or boring. And, of course, just reading about the game as it was and the players as they were is more than worth the price of the book. Were the ballplayers of old better than those today? Is it the other way around? Personally, I don't think that's such a straightforward question. Today's athletes tend to be built like superheroes, but they also swing from their heels with two strikes and strike out unapologetically. The average fastball speed is probably faster now with modern mechanical and training techniques, but it is doubtful that anyone has thrown a ball harder than Walter Johnson, or Smoky Joe Wood in his prime. It was harder to hit a ball blackened by licorice and tobacco, spat on with chewed up coffee beans, given scuff marks, etc., than it is to hit a ball that is perfectly white and untouched. Whatever you decide on how different eras compare, you will certainly walk away from this book with respect for those who came before. They truly were the glory of their times. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A fantastic book and a must read for any baseball fan *by G***T on December 31, 2012* I am a huge baseball fan, and really appreciate the history of the game. I've watched Ken Burns' Baseball probably a half-dozen times. As such, I'm the exact target audience for Lawrence S. Ritter's book, The Glory of Their Times: The Story Of The Early Days Of Baseball Told By The Men Who Played It. This book was absolutely fantastic, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone with any interest at all in baseball. Even if you aren't currently interested in the game's history, you will be by the time you finish The Glory of Their Times. Originally published in 1966 including interviews with 22 players from the early 20th century, and expanded in 1984 with an additional four player interviews, Ritter sets out to capture the memories of the earliest players of the game for the ages, and does so brilliantly. The book consists of a chapter for each player interviewed, and Ritter lets the player tell their own story in their own way. It's absolutely fascinating to hear these players echoing through the decades and describing the way they played the game, their careers, their teammates, their managers, the business of baseball, and even the fans of the day as seen from the player's view. One of the aspects of the book that I enjoyed most is that many of the players discuss the same events or players, including each other, and it's great getting different takes on all of that. You'll hear all about what the players of the day, including his teammates, thought of Merkle's Boner, or what it was like to play with or against Ty Cobb, or what manager John McGraw was like to play for. By the time you finish the book, you'll feel like you've gotten to know all these other players just as well as the men interviewed, who range from Hall of Famers like Sam Crawford or Paul Waner to a career utility player like Specs Torporcer. Baseball fans who, like me, have enjoyed Ken Burns' Baseball documentary should read this book. In fact, I re-watched Baseball (once again) only a couple months before reading The Glory of Their Times, and I recognized many of the stories and quotes from the early episodes of Baseball as having come straight from these interviews. So, if you enjoyed those, there's a lot more like that here for you. Another part of the book that is well done is the inclusion of many, many photographs. Ritter gives the reader pictures of all the interviewees and many of the people they talk about, and the pictures are included in the text when relevant, instead of in a glossy insert in the middle of the book, so they're very effective in helping the reader visualize the events being described. I highly recommend The Glory of Their Times. It's a magnificent book that does a wondrous job of drawing the reader into the early days of baseball. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) - The Boys of Summer (Harperperennial Modern Classics) - Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.us/products/5554196-the-glory-of-their-times-the-story-of-the-early](https://www.desertcart.us/products/5554196-the-glory-of-their-times-the-story-of-the-early) --- *Product available on Desertcart United States of America* *Store origin: US* *Last updated: 2026-10-01*