James T. Farrell and Baseball

James T. Farrell and Baseball is a social history of baseball on Chicagos South Side, drawing on the writings of novelist James T. Farrell along with historical sources. Charles DeMotte shows how baseball in the early decades of the twentieth century developed on all levels and in all areas of Chicago, Americas second largest city at the time, and how that growth intertwined with Farrells development as a fan and a writer who used baseball as one of the major themes of his work. DeMotte goes beyond Farrells literary focus to tell a larger story about baseball on Chicagos South Side during this time-when Charles Comiskeys White Sox won two World Series and were part of a rich baseball culture that was widely played at the amateur, semipro, and black ball levels. DeMotte highlights the 191920 Black Sox fix and scandal, which traumatized not only Farrell and Chicago but also baseball and the broader culture. By tying Farrells fictional and nonfictional works to Chicagos vibrant baseball history, this book fills an important gap in the history of baseball during the Deadball Era.