America's Classic Ballparks

by James Buckley Jr.

Winner of the Gold Award for Sports from ForeWord ’s 2013 IndieFab Book of the Year Awards!

That ball is outta here — out of the ballpark that is. Baseball parks are as American as apple pie and America's Classic Ballparks commemorates six ballparks guaranteed to spark nostalgia for the old ball game. Complete with ten removable replicas of historic ballpark documents, America's Classic Ballparks is a wealth of information on these beloved national landmarks. Reliving everything from opening day at Fenway Park to the top ten moments in Yankee stadium, ballpark enthusiasts will revel in stadium trivia and cherish the historic photographs found throughout these pages.

Authored by prolific sportswriter James Buckley Jr., America's Classic Ballparks is the perfect addition to any sports library.

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Nonfiction

176 pages, Hardcover

First published April 9, 2013

About the author

In addition to his work as a professional editor, James Buckley, Jr., is also the author of many books on American sports that are geared toward young fans and budding athletes.

Buckley, who has founded a company called Shoreline Publishing Group to produce books for reluctant readers, maintains that sports are far more than simple hobbies or ways to burn off excess energy.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

thanks to the publishers and netgalley for a free copy in return for an open and honest review

Interesting book looking at the classic old grounds of baseball and some of the newer grounds too. the author discusses each in an informative way which makes it easy for fans or just general readers to enjoy.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Net Gallery for this Great Sports Book.
THIS is the Ideal Baseball Fan Wanting to Visit the Home Turfs of MLB Teams, From The Astros to White Sox, From the Yankees to the Cubs.

[Mike Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for baseball fans. It has lots of great side bars like top 10 moments, firsts and lasts at the stadium, famous players who played for the home team, and famous elements of the park. The book is really more about the team and the stadium rather than just the stadium. The book is full of interesting stats such as Don Zimmer had the last hit at Ebbets field. The pictures are amazing and plentiful throughout the book.

This book is a must have for baseball fans. It covers all the iconic stadiums as well as the best on the current ones. It simultaneously gives you a gateway to baseball past, while informing you of all what is great with todays ball parks.

[Mike Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for baseball fans. It has lots of great side bars like top 10 moments, firsts and lasts at the stadium, famous players who played for the home team, and famous elements of the park. The book is really more about the team and the stadium rather than just the stadium. The book is full of interesting stats such as Don Zimmer had the last hit at Ebbets field. The pictures are amazing and plentiful throughout the book.

This book is a must have for baseball fans. It covers all the iconic stadiums as well as the best on the current ones. It simultaneously gives you a gateway to baseball past, while informing you of all what is great with todays ball parks.

[Graeme Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. As close to a pop-up book for grown up baseball fans as you're going to get, which is fun. Nagging feeling that more could have been said about design and construction of the ballparks than provided (see Glenn Stout's "Fenway 1912"), and less about the great moments in those stadia that have been retold to cliche-dom.

[Cory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some weird editing quirks (like a picture from Tampa in the Orioles Park section) but otherwise enjoyable.

[Dale Bentz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would be a 4, but needs a careful editing to avoid errors such as listing Ebbet's Fields other events under both Ebbets and Yankee Stadium.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beautiful coffee table book shares photos and information about multiple legendary ballparks. The text covers the history of the ballpark, some of the key people involved in its design, and some of the biggest moments and game highlights there. Each section features lots of historic photos, photographic reproductions of memorabilia, and sidebars with highlights. The sidebars are well-placed and don't disrupt the flow of the text.

I have never been a sports fan, honestly, but I have lots of great memories of going to ball games for my local minor league team, and have always appreciated baseball as a historical institution in America. Because of this, I enjoyed the chapters about historic ballparks the most by far, and really loved the black and white photos and memorabilia from the early to mid twentieth century. The author also did a great job sharing context for what caused some teams to move, what led to certain iconic ballparks getting replaced, and what the general public sentiment was about these changes.

I really enjoyed this book. The author writes in an engaging, conversational voice, and I like how this humanized what could have read like dry textbook material in someone else's hands. However, even though the author writes in a very personal way, he doesn't insert biased comments throughout. He writes with a genuine love of the game, and doesn't use this book as a mouthpiece for his own hot takes.

The main critique some readers will have is that the book doesn't include their favorite ballpark. The author went for breadth over depth, devoting many pages to the selected parks without covering others throughout the country. New York is very heavily represented, for example, and there are only a couple of mentions of Ohio, with the current Reds stadium appearing in one picture during the chapter summarizing current design trends. However, even though this won't meet every fan's wishes with the locations selected for coverage, this is a well-designed, engaging book that I would recommend to baseball fans and to people like me, who have a historical appreciation for the game and its cultural significance.

I received a free copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

[Jim Gallen · Rating 5 out of 5]

“America’s Classic Ballparks” is a delightful trek through memory lane, baseball history and American geography. It consists of chapters devoted to five “Gone But Not Forgotten”: Ebbets Field; Tiger Stadium; Polo Grounds; and Yankee Stadium. They are followed by seven of “Today’s Ballparks”: Fenway Park; Wrigley Field; Dodger Stadium; Oriole Park at Camden Yards; Oracle Park; Yankee Stadium (new, not New Yankee Stadium); and Citi Field, concluding with a tour of the “2000s Ballpark Boom”. Each stadium’s account relates dimensions, construction, teams and stars who played, memorable moments and, for those “Gone” their demise. Text is supplemented by photos, both black and white and color, and sidebars featuring “Top 10 Moments At…”,”More Than Just The (primary MLB team)”, “Only At…”, “Famous Firsts” and “Lasts”, ”Heroes” and “More Than Just The…”.

Although I have watched and read much about baseball, this book taught me history, such as that the Dodgers were only given permission to move to Los Angeles when the Giants agreed to join them on the West Coast and the first home run in Tiger Stadium was hit by Del Pratt of the St. Louis Browns (at least the Browns have some positive footnotes in baseball lore). It brought to mind memories of visits to Fenway, Wrigley and Oriole Park. It sparked a desire to see ballparks that I had not previously considered, Dodger Stadium, Yankee Stadium, or maybe Citi Field, depending on the schedules.

I started paging through “America’s Classic Ballparks” while watching the playoffs and World Series. Whether you read it through, peruse while during the game or leave it on your coffee table for intermittent glances, is will be a diamond studded treat.

I received a free copy of this book through the Amazon Vine Program.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

America's Classic Ballparks by James Buckley is a fun read for any fan of the sport, even the most casual of one.

Part of the fun of going to a professional baseball game is the atmosphere, and a large part of that is the ballpark itself. One of the best feelings is coming through to the seating area and getting that first glimpse of the field. This book brings back all of those memories.

Baseball nostalgia is almost a beast unto itself. We fondly remember the places and games we saw, but we also tend to be nostalgic for things we never saw but only heard about. I have been to a number of the ballparks included here, and certainly enjoyed my walk down memory lane. But the ballparks I never visited I still felt nostalgic over, because they are such a big part of the history of the game. Many baseball fans become fans when they are young, so even the history-based nostalgia can take us back to our childhood. At least it does me.

While the truly iconic parks are included, readers will remember the places that stand out for them, usually because of where they lived. For me, Memorial Stadium in Baltimore is the place of my childhood (both baseball and football). DC/RFK Stadium was the other one for me because my dad, poor guy, was a Senators fan. While neither stadium is included the book still brought back memories of those ballparks.

Highly recommended for anyone who likes baseball. Whether the feel of going to the ballpark or the memories of baseball's milestones, this volume will take you back.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Belle · Rating 5 out of 5]

🎶 "Take me out to the ball game, take me out to the crowd" 🎶

This book is a blast and would interest anyone with a passion for sports and baseball. I was blown away by the "baseball feel" with the bright, eye-catching visuals and photographs.

Quick facts, famous features, famous moments, heroes. Vintage photos of parks being built, players, a few programs and tickets, what the stadiums look like in modern time and plenty more.

Fantastic! ⚾

🎶 "Cause it's one, two, three strikes you're out, at the old ball game" 🎶

⚾ ⚾ ⚾ ⚾ ⚾ ⚾ ⚾ ⚾ ⚾ ⚾ ⚾ ⚾

*Temporary e-copy received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Doc · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 of out 5.0

America's Classic Ballparks by James Buckley is a loving tribute to Major League Baseball Parks, both past and present. Stunning photography and written history celebrates the unique beauty of each stadium examined. It was wonderful to see Tiger Stadium as it is usually an omitted place in the annuals of famous ballparks.

As a baseball fan this was a wonderful journey thru the past into the present attitude in how ballparks are developed and built. I highly recommend this amazing book.

[Don Heiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

“America’s Classic Ballparks: Celebrating Parks Past and Present” by award winning author James Buckley Jr. was released by Epic In 2022. Buckley’s book profiles 18 major league baseball parks operating in 2022 and 4 historic parks that no longer exist. The ballpark profiles focus on the features of the parks and on the players who excelled playing for the parks’ home team. The player profiles are very interesting. Also the the book fan base discussions and ballpark architectural descriptions are very well done. (P)

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for any ball fan. It was good to read about ball parks that have long since gone and what the replacements are. Great use of photography too and loved the bit with memorable facts for each ball park.

[Liz De Coster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good enough I even enjoyed reading about Yankee Stadium.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history on old ballparks.

[Kady · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable book for any baseball fan. Would love to have a physical copy to keep on my coffee table.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a lover of baseball and as someone who strives to visit every ball park this book was fantastic! It was informative. Pictures, history everything was awesome! It is a must for fans of the game!

[larry l. jerke]

Just the book I needed getting ready for an Easy coast tour.