Play Ball!: Doughboys and Baseball During the Great War

by Alexander F Barnes, Peter L. Belmonte, Samuel O Barnes

Baseball is the most American game. No other sporting contest so closely reflects the American psyche and culture. Its uniqueness comes from the fact that part of the game is clearly defined and unchanged since play first began, while another part of the game fluctuates and changes constantly. And if baseball is the truest American game, the Doughboys of the Great War were its most loyal proponents. By 1918, there were over four million of two million in France fighting in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and another two million in stateside training camps awaiting their turn to cross the Atlantic to the Western Front. Playing wherever they could find enough room to throw a ball, they brought the game with them into the front lines and then into the occupation of Germany. Sharing their military service, in combat and on the baseball diamond, were a number of famous professional ballplayers, managers, lawyers, politicians, and even an umpire.

Genres: Baseball

256 pages, Hardcover

Published March 28, 2019

Reviews

[Theo Logos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baseball was long called America’s National pastime. Times have changed, and other sports successfully challenged that status. But during the Great War, that was quite literally true. American Doughboys were baseball mad, and carried the game to their training camps, to France, where they played games with German observation planes circling, and even into the German Rhineland itself when stationed there as part of an occupying force after the Armistice. Play Ball! Doughboys and Baseball During the Great War illuminates this time.

The book quickly covers a broad array of subjects. An early chapter covers Major League Baseball’s struggle to maintain their seasons after losing many players to the war effort. Following chapters describe baseball as played in the many training camps where men prepared for the war, and how Doughboys took every opportunity to play the game while fighting over seas. A chapter devoted to baseball played in the Rhineland by the Army of Occupation describes the Germans’ bafflement:
“Try as they might, the Germans could not understand the Doughboys’ fixation with the sport. It seemed to the local citizens that wherever the soldiers could find a patch of open ground, it immediately became part of a baseball diamond.”
Final chapters are devoted to short biographies of many notable Major League players who served or fought in France, to odd anecdotes, and to the Doughboy/ball players’ return stateside.

Play Ball! Is a light, breezy book. It is by no means an in depth study of its subjects. Nor is the writing at all memorable. But it is an attractive book, full of interesting photographs and period cartoons. For those who fall into niche audience — baseball fans who study the Great War — it’s worth a look.

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

The popularity of baseball as a participant sport in the United States as well as a spectator sport was very high during the time of World War I. No matter where troops were stationed during the Great War, it was very likely that one could find a baseball game. This is illustrated in this book about the soldiers and their love of the game.

The authors performed a great deal of research, including items such as newspaper articles, cards and photos of soldiers, or “doughboys” as they were called during World War I, playing baseball. Box scores and stories from soldiers give the book not only an air of authenticity, but also a personal touch as well.

It didn’t matter where these soldiers were stationed. There were games between units on training bases, on the fields in France and also in Germany. These games were often played for diversion from the horrors of war and also for the morale of the troops. A nice touch by the authors was to include women in this book as there were teams made up of women as well, mostly from the nursing corps. One other noteworthy item is that there were many desegregated games played by these men and women, unlike the professional leagues back in the United States.

The writing and narration is crisp and easy to read, nicely complementing the pictures and other items noted earlier. Any reader who wants to learn more about the baseball games that the doughboys played during the Great War will want to pick a copy of this book. It is an excellent addition to anyone interested in the connection between World War I and the national pastime.

I wish to thank Schiffer Publishing for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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[Katherine Wacker · Rating 3 out of 5]

In their book, Play Ball!: Doughboys and Baseball during the Great War, Alexander F. Barnes, Peter L. Belmonte, and Samuel Barnes examine the love of “America’s Pastime” by those who fought World War 1. Whether they were on the frontlines in France or in training camps waiting to be sent to Europe, Americans always found time for baseball. The popularity of the game only increased when the draft was instituted, and Major League Baseball players such as Ty Cobb and Grover Cleveland Alexander were called to serve.

Play Ball! is incredibly well researched with newspaper articles, military records, eye-witness accounts, and amazing photos, giving the reader a wonderful, historic look at the game of baseball during war time. However, as the book progresses, the narrative becomes a bit pedantic and the volume becomes more about records and statistics and less about personalities, players and their stories.

All in all, the authors should be applauded for the research and recovery of the records that went into their work. If you are interested in the men who played “America’s Pastime” and fought in the Great War, Play Ball! is for you.



I was given a free copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[Matthew Burroughs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spring time is fast approaching. Warmer temperatures, green grass, and the nation’s historic pastime of Baseball will soon consume my life. Much like Ken Burns, such pursuits have kept me from a proper haircut, and the statistical depth of the game makes me feel like I’m actually participating in something intelligent. While the old game of ‘rounders isn’t quite what it used to be as far as popularity, there is no denying that it has shaped the United States and parts of the world for the last 150 years. While connections to the Civil War and 20th century civil rights are well known, one such period in baseball history that’s been overlooked was the game’s influence during the First World War. Nearly every person involved in WWI was affected by baseball in some way, and one hundred years later we have the chance to reflect on it through detailed accounts. For this installment of the TehBen.com book club, we review Play Ball! Doughboys and Baseball during the Great War by Alexander F. Barnes, Peter L. Belmonte, and Samuel O. Barnes.


Before we dig too far in, let’s start with defining what a “Doughboy” is in the context of World War I. Doughboys were the informal term used to describe American soldiers most commonly during WWI, so named by their trademark white belts that were somehow cleaned with dough.  This term doesn’t have much bearing on the content of the book, and you probably already knew about it, but I personally felt like a simpleton by not knowing that designation going in. Anyway, Play Ball! is a detailed account of how the game of baseball (or base ball in the contemporary spelling) was played in the time of the First World War in both America and during occupation in post-Armistice Europe.  Before even considering the war, baseball in the 1910s was spreading faster than the Spanish Flu (too soon?). Almost everyone in America played the game, and it appeared to be the only true athletic hobby that could be played by almost anyone. As one example, entire leagues could be played inside one grammar school, and layers upon layers of interconnected seasons meant every able-bodied boy, (and some girls) were swinging bats and throwing balls in the early 20th century. Once America entered the First World War, the boys who’ve suddenly been forced to become men weren’t looking to give up their game, and no military assignment would keep baseball dormant for long.


The authors of Play Ball! do a fantastic job of making each account seem personal upon reflection, like the reader is receiving first-hand knowledge of what was taking place. The most important style choice employed throughout was to keep quotes and anecdotes written in their same tone, with the same precise choice of words. For me personally, I love “old-timey” lingo and even before considering the expansive WWI knowledge of the work, reading the proper “portsiders” and “raisin growers” was well worth the price of admission. Along with copies of box scores and anecdotal evidence from written accounts at the time, silly little ball games that may have kept the fighting spirit alive in the doughboys can live forever thanks to this book.
 

From the military training camps in the southern United States, to the wet grounds of France, to the occupation of the Rhineland, baseball was the chief diversion from the horrible bloodshed of the War to end all Wars. While it’s not a direct thesis of the book, it’s obvious to me that boosting collective morale with sporting events in either pickup games or militarily organized competitions was first manifested here. Play Ball’s curated evidence of political cartoons and news articles further expands on this concept, also describing instances of women’s games, and even desegregated games, decades before Jackie Robinson officially broke the color barrier in America.

Rating: Play Ball! Doughboys and Baseball during the Great War is a fantastic resource for anyone that’s a connoisseur of baseball history, military history, or any unique combination of the two. While not as overtly valorous as other moments in American history, the Doughboys and their relationship with the national pastime should be considered required reading for anyone seeking an understanding of who we are as a nation and of our game.


An advance review copy of this book was graciously supplied by Schiffer Publishing. All thoughts in this review are the sole opinion of the reviewer.

(Full review to be posted on http://tehben.com