Jeffrey Orens
From the Publisher
A fascinating look back on baseball’s humble beginnings and its transformation into the national pastime, told through the lives of two men who dominated the game.
The nineteenth century was a time of rapid growth and development for the game of “base ball,” and players George Wright and Albert Spalding were right in the thick of it. These two young men, the first superstars of the professional game, won the hearts of a country in search of a unifying spirit after a devastating civil war.
Selling Baseball: How Superstars George Wright and Albert Spalding Impacted Sports in America breathes fresh energy into baseball’s beginnings with this captivating tale of two vibrant personalities whose friendly rivalry was integral to the rise of the professional game. While they came from starkly different backgrounds—Albert was a young, gangly pitcher from the country’s rural heartland and George the consummate athlete from the New York City area—their captivating performances
Orens, a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), unearths a mother lode of nineteenth-century baseball history in this profile of three of the profession’s earliest and most impactful figures. Orens lays out their intertwining narratives while also painting a vivid picture of how the game was played during its infancy. A sneaky good baseball history. — Booklist, Starred Review
In his fine book, Selling Baseball, Jeffrey Orens offers a uniquely sliced view: how Al Spalding and George Wright, superstars on the ball field, came to dominate its merchandising, building empires that extended to tennis, golf, and, yes, roller polo. Highly recommended, even to those who may know a thing or two about sports. — John Thorn, official historian of Major League Baseball and author of critically acclaimed Baseball in the Garden of Eden
In Selling Baseball, Jeffrey Orens makes a compelling case that two early superstars went far beyond the ballfield to change the face of sports in America. All fans of early baseball and American cultural history owe Orens a debt for his entertaining and deeply sourced account of the remarkable rise of George Wright and Albert Goodwill Spalding. — Edward Achorn, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Fifty-nine in ’84 and The Summer of Beer and Whiskey
In Selling Baseball, Jeffrey Orens provides his readers with a new perspective of the sport and the sports equipment industry through the long-overlooked relationship between Albert Goodwill Spalding and George Wright. The more than fifty-year friendship of these two on-the-field stars, Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, and sports equipment pioneers, transcended competition and launched baseball and other athletics to the status that we take for granted today. Thought provoking, instructive, and enjoyable—a must read. — Peter Mancuso, co-chair, Nineteenth Century Research Committee, Society for American Baseball Research
Selling Baseball tells how the then-new game of baseball grew into the “National Pastime”—a big business complete with fanatic fans and professional teams—via the joint stories of two of baseball’s most impactful pioneers, Hall of Famers George Wright and Albert Spalding. Whether on the ball field or in management, the duo helped shape the game as we know it today. Jeffrey Orens’ Selling Baseball gives readers a grand tour of 19th century baseball, as well as of 19th century America. — Bruce Allardice, baseball historian and author
Orens brings a fresh perspective and lively writing to the early years of professional baseball. — Richard Hershberger, baseball historian and author of Strike Four: The Evolution of Baseball
Orens’ book invites us on a journey through American and baseball history from the 19th into the early 20th centuries. Through the eyes of two early baseball icons, Al Spalding and George Wright, we witness the evolution of the game, from the fun of underhanded pitching to its formation as a national economic enterprise. Along the way, we crisscross America with the famous Cincinnati Red Stockings; follow the game overseas; watch the rules, equipment, and economics of the game transform; and appreciate how American sports became big business. A must read for anyone fascinated by the interplay of sports and American society. — Bob LeMoine, author of When the Babe Went Back to Boston: Babe Ruth, Judge Fuchs and the Hapless Braves of 1935
As soon as the first paychecks were issued to baseball players in the 1870s, the industry knew it was going to have to sell itself. That’s where Spalding and Wright figured in… and where Jeffrey Orens finds himself mining the story. Nicely played, Jeff. — Marty Appel, baseball historian and author of 25 books on the game
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[Recorded and posted on April 24, 2025.]