Every time you watch baseball, you're watching more than just a game—you're participating in the latest chapter of a compelling story. What began as the earliest bat-and-ball games became the favorite American pastime of the first 19th-century baseball games. Knowing the history of baseball can add levels of enjoyment and respect to any game you watch. Produced by The Great Courses in collaboration with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, these 24 lectures paint a portrait of baseball's remarkable past, taking you from the decades before the Civil War to the pivotal year of 1920.You'll encounter early baseball giants, including Albert G. Spalding, Harry Wright, and Harry M. Stevens. You'll learn the origins of everything from catcher's masks to batting averages. You'll consider the true stories of how women, African Americans, and others overcame adversity on and off the diamond. You'll investigate the game's connections to sweeping changes in business, journalism, transportation, and even war. You will experience all of this with the help of remarkable artifacts, images, and footage from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's vast holdings. Striking the perfect balance between sports lore and cultural history, Mr. Markusen presents this in-depth study of baseball and history with the knowledge of a consummate historian—and the excitement of the proudest fan.