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This ebook bundle brings together three richly detailed books about Cincinnati Reds history—plus a fascinating bonus exploration of the baseball cap.
The collection includes:
- Before the Machine—Relive the improbable 1961 season when the “Ragamuffin Reds” stunned baseball by winning the pennant.
- Cincinnati’s Crosley Field—Tour the beloved home of the Reds through its history, memorable moments, and vintage photographs.
- Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Highlights—Revisit more than 300 of the franchise’s greatest, wildest, and weirdest moments.
- Ball Cap Nation—Explore the history, evolution, and cultural meaning of America’s national hat.
Long before the Big Red Machine dominated baseball, an unlikely collection of rising stars, veterans, and castoffs brought Cincinnati back to national prominence. Follow the remarkable story of the 1961 Reds as Fred Hutchinson, Frank Robinson, Jim O’Toole, Vada Pinson, and their teammates captured the pennant and laid the groundwork for the franchise’s future success.
Then step inside Crosley Field, the iconic ballpark that hosted the Reds for more than half a century. Explore its distinctive features, unforgettable games, Negro Leagues history, legendary players, and colorful personalities. Continue through more than 130 years of Reds baseball with hundreds of memorable moments originally shared on the Reds Radio Network.
As a final bonus, Ball Cap Nation moves beyond Cincinnati to examine one of baseball’s most lasting contributions to American culture. Discover how the baseball cap evolved from athletic equipment into a national symbol, collectible, fashion statement, and everyday expression of identity.
Perfect for Reds fans, baseball-history readers, ballpark enthusiasts, and cap collectors, The Cincinnati Baseball Lover’s Collection celebrates the players, places, traditions, and unmistakable style that help make baseball America’s pastime.
John Erardi played baseball for the Syracuse Moose All-Stars, Christian Brothers Academy, and later at Annapolis and Murray State University. The Enquirer reporter and columnist is a three-time Ohio Sports Writer of the Year and has won the Associated Press (AP) award for best sports feature paper story in the country, as well as the state AP award for best feature in an Ohio newspaper.
James Lilliefors is an award-winning journalist and novelist whose work has appeared in the Miami Herald, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Baltimore Sun, and various other publications. His books include America’s Boardwalks, Highway 50, and Bananaville. Lilliefors grew up in the Washington, DC, area and currently lives in Naples, Florida.
In the Crosley era, Greg Rhodes played shortstop for the Crosley Management Indians of Richmond, Indiana. He served as the first director of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, which opened at Great American Ball Park in 2004. He is currently the Cincinnati Reds team historian and has resided in Cincinnati since 1985.
Mark Schmetzer has lived his entire life in Greater Cincinnati and spent most of that time rooting for and writing about the Cincinnati Reds. In 2010, he co-authored The Comeback Kids with Joe Jacobs. He started covering the Reds in 1984, writing for RedsVue, a paper that later became Reds Report. He lives in Forest Park, Ohio, with his wife.
The collection includes:
- Before the Machine
- Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Highlights
- Cincinnati's Crosley Field
- Ball Cap Nation