Brooks on Books: Ed Delahanty in the Emerald Age of Baseball

Ed Delahanty was an outstanding hitter and renowned baseball superstar in the late 19th century. Despite his exploits on the diamond, including a .346 lifetime batting average and other accomplishments which earned him Hall of Fame membership, he is perhaps best known today for the tragic end of his career, which came when he fell over Niagara Falls under mysterious circumstances. The Baseball Project's recent album, which I discussed yesterday, bases a whole song on this infamous death, and when I first heard it, I figured the artists had got just about all the known details in there. I was inspired to read Jerrold Casway's bio, though, and learn more.

The biography is a fine work for hardcore baseball followers interested in the era, but perhaps a little too dry for casual fans. Casway's book is a straightforward account of Delahanty's life, and though it's ghoulish of me to admit this, I was anxious to get to his death. Casway builds up to it, but when it is time to describe the fateful event, it comes as a bit of anticlimax and not necessarily worthy of the significant (if low-key) foreshadowing. The author almost treats the the numerous contract jumping that Delahanty did as the biggest tragedy in the player's life; to be fair, he does make a strong case that the business aspects of baseball helped contribute to his untimely demise, so maybe he has a good point. But let's face it: Superstar athlete falling to his death=much more interesting than contract disputes and the changing influence of player unions.

Some of that is quite compelling stuff, like how and why the American League was created. The fact that Delahanty jumped leagues several times and broke or attempted to break multiple contracts also makes for some good material and clearly was a big part of his life. But this book is devoid of color--ironic for a volume with its title and a snazzy-looking green cover. Much of the book feels like summaries of Big Ed's seasons without much spark.

There are a few incidents that could use some more elaboration, such as an intriguing tale on page 182 of Delahanty, in his role as captain (much like an on-field manager) trying to earn a cheap win by stalling so that darkness could come and force the umpire to call the game. It stands out as a perfect example of Casway's assertion that the player was sometimes called out for his tactics. Unfortunately, the account is only a few paragraphs, and we're told that Delahanty "never commented on the incident."

Now, I realize we're talking about a guy who played over a century ago, and primary sources might be scarce and secondary ones unreliable, but still, I never got a good sense of what this man--as opposed to just the player--was all about. He's cultured enough to love theater, we're told without much elaboration. His family life is largely a mystery. His drinking, which probably leads to his ultimate demise, develops suddenly, making him an unreliable teammate and a threat to himself. It just seems to happen, and though a simple "explanation" might be trite (insert Irish stereotype joke at any time), more explanation would have fleshed out the book. Is it guilt over his contract jumping? Stress over a professional athlete's career? While Casway packs a lot of baseball history in one biography, I would have liked some more anecdotes about Del himself.

Causway is ambitious enough to want to place Delahanty in a larger context, that of an early version of the sport which was in many ways dominated by ethnic Irish. This is an intriguing idea, but for me, too often the Irish presence in the book consists of a list of contemporary players or union leaders who shared that background, and I don't think the premise of an Emerald Age is really proven.

That's a lot of negative-sounding talk for a decent book. "Ed Delahanty in the Emerald Age of Baseball" is well researched and is likely as definitive account of the player's life that we can get, integrating material from family letters, newspapers of the times, and other valuable sources, but I do think that a little more vitality would have made the book go a lot more quickly. As it is, it took me a while to really get into it, and I can't recommend it except to those who would be inclined to pick up a biography of a 19th-century baseballer anyway.

Casway's take on the death is reasonable, but he kind of undersells his conclusion of an accidental fall caused by inebriation. Perhaps it's an academic detachment at work, but even this sensationalistic topic doesn't stir the writing much, even though it's still a mystery with some intriguing angles. This closing chapter would have been a great chance to make Delahanty's tale come alive, but that doesn't quite happen.

Instead, it's the subject matter that sustains interest. Plus Casway has done some excellent research and provided a clear narrative. If you enjoy the song on The Baseball Project album and want to learn more about the tragic Hall of Famer, you might want to exercise caution before plunging (sorry) into the whole thing. This is a solid baseball biography, just one that might be of limited appeal to casual fans.