The Night Casey Was Born: The True Story Behind The Great American Ballad Casey At The Bat

Casey At The Bat, The Legendary Poem Detailing The Abysmal Failure Of A Small-town Baseball Hero, Has Become As Much A Part Of American Culture As Baseball Itself. But Until Now, Little Has Been Written About The Circumstances Surrounding Its Creation And Its First Performance In New York's Wallack's Theater In 1888. In This New Slice Of Americana, John Evangelist Walsh Gives The Story Behind The Poem For The First Time, Shaping Vivid Pictures Of The Poet, The Poem's Original And Favorite Performer, New York In The 1880s, And America In The Earliest Years Of Its Love Affair With Baseball. Surveying The Day's Great Comic Performers To Its Most Legendary Baseballers, The Streets Of Manhattan And The Zeitgeist Of A Young America, The Story Of Casey Is As Dramatic As The Poem Itself. With A Wealth Of Detail, Walsh Explores The Road Leading To The Poem's First Performance And Its Immediate Popularity. Baseball Fans, Theater Lovers, And American History Buffs Alike Will Enjoy This Tale Of A Culturally Definitive Moment - The Night Casey Was Born.--book Jacket. Overture: On Stage And Field 13 -- 1 Scene: The Polo Grounds, New York, Opening Day, April 1888 23 -- 2 Scene: A Large Residence, Worcester, Massachusetts, May 1888 37 -- 3 Scene: Wallack's Theater, May 1888, The Lady Or The Tiger? 67 -- 4 Interlude: Strolling The Rialto 85 -- 5 Scene: Tally-ho To The Polo Grounds, August 14, 1888 97 -- 6 Scene: Wallack's Theater, Aug. 1888, Evening, Enter Casey 113 -- 7 Scene: Star Theater, Oct. 1888, Encore Casey 139 -- 8 Scene: The Worcester Theater, 1892, Enter Thayer, Enter Hopper 153 -- Exit Music: Memorials 173 -- Appendix A First Publication Of Casey At The Bat 179 -- Appendix B Thayer's Phrasing 183 -- Program Notes 187. John Evangelist Walsh. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 207-211) And Index.