Library of Congress Online Resources

American Tobacco Company. *Walter Johnson/Chas. E. Street, Washington Nationals, New York Highlanders, baseball card portrait*. 1912. Baseball cards from the Benjamin K. Edwards Collection. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

A treasure trove of free baseball materials are available through the Library of Congress website. While some of these materials are scattered throughout the site, several major digital collections and databases serve as gateways to the vast majority of the Library's online baseball content. These resources are described below, along with notable digital collections, databases, and catalogs not focused exclusively on baseball but which nevertheless include significant and historical primary sources about the game.

For guidance on how to locate other baseball materials available on the Library's website, consult the Search Tips section of this page.

The Library's digital collections provide access to primary source materials such as letters, diaries, photographs, maps, sound recordings, and video recordings that serve as a record of American history and culture. The following digital collections constitute the major online baseball collections available through the Library of Congress.

Baseball Cards
The Benjamin K. Edwards Collection includes 2,100 early baseball cards dating from 1887 to 1914. Distributed in cigarette packs, these cards were the forerunners of modern sports trading cards. They portray such legendary figures of the game as Ty Cobb stealing third base for Detroit, Tris Speaker batting for Boston, and pitcher Cy Young posing in his Cleveland uniform. Although many of the greatest players from the first decades of professional baseball are represented, the collection does not include individual cards for either Honus Wagner or Babe Ruth.
Baseball Sheet Music
This presentation features 147 items of sheet music that reference baseball from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. Many of the items shown represent the earliest widely-distributed baseball collectibles; the value of these objects lies both in their music and lyrics as well as in their elaborately illustrated covers, which furnish a factual and cultural history of our national game, its fans and their heroes.
Branch Rickey Papers
The approximately 1,750 baseball scouting reports from the 1950s and 1960s presented here are part of the papers of Branch Rickey (1881-1965), best known as the executive who broke Major League Baseball's color line by signing Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers roster in 1947. By that date, however, Rickey had already built an impressive career as a player, manager, and baseball executive, which eventually earned him a place in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The scouting reports, which are located in a series of baseball files in the Rickey collection, were compiled between 1951 and 1964. They are mostly concentrated in the years 1951-1956 and 1962-1963, while Rickey was associated, respectively, with the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals.
By Popular Demand: Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s
2007 marked the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's rookie season for the Brooklyn Dodgers. When he stepped onto Ebbets field on April 15th, 1947, Robinson became the first African American in the twentieth century to play baseball in the major leagues -- breaking the "color line," a segregation practice dating to the nineteenth century. Jackie Robinson was an extremely talented multi-sport athlete and a courageous man who played an active role in civil rights. This presentation was created to commemorate his achievements and describe some aspects of the color line's development and the Negro Leagues. Materials that tell his story, and the history of baseball in general, are located throughout the Library of Congress. This web presentation was made possible by a generous gift from the Citigroup Foundation.
The Spalding Base Ball Guides, 1889 to 1939
Spalding Base Ball Guides, 1889-1939 comprises a historic selection of Spalding’s Official Base Ball Guide and the Official Indoor Base Ball Guide. The collection reproduces 35 of the guides, which were published by the Spalding Athletic Company in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Spalding’s Official Base Ball Guide was perhaps the premier publication of its day for the game of baseball. It featured editorials from baseball writers on the state of the game, statistics, photographs, and analysis of the previous season for all the Major League teams and for many of the so-called minor leagues across the nation. The 15 Spalding’s Official Base Ball Guides included in this online collection were published between 1889 and 1939. The Official Indoor Baseball Guide concerns a game unfamiliar to most contemporary baseball fans because its demise occurred almost beyond living memory. These guides, too, offer rules and “how-to’s” of the game, information on the game’s founding fathers, photographic illustrations of teams and players from across the land, and game statistics. The 20 Official Indoor Base Ball Guides included in this collection were published between 1903 and 1926.
Sports Byline
A collection of recorded sports interviews originally broadcast on the radio network program Sports Byline USA, hosted by Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Ron Barr, between 1988 and 2003. More than 20 interviews are currently available for listening on a streaming basis, and more programs will be added. Baseball players whose interviews are currently available online include Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Jose Canseco.

The Library's Exhibitions pages feature digitized versions of present and past physical exhibits held at the Library since the early 1990s. Many exhibits feature baseball-related items. Below is a list of online exhibits that include baseball-related materials, including, when possible, the individual pages on which the materials appear. The Library's most significant baseball exhibit, discussed below, is Baseball Americana.

The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship
The exhibition showcases the incomparable African American collections of the Library of Congress. Displaying more than 240 items, including books, government documents, manuscripts, maps, musical scores, plays, films, and recordings, this is the largest black history exhibit ever held at the Library, and the first exhibition of any kind to feature presentations in all three of the Library's buildings.

Selected item of interest: The section "Civil Rights in the Arena and on the Stage" includes an entry on Roy Campanella and Hank Aaron.

American Treasures of the Library of Congress
Of the more than 130 million items in the Library of Congress, which are considered “treasures”? Of course Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten draft of the Declaration of Independence is a treasure, not only because of its association with Jefferson but also because of what it reveals about how one of the founding documents of America was written and rewritten and finally agreed upon by dozens of men in the midst of a political crisis.

Selected items of interest: Baseball Cards; Baseball Songs; Breaking the Color Line; The Cincinnati Reds ; Early Baseball Card; Grand Baseball Match ; The Jackie Robinson Story; A Letter from Jackie Robinson ; The Mighty Casey; "This I believe..." ; Rules of the Game; and The Washington Senators.

Baseball Americana
Baseball Americana features items from the Library of Congress collections and those of its lending partners to consider the game then and now—as it relates to players, teams, and the communities it creates. Although baseball has stayed true to many of its customs, it has also broken with tradition through the invention, competition, and financial interests that still make it the most played sport in the country.

In conjunction with the June 2018 launch of this exhibit, the theme of the July/August 2018 issue of Library of Congress Magazine was Baseball Nation: Still Indivisible [PDF].

Baseball's Greatest Hits: The Music of Our National Game
This exhibition features baseball sheet music from the collections of the Music Division at the Library of Congress. Most of these works are original copyright deposits and represent only a small fraction of the more than 400 published songs about baseball in the Music Division’s custody. They illustrate the remarkable congruence between the evolution of the sport from before the Civil War to the present, and the musical counterparts that have chronicled in song baseball’s greatest moments.

Cartoon America
James Arthur Wood, Jr., began collecting original cartoon art as a childhood hobby. Wood worked diligently throughout his professional life as an editorial cartoonist to showcase his collection. He ultimately turned to the Library of Congress to preserve and present his collection to the American people and the world. The Library's Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature contains more than 36,000 original cartoon drawings. The 102 drawings selected for this exhibition reflect Woods primary collecting interests and the vitality of an innovative and evolving art form.

Selected item of interest: Eugene Zimmerman's 1895 political cartoon, Baseball Game.

From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America
From Haven to Home is a Library of Congress exhibition marking 350 years of Jewish life in America. The exhibition features more than two hundred treasures of American Judaica from the collections of the Library of Congress, augmented by a selection of important loans from other cooperating cultural institutions.

Selected item of interest: Entry on Jewish major leaguers, with supplementary text for children about Hank Greenberg.

John Bull & Uncle Sam: Four Centuries of British-American Relations
A joint project of the Library of Congress and The British Library, the John Bull and Uncle Sam exhibition brings together for the first time treasures from the two greatest libraries in the English-speaking world in an exploration of selected time periods and cultural movements that provide unique insights into the relationship of the United States and Great Britain.

Selected items of interest: Baseball items in this exhibit appear on the page Popular Culture: from Baseball to Rock and Roll, which mentions the resemblances between cricket and baseball and includes an early reference to the game Base-Ball from a children's book.

Play ball! Baseball Americana at Nationals Park
Facsimiles of baseball materials from the Library's collections are now part of an exhibit at Nationals Park. Library curators divided the exhibition among seven themes: baseball roots, presidential pitches, congressional games, music, Washington baseball history, women in the game and–using images donated by servicemen to the Veterans History Project–baseball and the military. This online exhibit features three dozen of the items on display at the park.

The Library of Congress features multiple blogs emphasizing the collections and services of its reading rooms and divisions. A selection of baseball-related posts from these blogs follows below. To locate other baseball-related blog posts you can search on the term baseball across all blogs.

"Baseball Trivia: Outreach at Nationals Park, 2024 Edition"
Minerva's Kaleidoscope: Resources for Kids & Families. September 14, 2023.
Play Ball!
Picture This: Library of Congress Prints and Photos. March 15, 2024.
"Baseball Beats: Music for the Fall Classic"
In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog. October 27, 2023.
"Baseball Trivia: Summer Reading Part 3"
Minerva's Kaleidoscope: Resources for Kids & Families. September 14, 2023.
"More Baseball Trivia: Summer Reading Part 2"
Minerva's Kaleidoscope: Resources for Kids & Families. August 15, 2023.
"Sports in the Collections of the American Folklife Center"
Folklife Today. August 14, 2023.
Baseball Trivia: Summer Reading Community Outreach
Minerva's Kaleidoscope: Resources for Kids & Families. July 28, 2023.
Book and Baseball Lovers Unite: Library of Congress Day at the Nationals
Bookmarked: Celebrating Contemporary Books & Writers at the Library. July 25, 2023.
Embarrassing Baseball Scandals Fans Want to Forget
Headlines and Heroes: Newspapers, Comics & More Fine Print. July 11, 2023.
Library’s Baseball Card Collection: It’s (Mostly) the Topps!
Library of Congress Blog. July 10, 2023.
Ready for Research: From Latin America and Baseball Cards to Moral Re-Armament and Historical Trademark Designs
Picture This: Library of Congress Prints and Photos. February 8, 2023.
Baseball History Part Two: Finding Larry Doby in the Newspaper Collections
Minerva’s Kaleidoscope. November 2, 2022.
Baseball History: Reflections & Family Story Activities
Minerva’s Kaleidoscope. October 28, 2022.
Send In the (Baseball) Clowns
Picture This: Library of Congress Prints and Photos. October 5, 2022.
Of Note: Supreme Baseball
Unfolding History: Manuscripts at the Library of Congress. October 6, 2022
Remembering Vin Scully (1927-2022)
Now See Hear Blog . August 10, 2022.
Negro Leagues Baseball Trivia
Headlines and Heroes: Newspapers, Comics & More Fine Print. May 10, 2022.
Behind the Byline: Damon Runyon, More Than a Sportswriter
Headlines and Heroes: Newspapers, Comics & More Fine Print. March 22, 2022.
Toni Stone: First Woman to Play Big-League Baseball.
Headlines and Heroes: Newspapers, Comics & More Fine Print. March 15, 2022.
Connecting the Dots with Baseball and Library Online Resources
Of the People: Widening the Path from the Library of Congress. January 12, 2022.
When Little League Became Big News
Headlines and Heroes: Newspapers, Comics & More Fine Print. August 25, 2021.
Celebrating the Ageless Satchel Paige
Picture This: Library of Congress Prints and Photos. July 7, 2021.
Diving into Branch Rickey: Using a Dataset of Crowdsourced Transcriptions as a Tool for Open Research
The Signal. June 10, 2021.
Hidden Gems of the NLS Collection: “Some South-Paw Pitching” by Charles Ives
NLS Music Notes. May 20, 2021.
Catching the Spirit of Baseball’s Opening Day
Picture This: Library of Congress Prints and Photos. March 27, 2020.
World Series Excitement in the Nation’s Capital
Picture This: Library of Congress Prints and Photos. October 25, 2019.
The World Series at the Library of Congress
Teaching with the Library of Congress. October 24, 2019.
Rare Film: Washington Senators Win the 1924 World Series
Library of Congress Blog. October 22, 2019.
New! Baseball’s Jim Bouton and “Ball Four” at the Library
Library of Congress Blog. July 8, 2019.
Addie Joss: Baseball’s "Great Twirler" Remembered in Song
In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog. July 1, 2019.
Baseball’s Greatest Hit: More than Peanuts and Cracker Jacks
In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog. June 24, 2019.
Play (Congressional) Ball!
Headlines and Heroes: Newspapers, Comics & More Fine Print. June 18, 2019.
Baseball in Different Times and Places: A Trip around the Bases with Selected Primary Sources
Teaching with the Library of Congress. June 4, 2019.
A Fish, a Baseball, a Song
In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress. May 16, 2019.
Magna Carta: Rule of Law versus Laws of Baseball
In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress. March 28, 2019.
Batter Up! Baseball in the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Collections
New See Hear! The National Audio-Visual Conservation Blog. March 28, 2019.
Branch Rickey Crowdsourcing Project: It’s Outta Here!
Library of Congress Blog. March 27, 2019.
Baseball’s Greatest Hits: Over 1000 Songs about Our National Game
In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog. March 15, 2019.
Baseball and the Law Goes Hollywood
In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress. February 26, 2019.
Mathematics and Primary Sources: The Many Faces of Baseball
Teaching with the Library of Congress. October 11, 2018.
Hispanic Heritage Month: Mexican-Americans and Baseball
Library of Congress Blog. October 9, 2018.
Baseball and World War I
Library of Congress Blog. September 27, 2018.
Women, Baseball and the Law
In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress. September 25, 2018.
Baseball Stadiums and Maps: New York City
Worlds Revealed: Geography & Maps at the Library of Congress. August 17, 2018.
Baseball Advertising Hits it Out of the Park
Picture This: Library of Congress Prints and Photos. August 16, 2018.
Women in Baseball: A Junior Fellow Meets the Bloomer Girls
Teaching with the Library of Congress. August 14, 2018.
New Orleans Getting into the (Baseball) Game
In the Muse: Inside Adams: Science, Technology & Business. August 9, 2018
Batting 1000: The Influence of Latinos and Latin Americans in MLB (July 30, 2018)
4 Corners of the World. July 30, 2018.
Baseball Headlines & Heroes! Help Us ID Ten Players
Headlines and Heroes: Newspapers, Comics & More Fine Print. July 17, 2018.
You Ott to Know: Using Legal Documents to Change Baseball History
In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress. July 16, 2018.
Inside, Inside Baseball: A Look at the Construction of the Dataset Featuring the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Library of Congress Digital Collections
The Signal. July 12, 2018.
Baseball Stadiums and Maps: Chicago
Worlds Revealed: Geography & Maps at the Library of Congress. July 6, 2018.
Baseball and the Law
In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress. June 29, 2018.
Baseball Americana: The Unchanging Game
Library of Congress Blog. June 28, 2018.
Talking Baseball and America with the Spirit of Studs Terkel
New See Hear! The National Audio-Visual Conservation Blog. June 27, 2018.
Baseball Americana: A House of Cards
Library of Congress Blog. June 21, 2018.
Baseball Americana: Telling Stories Through Stats
Library of Congress Blog. June 14, 2018.
Baseball Americana: Root, Root, Root’s Debut
Library of Congress Blog. June 7, 2018.
Baseball Americana: Baseball’s Magna Carta
Library of Congress Blog. May 31, 2018.
Japanese-America’s Pastime: Baseball
Library of Congress Blog. May 25, 2018.
Baseball Americana: When Jackie Met Rickey
Library of Congress Blog. May 24, 2018.
Baseball Americana: Playing Behind Barbed Wire
Library of Congress Blog. May 17, 2018.
Baseball Americana: Baseball’s Greatest Hits
Library of Congress Blog. May 10, 2018.
Baseball Americana: “Laws of Base Ball,” Babe Ruth’s Shoes and Jackie Robinson’s Letters to Be Displayed in New Exhibition
Library of Congress Blog. May 3, 2018.
Play Ball!
Library of Congress Blog. April 3, 2018.
Baseballs: The Heart of the Matter
Library of Congress Blog. March 5, 2018.
Baseball, Bombs, and Wartime Decision-Making
Teaching with the Library of Congress. March 1, 2018.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game!
Worlds Revealed: Geography & Maps at the Library of Congress. October 31, 2017.
Trending: Celebrating the World Series with Song
Library of Congress Blog. October 25, 2017.
The Umpire Strikes Out: Baseball Music and Labor
Library of Congress Blog. July 31, 2017.
Sports Broadcasting Legend Bob Wolff (1920–2017) Remembered
Library of Congress Blog. July 25, 2017.
Washington Nationals Western Tour
In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog. July 11, 2017.
"Play Ball!" (Branch Rickey Papers)
Library of Congress Blog. April 3, 2017.
Baseball, Music, and Suffrage? Exploring the Music of the "National Pastime"
Teaching with the Library of Congress. March 21, 2017.
Spectators Pictured “Fanning” the Flames of Baseball Passion
Picture This: Library of Congress Prints and Photos. July 13, 2016.
Tuning In to the World Series Before TV
Picture This: Library of Congress Prints and Photos. October 29, 2015.
Forgive Us, Yogi, If We Laugh Through Our Tears
Library of Congress Blog. September 23, 2015.
Law Library Staff Night at Nationals Park – Pic of the Week
In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress. July 31, 2015.
A Whole New Ballgame
Library of Congress Blog. May 6, 2015.
Opening Day and the Law
In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress. April 6, 2015.
Baseball and the Law — Pic of the Week
In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress. October 24, 2014.
Film of the Washington Senators Winning the 1924 World Series Found!
New See Hear! The National Audio-Visual Conservation Blog. October 2, 2014.
Play Ball!...Aboard Ship?
Folklife Today. January 23, 2014.
Let's Play Ball! Music for the World Series
In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog. October 30, 2013.
The First Publication of "Casey at the Bat"
From the Catbird Seat: Poetry and Literature at the Library of Congress. June 4, 2013.
Tinker to Evers to Chance
From the Catbird Seat: Poetry and Literature at the Library of Congress. April 2, 2012.
Casey Might Have Struck Out, But Thayer Hit a Home Run
In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog. June 3, 2011.
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog. April 5, 2010.

The Library of Congress website features a number of webcasts and videos about baseball and its history. These include historical footage of baseball being played at amateur and professional levels, media coverage of baseball-related events, and recitation of baseball poetry, as well as more recent webcasts of baseball-related programs and book talks filmed at the Library of Congress and the National Book Festival. All of these videos are listed below.

Historical Baseball Footage

Christy Mathewson, N. Y. National League baseball team (1907)
Winthrop Moving Picture Company, 1907. Summary: "Christy Mathewson, the great baseball pitcher of the early years of this century, is shown pitching"--summary from Early motion pictures.
The baseball stars of yesteryear--compilation
Winthrop Moving Picture Company, 1907. Summary: "Christy Mathewson, the great baseball pitcher of the early years of this century, is shown pitching"--summary from Early motion pictures.
Oakland Oaks vs. San Francisco Seals baseball opening. 1918-04-02
1918. Summary: Footage from the festivities for the opening day of the Oakland Oaks baseball season, versus the San Francisco Seals. The film features vaudeville dancer Doraldina, who is dressed in a baseball uniform and appears with the team in a parade and on the field, eventually throwing the ceremonial first pitch.
Baseball slow motion pictures--how Babe Ruth knocks a home run
American Motion Picture Corporation, and Select Safety Film Service. Summary: The mighty swing of Babe Ruth is shown in all its grace, power and swatness through the use of slow motion. He is also seen striking out in normal speed. The batting skills of Cleveland Indians star Tris Speaker and New York Yankees Wallie Pipp, Yankee Robert William Meusel, the underhand pitching style of Yankee Carl Mays and the overhand pitching delivery of the Yankee Jack Quinn are also displayed through slow motion. Fans are shown entering and leaving the Cleveland Indians stadium. Some of the action of the game between the Yankees and Indians is presented in both normal speed and slow motion.
Casey at the bat
De Forest Phonofilms, 1922. Summary:: "De Wolf Hopper recites the poem, 'Casey at the bat,' by E.L. Thayer"--M/B/RS Film and Television catalog card.
Grantland Rice sportlight. [Babe Ruth in training--unidentified work]
Pathé Pictures. United States: Pathépicture, 1935. Summary: The Boston Braves in training at Waterfront Park, featuring slugger Babe Ruth, gate-crasher One-Eyed Connelly, and former Georgetown University football star Tony Plansky.
[Kinograms. No. 5021--excerpt], Senators win World Series
Educational Pictures, 1924. Summary: Newsreel segment on the final game of the 1924 World Series, featuring the New York Giants playing the Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D. C. on October 10, 1924. The Senators won the game and the World Series.
TR in Baltimore during Liberty Loan drive, 1918
United States: s.n, 1918. Summary: On Sept. 28, 1918, Theodore Roosevelt is the principal speaker at the opening of the fourth Liberty Loan campaign in Oriole Baseball Park, Baltimore, Maryland. Wearing a mourning armband for his son, Quentin, Roosevelt walks across the field with Liberty Loan officials, including a man who appears to be Phillips L. Goldsborough, chairman of the Liberty Loan Committee for Maryland and former governor of the state. Roosevelt pauses and speaks with Cardinal James Gibbons. On the speaker's platform, Roosevelt is cheered by the crowd. Among the notables behind him on the platform are Cardinal Gibbons, a man who appears to be Governor Emerson C. Harrington of Maryland, Mrs. Thomas J. Preston, who was the wife of former President Grover Cleveland, and her husband, Dr. Thomas J. Preston, with the dark mustache. Roosevelt addresses the crowd. There are long and close-up shots of the crowd.
All-American news. [1945-07, no. 1]
All American News, Inc., 1945. Summary: All-American news were the first newsreels produced for a black audience. Made in the 1940s and 1950s, they were originally intended to encourage black Americans to participate in, and support the war effort, and to reflect an African-American perspective on world and national events. Highlights of this issue include a segment about William "Gus" Greenlee, Negro League baseball owner and businessman, signing pitcher Willie Pope. Segment starts at 02:57.

Baseball Videos from the Library of Congress and National Book Festival

Live! at the Library: A Conversation with Sean Doolittle External
A conversation with Washington Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle and Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden about Doolittle's love for books, his passion for reading, and his role as the team's Summer Reading Ambassador. June 30, 2022.
Jesse Dougherty Live Q&A: 2020 National Book Festival
Jesse Dougherty, author of "Buzz Saw: The Improbable Story of How the Washington Nationals Won the World Series" (Simon & Schuster), answers questions from the virtual audience about his work at the 2020 Library of Congress National Book Festival. September 26, 2020. 22 minutes 43 seconds.
Jesse Dougherty: National Book Festival 2020
"Buzz Saw: The Improbable Story of How the Washington Nationals Won the World Series" (Simon & Schuster) is the remarkable story of the 2019 World Series champion Washington Nationals told by the Washington Post writer who followed the team most closely, Jesse Dougherty. September 26, 2020. 20 minutes 26 seconds.
Baseball Resources (Online Office Hours)
Explore cultural norms and society's values through the lens of baseball, the quintessential American recreational activity. Enjoy a conversation between an education expert and the author of Baseball Americana, Susan Reyburn. Discover primary source songs, baseball cards, letters, speeches, and more. April 14, 2020. 37 minutes 51 seconds.
Sharon Robinson: 2019 National Book Festival
Sharon Robinson launched her new book "Child of the Dream: A Memoir of 1963" at the 2019 Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. August 31, 2019. 30 minutes 57 seconds.
Playing & Talking about Baseball Across the Pacific
A panel of experts discussed how American baseball has influenced and been influenced by Japanese culture since the 19th century. May 09, 2019. 1 hours 41 minutes 5 seconds.
Experience Baseball Americana
A video tour of the "Baseball Americana" exhibition at the Library of Congress, June 29, 2018 to July 27, 2019. March 28, 2019. 3 minutes.
A Strong Right Arm: The Story of Mamie "Peanut" Johnson
Author Michelle Y. Green tells the story of Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, one of only three women to play in the Negro Leagues and the first woman who pitched in a men's professional baseball league. Green discussed her close friendship with Peanut Johnson and shared information about their extensive interviews, research, media appearances and inspirations. October 23, 2018. 58 minutes 26 seconds.
Tinker to Evers to Chance: The Chicago Cubs & the Dawn of Modern America
Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance formed the defensive core of the most formidable team in big league baseball, leading the Chicago Cubs to four National League pennants and two World Series championships from 1906 to 1910. In his book "Tinker to Evers to Chance," author David Rapp takes a rare look at one of baseball's first dynasties in action. October 23, 2018. 1 hours 2 minutes 44 seconds.
The Big Fella: Babe Ruth & the World He Created
Bestselling author Jane Leavy presents her newest work, the definitive biography of baseball titan Babe Ruth. Drawing from more than 250 interviews, a trove of previously untapped documents and Ruth family records, Leavy breaks through the mythology that has obscured the legend and delivers the man. October 20, 2018. 1 hours 4 minutes 38 seconds.
A Conversation with Henry "Hank" Aaron
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden interviews American baseball icon Henry "Hank" Aaron and discusses his life, family, influences and legendary career. October 18, 2018. 51 minutes 27 seconds.
Conversation with Moneyball Author Michael Lewis
Rob Neyer interviews best-selling author Michael Lewis about his 2003 book "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game" and the use of sabermetrics in baseball. June 28, 2018. 1 hours 6 minutes 45 seconds.
Baseball in Black & White: Newspaper Sportswriters on Reporting the National Pastime
Baseball sportswriters Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun and Greg Swatek of the Frederick News-Post discussed their work covering baseball at the local, regional and national levels. November 08, 2018. 1 hours 3 minutes 57 seconds.
Long Time Coming: A 1955 Baseball Story
Film producer Ted Haddock and director Jon Strong introduce and discuss the film "Long Time Coming: A 1955 Baseball Story," which tells the story of the first racially integrated Little League game in the south, in Orlando, Fla., in 1955. July 25, 2018. 55 minutes
Inside Baseball: Baseball Collections as Data
As part of programming related to the Library's "Baseball Americana" exhibition, Library of Congress Labs hosted a collaborative flash build with JSTOR Labs of new digital tools to explore the Library's baseball-related collections data, building resources and visualizations. July 13, 2018. 2 hours 33 minutes 57 seconds.
Talking Baseball & America with the Spirit of Studs Terkel
Filmmaker John Sayles, actor David Strathairn and director Derek Goldman present an afternoon of baseball with Studs Terkel Radio Archive representatives Tony Macaluso and Allison Schein Holmes, joined by Matthew Barton, curator of recorded sound at the Library of Congress. They celebrated the words and voices of America's pastime in all its complex glory, from halcyon memories of childhood heroes to the corruption of the Black Sox Scandal. Sayles and Strathairn reflected on their experience working with Terkel on the film "Eight Men Out" (in which Terkel appeared) and interweave that experience with voices from the recently-launched Terkel Radio Archive and live performances of classic baseball writing. The Studs Terkel Radio Archive is currently undergoing digitization by the Library of Congress, and is managed by the WFMT Radio Network and the Chicago History Museum. July 02, 2018. 1 hours 20 minutes 14 seconds.
Sharon Robinson: 2016 National Book Festival
Sharon Robinson discusses "The Hero Two Doors Down: Based on the True Story of Friendship Between a Boy and a Baseball Legend" with Susan Stamberg from NPR at the 2016 Library of Congress Book Festival in Washington, D.C. September 24, 2016. 30 minutes 5 seconds.
Havana Hardball: Spring Training, Jackie Robinson & the Cuban League
César Brioso discussed his book which captures the excitement of the Cuban League's greatest pennant race and the anticipation of the looming challenge to Major League Baseball's color barrier. July 21, 2016. 50 minutes 36 seconds.
Barry Svrluga: 2015 National Book Festival
Barry Svrluga discusses "The Grind: Inside Baseball's Hardest Season" at the 2015 Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. September 05, 2015. 45 minutes 58 seconds.
The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg
Aviva Kempner talked and showed film clips from a new special DVD edition of "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg." May 13, 2013. 37 minutes 25 seconds.
Bill Veeck: Baseball's Great Maverick
Paul Dickson discussed and signed his book "Bill Veeck: Baseball's Great Maverick" at the Whittall Pavilion. May 01, 2012. 53 minutes 42 seconds.
Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert: The Wild Saga of Interracial Baseball Before Jackie Robinson
Historian Timothy M. Gay tells the stories of pioneering baseball escapades in his new book, "Satch, Dizzy and Rapid Robert: The Wild Saga of Interracial Baseball Before Jackie Robinson." May 05, 2010. 55 minutes 18 seconds.
Baseball Americana: Treasures from the Library of Congress
The world's largest collection of things related to baseball is housed at the Library of Congress, and a new, lavishly illustrated history of the sport features more than 350 of the best items in the collections, some dating as far back as the late 1700s. From baseball's biggest stars to street urchins, from its most newsworthy stories to sandlot and Little League games, "Baseball Americana" examines baseball's hardscrabble origins, rich cultural heritage and uniquely American character. April 12, 2010. 1 hours 8 seconds.
Baseball Americana Symposium 2009
Even those of us who love a day out at the ballgame probably spend more of our baseball time in and around our homes, with our families, friends and neighbors. This event explores the many ways we enjoy baseball at home, from watching it on TV, to following our favorite players and their all-important statistics, to playing baseball, softball and stickball in parks and city streets. October 03, 2009. 2 hours 11 minutes 22 seconds.
The Dickson Baseball Dictionary
"The Dickson Baseball Dictionary" is an indispensable resource for hard-core fans as well as anyone newly interested in the national pastime. It has become an essential resource for those who love the game. Drawing on dozens of 19th and early-20th century periodicals as well as contemporary sources, the Dictionary's illuminating definitions trace the earliest appearances of terms both well known and obscure. More than 25 years in the making, with the help of more than 300 baseball and lexical experts, this new third edition expands the second edition by more than 30 percent, to more than 10,000 terms with 18,000 individual entries. It introduces words and phrases from around the world of baseball, including those introduced by Latin American ballplayers and statistical expressions relating to fantasy baseball. April 15, 2009. 53 minutes.
Reflections on the First Baseball Classic of 2006
Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria, sterling professor of comparative literature at Yale University, presented "Reflections on the First World Baseball Classic of 2006" in a program sponsored by the Hispanic Division. A major literary critic of Spanish and Latin American Literature, he is an expert on baseball and the author of "The Pride of Havana," winner of the Dave Moore Award of Best Baseball Book in 2002. Echevarria was born in Cuba and in his youth played semi-professional baseball. June 30, 2006. 55 minutes 55 seconds.
How About That! The Life of Mel Allen
Stephen Borelli, baseball editor of USA Today Sports Weekly, discussed his new book, "How About That! The Life of Mel Allen," the first biography of Allen, one of the most famous sports broadcasters in American history. CNN's Larry King praised the volume as "a wonderful book about a wonderful life; I knew and loved Mel Allen and Borelli captures him in full measure." The lecture was co-sponsored by the Center for the Book and the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division. October 18, 2005. 48 minutes 35 seconds.
Sharon Robinson (National Book Festival 2004)
Sharon Robinson discusses her book "Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America." October 09, 2004. 37 minutes 8 seconds.
Baseball Panel (National Book Festival 2002)
Sharon Robinson, daughter of legendary baseball hero Jackie Robinson, moderated a panel of NPR commentators on the subject of books about baseball. October 12, 2002. 28 minutes 8 seconds.
Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By
Sharon Robinson, baseball legend Jackie Robinson's daughter and director of educational programming for the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, came to the Library of Congress to discuss her newly published book. November 06, 2001. 49 minutes 37 seconds.

Today in History highlights significant events or figures in American History associated with a particular day. Every Today in History feature includes a brief essay supported by primary resources, followed by a "Learn More" section that offers suggestions for finding related Library of Congress resources. Below are Today in History features, arranged chronologically, that highlight baseball-related figures and events.

The Tall Tactician - December 22, 1862
Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy, known as Connie Mack, the "Tall Tactician" of major league baseball, was born on December 22, 1862 in East Brookfield, Massachusetts.
Cy Young - August 6, 1890
Cy Young pitched his first professional game, leading the Cleveland Spiders past the Chicago Colts.
A Baseball Brew - March 28, 1889
Brewing magnate and owner of the St. Louis Cardinals August Anheuser Busch Jr. was born March 28, 1899, in St. Louis, Missouri.
The World Series - October 1, 1903
Boston Americans & Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series.
Satchel Paige - July 7, 1906
Leroy Robert “Satchel” Paige, perhaps baseball’s greatest pitcher ever, was born on July 7, ca. 1906, in Mobile, Alabama.
Ty Cobb, the Georgia Peach
Ty Cobb recorded his 4,000th career hit.
Walter Johnson Dies - December 10, 1946
Walter Johnson died at the age of fifty-nine.
Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Line - April 15, 1947
Jackie Robinson put on his first Brooklyn Dodgers uniform (number 42) and broke the Major League Baseball "color line."
Home Run Kings - October 1, 1961
Roger Maris hits his 61st home run, breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record.
Jackie Roosevelt Robinson - October 15, 1972
Jackie Robinson threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the second game of the World Series commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of his becoming the first African-American to play in modern Major League Baseball.

Many sections of the Library's website not highlighted elsewhere on this page include essays, images, books, and other features that highlight the game of baseball. Descriptions of these sections, along with links to specific baseball content that can be found within then, appear below.

America's Library

America's Library is designed for children and their families to explore people, places, and events in American history. America's Library includes a number of brief stories and features related to significant people and events in baseball history. Links to these items, arranged chronologically, are listed below.

Teacher Resources

The Library's Teacher Resources pages are designed to help teachers and other educators incorporate primary source materials, including those in the Library's digital collections, into the classroom. The Teachers Resources pages include lesson plans, primary source sets, and other resources teachers can use with their students.

Baseball Across a Changing Nation
A selection of Library of Congress primary sources exploring baseball and the various ways it was experienced by Americans between the close of the Civil War and the beginning of WWII. This set also includes a Teacher's Guide with historical context and teaching suggestions.
Baseball, Race and Ethnicity: Rounding the Bases
Students use Library of Congress primary sources focused on baseball to explore the American experience regarding race and ethnicity.
Online Office Hours Webinar: Baseball Resources
Explore cultural norms and society's values through the lens of baseball, the quintessential American recreational activity. Enjoy a conversation between an education expert and the author of Baseball Americana, Susan Reyburn. Discover primary source songs, baseball cards, letters, speeches, and more. Recorded April 14, 2020.

Chronicling America

Chronicling America is a free, national, searchable database of historic American newspaper pages published between 1777 and 1963. Through Chronicling America users can search millions of digitized newspaper pages to trace the early history of baseball as documented by the American press.

The Library's Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room has created three topic guides, drawing upon the content in Chronicling America, related to baseball:

Baseball's World Series, 1903- 1922
Highlights newspaper articles about the World Series in Chronicling America and provides suggested search terms for locating other relevant articles.
Bloomer Girls: All-girls Novelty Act Sweeps Country Playing Baseball
Highlights newspaper articles about bloomer girls (all-women baseball teams who typically played against amateur, semi-pro, and minor league men's teams) in Chronicling America and provides suggested search terms for locating other relevant articles.
The Chicago "Black Sox" Scandal
Highlights newspaper articles about the Black Sox scandal in Chronicling America and provides suggested search terms for locating other relevant articles.
The Emergence of Babe Ruth
Highlights newspaper articles covering the career of Babe Ruth from Boston Red Sox star pitcher to New York Yankees prolific slugger.

Suggested Search Terms

Use Chronicling America's Advanced Search page to search newspapers by date, location, and newspaper title, and to conduct phrase searches. Sample search terms (also applicable to searching other sections of the Library's website) are:

General terms:
- baseball
- base ball
- World Series
- town ball
Individual Names:
- Connie Mack
- Fielder Jones
- Cy Young
- Ty Cobb
- Honus Wagner
- Christy Mathewson
- Mordecai Brown
- Frank Chance
Team Names:
- Pittsburg Pirates (note that the spelling "Pittsburgh" did not occur until 1920),
- Boston Americans
- New York Giants
- Philadelphia Athletics
- Chicago White Sox
- Chicago White Stockings
- Chicago Cubs
- Detroit Tigers

Veterans History Project

The Veterans History Project (VHP) preserves and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans from World War I to the present so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. Each VHP collection receives an online Biographical Information record, which includes the participant’s name, affiliation, and military service details. Some collections are digitized and made available online. You can locate records that include references to baseball through the VHP online database. A search on the keyword baseball retrieves approximately fifteen records. Among them, the digitized Vincent Simonelli Collection (see finding aid), includes letters (example one ; example two) from the Vietnam War veteran about following the National and American Baseball Leagues.

Wise Guide

The Wise Guide, which ceased activity in 2011, was designed to introduce users to some of the most fascinating, educational, and useful resources available from the Library of Congress. Many of the Wise Guide's monthly articles highlight the Library's baseball resources. These entries are listed below:

America's Pastime at America's Library
Published April 2008/April 2009
Baseball Americana
Published: October 2009
"How about That!" (Mel Allen)
Published July 2006
Why was He called "Cy"?
Published: August 2004
The Way Baseball Was
Published June 2004
We are the Champions!
Published April 2003/July 2005

Most of the Library's online collections, databases, and Web pages can searched through the Library's primary search engine, located on the Library's home page as well as at https://www.loc.gov/search/.

The Library's search engine takes advantage of "faceted searching," which allows users to refine the results of an initial keyword search, or to browse for content using various categories of information (facets) related to items in the Library's physical and online collections. To view available facets, go to https://www.loc.gov/search/ and examine the options in the "Refine your results" column at the left of the page:

Image showing several Refine Your Results facets

Major facets available include Original Format; Online Format; Date; Location; Part of; Contributor; Subject; Language; and Access Condition. Under each major facet are numerous, more specific facets that you can select to narrow a results set. The default for search results is to display materials available online. Select "All Items" to change the list of results to include records for items in the Library's physical collections.

Browsing by Facet for Baseball Materials

When using the main search page to locate baseball materials, you do no need to enter an initial keyword search in order to begin refining results by facet. You can immediately start browsing by facet and locating materials without ever needing to conduct a keyword search.

One of the most important facets for identifying baseball-related material on the Library's website is the Subject facet:

Image of the Subject facets on the Library's search page

To find subjects related to baseball, select "More Subjects" at the bottom of this facet to open up a larger list of subjects:

This larger list of subjects is arranged by number of matches, from the subject with the most available items to the subject with the least. You can browse this list to find subjects related to baseball—select "Alphabetically" to search for subjects that begin with a specific word or phrase, such as Ruth, Babe. Searching alphabetically on "Baseball" will bring you to a page listing all subjects that begin with that term:

Image showing subject terms associated with baseball

You can select a specific heading to be brought to a list of items assigned it.

Searching by Keyword, then Refining by Facet

Rather than beginning your search by using the "Refine your results" facets, you can begin with a keyword search and then refine the keyword results by facet. For example, you can search across the Library's website on the keyword baseball by entering the term into the search box at the top of the main search page (or other Library pages):

The default arrangement is by number of matching items, though the list can be sorted alphabetically as well. Once you find a subject, or another facet, in which you are interested, select it to be brought to a list of items on the Library's website assigned that facet that also include a match on the keyword baseball. For example, if you are interested in baseball sheet music, select Notated Music under the "Original Format" facet:

Image showing subject facet for 'Notated Music'

This will bring you to a results page listing items on the Library's website that include a match on the keyword baseball and whose original format is Notated Music:

Image showing results lists for a keyword search on 'Baseball' and limited to the Original Format 'Notated Music'

You can browse this list of results or resort them using the "View" drop-down menu at the top of the results list. If you want to further refine your results, you can again use the facets available from the "Refine your results" column at the left. For instance, if you want to narrow your results to notated music published in 1908, go to the Date facet and select "1900-1999":

Once you select this date range, the facets listed under Date will automatically adjust to present a refined list of dates from which to choose, this time by decade:

Image showing Date facet with listings by decade

When you choose a decade the list will again be refined, this time by individual year. After selecting "1900 to 1909" you can then select "1908" from the more refined list of Date facets to be brought to matching items in our online collections: items published in 1908, whose original format is Notated Music, and whose text or record includes the keyword baseball:

Image showing results for notated music about baseball published in 1908

Granular Searching by Facet

When searching or limiting results by facet, keep in mind that the same facet, such as Date or Subject, can often be refined multiple times. For example, if you begin your search by limiting content to the subject Baseball, you can return to the Subject facet to find a newly refined list of subject facets that includes more granular subjects from which to choose:

Image showing several granular Baseball subject facets

Clicking on the "More Subjects" link will open the complete list of refined subject facets from which you can choose. You can refine results by two, three, or more Subject facets, and combine that search with other facets (e.g., Original Format, Location, and Date) as you browse for content.

Leveraging the power of faceted searching from the Library's faceted search home page, as well from the main Subject page for baseball, you can quickly and efficiently mine much of the Library's online baseball-related content to find exactly the types of resources in which you are interested.

Search Help

For more help on using the Library's main search box and faceted search options, review the Library's Search Help page, which gives tips on several search techniques, including how best to search the site by keyword.

Baseball Resources at the Library of Congress

History, Humanities & Social Sciences: Ask a Librarian