The Night Casey Was Born

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,

And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;

But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck out.

Note: This is a spoiler-type review.

120 years ago, June 3rd to be exact, readers of the San Francisco Examiner found a 52-line poem titled "Casey at the Bat." The by-line read “Phin,” the pseudonym for Ernest Lawrence Thayer, a young writer from Massachusetts. Regulars of the newspaper had seen his writings during the last year or so.

The poem went on to become one of the most famous in sports history, even showing up on at least one Top 100 list. Condensed versions tell the Casey story, as well as a couple of well-reviewed books. Knowing only that Casey at the Bat is a classic, I picked up a new book on the subject - John Evangelist Walsh’s The Night Casey Was Born - and throughly enjoyed it.

Walsh puts the reader in the baseball world of New York City, circa 1888, a time when the players wore thick mustaches and no gloves. Baseball was becoming more and more popular. Fans in New York were particularly thrilled, having had no National League team to cheer for from 1877 to 1882. The Giants would play like Giants that summer of 1888.

The sepia-toned jacket features a front cover picture of the Giants at the Polo Grounds. The team and the Polo Grounds are part of the story. Walsh describes how DeWolf Hopper, the great operetta star and baseball fanatic, strolled into the "New-Yorks" dressing room on Opening Day 1888. His stature, six feet, two inches, and great record of attendance, were part of his credentials.

The story’s central characters are Thayer and Hopper with an emphasis on the latter. We learn that Thayer’s love of comic ballads was part of the inspiration for writing Casey. He later said that he modeled no one player to come up with the slugger. Walsh points toward the Giants' beefy Roger Connor and Boston’s superstar King Kelly as players who Thayer probably thought about. Thayer knew a thing or two about baseball and had seen both Connor and King in action when New York and Louisville barnstormed their way to Haight Street Grounds in San Francisco in November 1887. Thayer reported on the games for the Examiner.

Thayer returned from his 18-month stint with the Examiner to his home in Worcester, Mass. After writing the poem, he mailed it to the Examiner. They published it on the 3rd.

As the Giants roared into first place in late July, Hopper’s fame grew also. He got rave reviews for his performance in Prince Methusalem. Walsh notes this elevated him to being regarded as one of Broadway’s finest performers.

With the Giants' chances of a first pennant looking better and better, Hopper got the idea of celebrating their growing popularity as well as that of the game of baseball. He and his boss, Colonel McCaull, came up with the idea for a “Baseball Night” at Wallack’s Theater. By this point in the book, the suspense is building. How did the poem get into Hopper’s hand?

A popular novelist, Archibald Gunter, had cut the poem out of the paper and placed in his wallet when he was in San Francisco. Back in New York, he noticed the ad for the Baseball Night and approached McCaull. Both liked the poem and agreed to work it into the night’s performance. (Walsh writes that Hopper had just a day or less to memorize it, while other sources indicate he had longer).

August 14 was the date agreed upon (Coincidently Thayer’s 25th birthday). The members of the opera attended the game that afternoon as special guest at the Polo Grounds. They jinxed the Giants and Tim Keefe, who saw his 19-game winning streak end, by the score of, please note, Chicago 4 NY 2.

No matter. The Giants were five and a half games ahead of Chicago and on their way to taking that first taste of glory by nine games. That night at Wallack’s, Hopper gave a roaring rendition of the poem. Everybody loved it (probably the pitchers a little more). Hopper went on to perform it many times, including another special night on October 14 at the Star Theatre where the Giants were presented with a banner pennant.

The poem helped him gain fame and Hopper helped Casey become famous. King Kelly also performed it after he retired in 1890. Newspapers, magazines, recordings, movies and books all contributed to the ballad’s continuing fame. Thayer no doubt enjoyed his one-hit wonder but had to endure those who claimed they had written the poem. A special investigator looked into the matter and said Thayer was the author beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Criticisms of this book are few. It’s small and just over 200 pages, but the story is told in full. I also groaned when Walsh joined the legion of those who think 600-foot home runs, under normal conditions, are possible. And I wasn’t comfortable with Walsh pointing to a specific series (Boston at Giants, April 30, May 1-3) as the “real-life background of the mighty Casey’s story.”

A bonus for this book is the photos. That may not sound like a big deal but pictures in books seem to be a fading tradition. These are numerous and strategically placed throughout to match the developing story. It’s a nice touch to a splendid effort by Walsh.