 | |
| Author | King Kelly |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | King Kelly |
| Genre | Autobiography, Sports book |
| Publisher | Emery & Hughes |
Publication date | 1888 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Paperback |
Play Ball: Stories of the Ball Field is an 1888 autobiographical collection of baseball stories from Major League Baseball player King Kelly. Kelly had come to Boston one year earlier to play for the Boston Beaneaters. The book was organized and put together by Boston Globe journalist John J. "Jack" Drohan.[1]
Howard W. Rosenberg's 2004 biography of Kelly dispelled any notion that Boston reporter Jake Morse had been the ghostwriter, by quoting Drohan's involvement with the book at length, including unearthing the following sentence about Drohan from the 1889 book "The Story of the Irish in Boston.": "His only literary work outside of his newspaper was the preparation of M. J. Kelly's book, 'Play Ball.'"[2]
- ^ The Story of the Irish in Boston, p. 316. Cullen, James and Taylor Jr., William. Boston, Massachusetts: J.B. Cullen & Co. 1889. Available digitally from the Internet Archive.
- ^ Rosenberg, Howard W. (2004). Cap Anson 2: The Theatrical and Kingly Mike Kelly: U.S. Team Sport's First Media Sensation and Baseball's Original Casey at the Bat. Tile Books. p. 438. ISBN 0-9725574-1-5., p. 145, citing Cullen and Taylor, pp. 315-316.