Download or read book A History of Australian Baseball written by Joe Clark and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2003-01-01 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through extensive interviews and archival research, Joe Clark has uncovered the engaging details of Australian baseball’s unique, and often turbulent, 125-year history, and for the first time the dynamic story of Australian baseball is told. Initially accepted only grudgingly in the late nineteenth century as an off-season substitute for cricket, baseball in Australia steadily rose in prominence. Starting with neighborhood games played between improvised teams, the sport grew to include state and national leagues and a spirited international competition. Both the shortcomings and the triumphs of Australian baseball are revealed in A History of Australian Baseball: Time and Game, from an ill-fated late-nineteenth-century baseball tour of America and the political firestorm surrounding the formation of the Australian Baseball League in the 1990s, to the amazing defeat of the powerhouse Cuban team in the Intercontinental Cup of 1999.