Primary Source Spotlight: Baseball
For baseball fans, there’s no more quintessential pastime then spending a delicious summer day at the park watching their favorite players slug it out. Some may say the delight at the ballpark depends on the final score of the favored team, but coming from a family of die-hard Chicago Cubs fans I can say that come what may, “Take me out to the ballpark!”
Baseball ABC book
Branch Rickey’s scouting report on Don Drysdale 15 June 1954
Branch Rickey: Changing the Game crowdsourcing project
Baseball songs, interviews & oral histories
Take Me Out to the Ballgame sheet music
Take Me Out to the Ballgame In the Muse blog post April 5, 2010
Take Me Out to the Ballgame: the missing verses video
Prints & Photographs Division
- Baseball image set
- Pictorial Americana: Baseball
- Baseball Heroes
- U.S. Presidents and Baseball
- Baseball Images in High Demand
- Panoramic Baseball Photographs, 1880-1930
- Baseball Pictures from the Bain Collection, 1900-31
- Farm Security Admin/Office of War Information baseball photos, 1935-45
- National Photo Company Baseball Photos, 1909-32
- Theodor Horydczak Baseball Photographs, 1932-59
- Popular Graphic Arts: Baseball, 1863-1909
- Artist Posters: Baseball, 1876-1953
Primary source collections & items
- Baseball primary source set
- Baseball and Jackie Robinson including early baseball pictures, 1860s-1920s
- Baseball Cards, 1887-1914
- Spalding Baseball Guides, 1889-1939
- Search for baseball images in Mapping an American Pastime Library of Congress & National Museum of African American History and Culture
- The Ball Game – 1898 Film by Thomas Edison
PSN Baseball Curated Collections
- Today in History
- Primary Source Spotlight: Chicago Cubs
- Collection Spotlight: Sports Byline
- Featured Image: The Young “Punk” a Baseball Player
- Featured Image: Memorial Day
Selected Resources from the Chronicling America Historic Newspaper Collection
- Baseball’s Modern World Series (1903-1910)
- Bloomer Girls Women’s baseball (1897-1909)
- Chicago Black Sox Baseball Scandal (1919-1921)
Online Exhibitions
- Baseball Americana
- American Treasures
- Baseball’s Greatest Hits: The Music of Our National Game
- John Bull and Uncle Sam: Popular Culture from Baseball to Rock and Roll
Teaching Resources
Baseball stories from America’s Library
Library blog posts
- America at Play Library of Congress Blog April 10, 2014
- Baseball Americana: Baseball’s Greatest Hits Library of Congress May 10, 2018
- Baseball Americana: Baseball’s Magna Carta Library of Congress May 31, 2018
- Baseball Americana: A House of Cards Library of Congress June 21, 2018
- Baseball Americana: Playing Behind Barbed Wire Library of Congress May 17, 2018
- Baseball Americana: Root, Root, Root’s Debut Library of Congress June 7, 2018
- Baseball Americana: Telling Stories Through Stats Library of Congress June 14, 2018
- Baseball Americana: When Jackie Met Rickey Library of Congress May 24, 2018
- Baseball History: Reflections & Family History Activities Minerva’s Kaleidoscope October 28, 2022
- Baseball History Part Two: Finding Larry Doby in the Newspaper Collections Minerva’s Kaleidoscope November 2, 2022
- Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie . . . Library of Congress July 3, 2007
- Baseball and the Law In Custodia Legis October 24, 2014
- Baseball Stadiums and Maps: Chicago Worlds Revealed: Geography & Maps July 6, 2018
- Baseball and World War I Library of Congress September 27, 2018
- Baseballs: The Heart of the Matter Library of Congress March 5, 2018
- Baseball’s Greatest Hits: Over 1000 Songs about Our National Game March 15, 2019
- Baseball’s Spring Training Picture This March 29, 2012
- A Capital Team Library of Congress Blog April 1, 2013
- Celebrating the World Series with Song Library of Congress Blog October 25, 2017
- Champions of America: Early Baseball Card Library of Congress Blog April 4, 2017
- Film of the Washington Senators Winning the 1924 World Series Found! Now See Hear! October 2, 2014
- The First Publication of “Casey at the Bat” From the Catbird Seat June 4, 2013
- A Fish, a Baseball, a Song In Custodia Legis May 16, 2019
- Going Back, Waaay Back Library of Congress Blog October 1, 2009
- Japanese-America’s Pastime: Baseball Library of Congress May 25, 2018
- Let’s Play Ball! Music for the World Series In The Muse October 30, 2013
- Opening Day and the Law In Custodia Legis April 6, 2015
- Opening Day Redux for President Taft Library of Congress Blog March 29, 2013
- Play Ball! Library of Congress Blog April 3, 2017
- Play Ball! Now See Hear! May 22, 2014
- Play Ball!… Aboard Ship? Folklife Today January 23, 2014
- From Player Portraits to Baseball Cards Picture This October 17, 2012
- Root, Root, Root for the Home Team Library of Congress Blog March 24, 2008
- Send In the (Baseball) Clowns Picture This October 5, 2022
- A Special Recording to Celebrate Casey’s 125th Library of Congress Blog June 3, 2013
- Spectators Pictured “Fanning” the Flames of Baseball Passion Picture This July 13, 2016
- Supreme Baseball Unfolding History: Manuscripts at the Library October 6, 2022
- Tinker to Evers to Chance From the Catbird Seat April 2, 2012
- Tuning In to the World Series Before TV Picture This October 29, 2015
- The Umpire Strikes Out: Baseball Music and Labor Library of Congress July 31, 2017
- Watching Baseball at the Opera House Inside Adams October 5, 2012
- A Whole New Ballgame Library of Congress May 6, 2015
- World Series Pictures in Play Picture This October 19, 2011
- You Ott to Know: Using Legal Documents to Change Baseball History In Custodia Legis July 16, 2018
Webcast videos