In Search of Baseball's Holy Grail
This is our fault rather than his. In a just world, Block would be an archaeologist hero. What Bill James did for 20th-century baseball, Block is doing for 18th-century baseball. Eight years ago, Block came out with a book called Baseball Before We Knew It. Said Tom Shieber, the senior curator at the Baseball Hall of Fame: "Baseball Before We Knew It and its aftermath is to me probably the single most important baseball research of the last 50 years, if not more."
"He definitely is on a mission," said Block's brother, Philip. "It is a passion. It is everything like those archaeological hunts, looking for whatever holy grail you want to be looking for." Holy grail is the right term, at least in the Dan Brown sense, for with those old books Block is trying to solve a riddle: Who is the father of baseball?
(SNIP)
The date of the game was September 12, 1749. That's 90 years earlier than, and 3,500 miles away from, baseball's alleged conception in Cooperstown, New York. The "Base-Ball" player is the heir to the British throne. Block is rewriting the prehistory of the game. He is exposing a century's worth of lies. He has come up with a shocking answer to the riddle of baseball's parentage.
Much more here: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9681627/baseball-archaeologist-david-block
Fascinating article.
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