Evans, Christopher H. and Herzog, William
R., editors. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002 274
pp. $18.95 U.S. ISBN: 0664223052.
[1] On September 23, less than two weeks after
the September 11 attacks, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani presided over
a multi-faith service for the victims, most of whom were missing
or unidentified. The elaborate ceremonies included religious hymns,
patriotic songs, prayers, oratory, and solemn processions, and
helped to set the tone for similar events that would be held around
the country in the ensuing months. Attendees included politicians,
families of the victims, clergy from a variety of religious traditions,
and thousands of grieving New Yorkers Significantly, the venue
was a place where New Yorkers were accustomed to more exuberant
forms of collective expression - Yankee Stadium.
[2] That a baseball stadium became a significant
venue for national mourning, ritual catharsis, and expressions
of patriotic pride in the wake of September 11 reinforces much
of what is argued in The Faith of 50 Million: Baseball, Religion,
and American Culture, a new collection of essays edited by
Christopher H. Evans and William R. Herzog II. The text's organizing
themes are that baseball has achieved "enduring stature as a sacred
symbol of American identity" and thus "occupies a unique crossroads
between historical realities and popular myth" (2). Furthermore,
the contributors show that baseball can be analyzed through the
lens of contemporary theology, particularly a theology that is
informed by historical and critical scholarship. The editors note
in the introduction that all the contributors are practicing Protestants
and thus the text will be most helpful to those who study the
cultural dimensions of Protestantism. However, given that many
of the essays address broader religious, ethical, and historical
issues, it might also be of interest to other scholars who focus
on American history and culture.
[3] The text is divided into four sections.
The first, "Baseball and American Religion: The Theological Quest
for National Identity," contains two essays by Evans that focus
on the relationship between baseball and American civil religion.
The second section, "Saints and Sinners," has three essays, two
of which examine historically significant players. The first compares
pitchers Christy Matheson and Grover Cleveland Alexander. The
second reevaluates Shoeless Joe Jackson's role in the infamous
Black Sox scandal of 1919. Notably, all three players illustrate
the uncertain boundaries between myth and history that often characterize
the public understanding of baseball. The third essay combines
literary analysis, theology, and baseball history to demonstrate
that elements of the novel The Old Man and the Sea reflect
the 1950 American league pennant race
[4] The third section, "Baseball and the Search
for the ÿAmerican Dream,'" suggests that the struggles to make
American society more egalitarian and inclusive have been both
aided and frustrated by baseball. The first essay concerns the
integration of baseball in 1946, and its author finds that religion
and ethics, particularly as practiced by Jackie Robinson and Dodgers
owner Branch Rickey, contributed significantly to the success
of the "noble experiment." The authors of the second essay assert
that, in spite of historical achievements such as the World War
II-era "league of their own," baseball has largely excluded women
from its upper echelons. They conclude that for baseball, as with
most forms of Christianity, a "radically inclusive" community
remains more dream than reality. Finally, the fourth section,
"The Lure of the Elysian Fields" presents two very personal essays
on how baseball can be intertwined with theological inspiration
and spiritual development.
[5] Overall, the creative application of theological
insight is impressive in this collection. The contributors demonstrate
that baseball can serve as a touchstone for Protestant reflection
that ranges from the very personal (introspective spiritual autobiography)
to the very public (broad social reform). Likewise, the essays
are rangy and inclusive in interesting ways. Their authors make
use of, in various ways, sociological theory, literary analysis,
civil rights historiography, feminist criticism, philosophical
ethics, personal reminiscences, as well as the work of numerous
baseball historians. Also noteworthy are the sharply critical
tendencies in many of the contributions. Although all the authors
are clearly fans, most do not hesitate to point out the shortcomings
of baseball - particularly insofar as its institutions and leadership
have overtly or tacitly supported abuses of power and privilege.
[6] In places, the collection could use a firmer
editorial hand. Some of the essays drag due to repetition or devotion
to minutiae (so like baseball itself!). Also, the varied interests
of the contributors produce some unevenness in tone and thematic
content. Finally, at the theoretical level, this collection has
little to say about some of the most important previous studies
of religion and sports. For example, neither Allen Guttmann's
influential application of Weber's secularization theory to the
subject in From Ritual to Record: The Nature of Modern Sports,
nor Michael Novak's nimble analysis of sports as "natural religions"
in The Joy of Sports, inform any of the essays. Clifford
Putney's excellent historical study, Muscular Christianity:
Manhood and Sports in Protestant America, 1880-1920, is mentioned
in some of the footnotes, but his valuable and far reaching insights
are otherwise invisible. These omissions are conspicuous, because
all three rigorously cover materials that have direct relevance
to main themes of The Faith of 50 Million. Thus while this
text is a welcome addition to the study of Protestantism and sports
in American culture, it will be most interesting and useful if
read in combination with the best of the older scholarship.
Lisle Dalton, Assistant Professor of Religious
Studies, Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York (DaltonL@hartwick.edu).
