Cincinnati's Crosley Field: The Illustrated History of a Classic Ballpark

Delve into the history of this storied baseball field, which served as home to the Cincinnati Reds for more than 50 years!

The Cincinnati Reds played at Crosley Field from 1912 through 1970. The ballpark remains an iconic part of the city's history and is still beloved throughout Reds Country. Cincinnati's Crosley Field, by Greg Rhodes and John Erardi, presents the field through text and over 150 vintage photographs. A favorite ballpark in all of Major League Baseball, Crosley Field hosted the first night game, the first of Johnny Vander Meer's back-to-back no-hitters, two all-star games, and four World Series. From the outfield terrace to the "Moon Deck," from Lombardi's "snooze" to Big Klu's biceps, from Blackwell's "whip" to Rose's belly-flop slides, from the Redlegs to the Big Red Machine, Cincinnati's Crosley Field has all the memories covered in words and pictures.

The authors also present the great Negro Leagues (baseball leagues formed by Black baseball players after they were excluded from the Major Leagues due to systemic racism) teams that played at Crosley, as well as the field's many colorful characters, such as longtime announcer Waite Hoyt and the top-hatted vendor known as Peanut Jim. This wonderful coffee-table book is a must-have for any baseball fan in Ohio--and beyond.

"What a book! The photographs bring Crosley Field back to life and put you right back in your seat at the old ballpark. If you care about great ballparks and what made them special, this is the book for you. An inside-the-park home run!"
--Joe Nuxhall, Cincinnati Reds legend

About the Author
In the Crosley era, Greg Rhodes played shortstop for the Crosley Management Indians of Richmond, Indiana. (Powel Crosley's refrigerators and automobiles were manufactured in Richmond in the 1950s.) He attended his first major league game at Crosley Field in the mid-1950s. Rhodes served as the first director of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, which opened at Great American Ball Park in 2004. He's currently the Cincinnati Reds team historian. He has resided in Cincinnati since 1985, with his wife, Sally Westheimer. Growing up in Syracuse, New York, John Erardi was touted as "the next Frank McCormick." The touter was Erardi's Irish mother, who has a 12-year-old girl was captivated by McCormick's glorious 1937 season for Cincinnati's top farm club of Syracuse. Unlike McCormick, Erardi never made it to Crosley Field, but eventually made it to first base, scooping up throws for the Syracuse Moose All-Stars, Christian Brothers Academy, and later at Annapolis and Murray State University. The "Enquirer" reporter and columnist is a three-time Ohio Sports Writer of the Year, and has won the Associated Press award for best sports feature paper story in the country, and the state AP award for best feature in an Ohio newspaper (: Cincinnati and the Negroe Leagues"). He's the No. 5 starter in a family rotation of wife, Barb, son, Chris, daughter, Gina, and dog, Milkshake.