The new book, Center Field Shot: A History
of Baseball on Television , co-authored
by Duquesne University Associate Professor
Rob Bellamy steals a look at the impact of
television on baseball and smashes some of
the lingering myths about the “good old days” of
the game. “This is the first book that concentrates
on the relationship of our historical national
pastime and the most important medium ever
developed,” said Bellamy, who teaches in the
Department of Journalism and Multimedia Arts.
In its description of Center Field Shot ,
which will be available on June 1, publisher
Bison Books writes “The new medium of television
exposed baseball to a genuinely national audience;
altered the financial picture for teams, owners,
and players; and changed the way Americans followed
the game. Center Field Shot explores
these changes--all even more prominent in the
first few years of the 21st century--and makes
sense of their meaning for America's pastime.”
One of baseball's charms and also one of its
negatives, said Bellamy, is the myth of nostalgia,
the belief that everything was better in the
good old days. “For too long, television has
been perceived by many as somehow ‘bad for the
game,'” says Bellamy. “One thing I wanted to
do was to address this myth and present the first
full historical account of how television has
shaped both our understanding of baseball and
the economic structure of the baseball business.”
The inspiration for Center Field Shot was
born from a paper Bellamy penned more than 20
years ago, titled The Impact of Television
on the Structure of Major League Baseball ,
which was eventually published in a revised form
in the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic
Media . Bellamy said the idea further evolved
into book chapters, more articles and the development
of courses in sports and media. “I loved it as
I feel that both media and sports are only now
getting their due as a site for important academic
research and I was honored to be at or near the
beginning of this movement in media studies and
mass communication,” said Bellamy.
Bellamy co-authored the book with longtime friend,
Dr. James R. Walker, professor of mass communication
at Saint Xavier University. In 1991, Bellamy
was appointed to the editorial board for then-new
journal NINE: A Journal of Baseball History
and Culture . “It was through the pages
of NINE that Jim and I started the collaboration
that led to Center Field Shot ,” he
said.
Duquesne University
Duquesne is a private, coeducational university with more than 10,000 students. An extensive selection of undergraduate and graduate degree programs is offered across 10 schools of study. Duquesne is consistently ranked among the nation's top Catholic universities for its award-winning faculty and 130-year tradition of academic excellence. |
