Catcher will change the way you think about baseball, heroism, and-most especially-the man behind the plate. Baseball's indefatigable researcher and brilliant chronicler, Peter Morris, explores the evolution of the catcher from the 1870s-when the position became the ultimate example of the American ideal of the rugged individualist-to the early 1900s. He has produced a lively and original history filled with generous use of newspaper accounts and stirring profiles of long-forgotten players who were daring, deranged, or both. Book jacket.