Past Time Revisited: Jules Tygiel Testimonial

Abstract

I HAVE BEEN ASKED TO ADD MY THOUGHTS on Jules Tygiel’s Past Time: Baseball as History, which appeared in publication in 2000. But I would be remiss in this essay if I did not preface those remarks with some about my own relationship with our friend and colleague. My relationship with Jules was not a close one on a routine basis, but one of quality each time we crossed paths. His name first came to my attention prior to the release of Baseball’s Great Experiment when one of my graduate advisors, who had been a graduate peer of Jules while at University of California at Los Angeles, advised me to contact him at San Francisco State. Jules, a considerate and kind person, unbeknownst to me, attended my presentation when the North American Society for Sport History (NASSH) convened in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1984 and, afterwards, introduced himself already knowing of my work. Through the years, we exchanged pleasantries at NASSH, the Organization of American Historians (OAH), and other conferences. We enjoyed minor league baseball at Spartanburg, South Carolina and Stockton, California. We shared research ideas at the Library of Congress, participated in seminars, and rode the Metro system in Washington, D.C. Jules read my dissertation, my Viva Baseball! (1998) manuscript, had me over to his home, and came to mine. He loved his family, loved life, absolutely loved baseball, and loved being a scholar; and this was clearly reflected in Past Time: Baseball as History.