The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence S. Ritter — Summary, Key Ideas & Quotes

Lawrence Ritter’s approach is unique: rather than writing a traditional narrative history, he traveled the country to record interviews with surviving players from baseball’s early era. Their recollections, presented in their own voices, give the book an immediacy and authenticity that no secondhand account could match. This method not only preserves the facts but captures the personalities, humor, and emotions of men who played the game when it was still raw and evolving.

The book traces baseball’s transformation from a rough, regional pastime to a national obsession. The players’ stories reveal how rules, equipment, and attitudes changed over time, often in unpredictable ways. At the same time, their memories are colored by nostalgia and myth, showing how legends are born and how the past is remembered through a golden lens.