Rhode Island

The City by the Sea boasts an ambitious baseball history dating back to the early days of America's favorite pastime. In 1897, the Newport Colts became the first professional baseball team to ever tie in a playoff series. By the 1900s, baseball was being played daily on open fields and diamonds throughout Newport. The city has sported six major ball fields, including Cardines Field, host to the oldest continuously running amateur baseball team in the country. Discover the humble beginnings of players like Newport native Frank Corridon, who allegedly invented the now outlawed spitball, and the legacy of the great Trojans baseball club. Team up with baseball historian Rick Harris and walk through the history of Newport baseball from amateur games to the major leagues and all the strikes, homers and grand slams in between.

This book chronicles the history of the HMS Gaspee, a sloop in the British Royal Navy that was sent to patrol the waters of Narragansett Bay in 1772.

The Gaspee cracked down on smugglers and enforced British customs regulation, particularly the Stamp Act. The ship and her captain, William Duddington, were quickly hated by colonists for their campaign of brutality, harassment, and arbitrary enforcement. When the Gaspee ran around in shallow waters, while in pursuit of a colonist merchant ship, they took immediate action. The colonists, led by John Brown and other local notables, burned Gaspee and wounded her captain. This act of revolt preceded the Boston Tea Party by 18 months.

In 1765, settlers to the west of Providence petitioned to form their own township. Their prayers were answered, and North Providence, Rhode Island, was born. While it sheltered religious dissenters, North Providence was also the sparking point of the Industrial Revolution--native sons and industrialists Samuel Slater and Zachariah Allen reinvented the cotton industry and altered the course of the nation. In this history of North Providence, author Paul F. Caranci celebrates the town's colorful characters and provides walking tours for the villages of Lymansville, Allendale, Centredale and Fruit Hill. Learn how North Providence native Stephen Olney became a Revolutionary War hero when he pulled an injured James Monroe from the battlefield and how Frank C. Angell became a spokesman for Centredale. Caranci reveals the unique history of North Providence and the people who shaped it.

This book will chronicle the history of baseball at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown has earned the distinction of being the most influential institution regarding baseball in Rhode Island. Fields, players, coaches are also included. Perhaps the most interesting parts of the book are the stories revolving around students and baseball games. Racial Integration on the ball field at Brown University is also explored, as well as women who played baseball at Pembroke College (Brown's sister college prior to integration of female and male students).