Sports & Recreation

Carroll's Island is one of many places along the Chesapeake Bay where vibrant stories of dogs, decoys, guns and waterfowl resonate up from the shoreline.

The stories from Carroll's Island Ducking Club, which was founded in the mid-nineteenth century, offer special insights about the Chesapeake Bay's waterfowling heritage. In this warm, informative book, C. John Sullivan Jr., one of the nation's

Baseball in Baltimore documents the rich and interesting history of this sport's beginnings.

Few cities can boast as rich a baseball history as Baltimore. With longtime entries in the majors, minors, and Negro Leagues, the city's core of faithful fans have seldom lacked a team to root for. They revel in the feats of their stars (Keeler, Ruth, Palmer, Ripken) and just as ardently support the endless line of everyday players who often determine the teams' fates. Minor leaguers such as Merwin Jacobson, Howie Moss, and Jack Ogden had little impact in the major leagues but will be remembered forever for what they did for Baltimore.

Baseball fans will be captivated with these stories and images of the sport in Delmarva, Maryland between 1922 and 1949.

Between 1922 and 1949, the citizens of Delmarva enjoyed watching baseball the way it was meant to be played. Loyal Eastern Shore baseball enthusiasts were blessed to witness three eras of professional class ""D"" baseball, supporting their favorite teams, including the Parksley Spuds, Salisbury Indians, and Dover Orioles. The local faithful cheered on homegrown legends such as Frank ""Home Run"" Baker and Jimmie Foxx, both destined for enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

This is the second book from Arcadia Publishing that covers the history of the Eastern Shore Baseball League (ESHL). Eastern Shore baseball fans watched over three eras of class "D" professional baseball for 15 years, from 1922 to 1949. Many players, such as Don Zimmer, Mickey Cochrane, Red Ruffing, and Sid Gordon, came through the ESHL on their way to the major leagues. There were also many players that played and managed in this league who were former major-league players, including Gene Corbett, Ducky Detweiler, Val Picinich, and Joe Becker, to name a few. Eastern Shore League: Extra Innings, along with Eastern Shore League, will give baseball and history fans a more comprehensive understanding of the league.

Since he started smacking long balls for the Baltimore Orioles, John Boog Powell has enjoyed the gustatory delights of his adopted hometown. A four-time All-Star and a fixture in two World Series, Boog also knows how to make one heck of a pit beef sandwich. Backyard barbecues at Boog's Baltimore row house were once a post-game tradition for the team. After hanging up his spikes, the former MVP set up his now iconic barbecue operation at Camden Yards. Baltimore author Rob Kasper takes a behind-the-scenes look at the life of this smoky slugger from his Florida boyhood through his rise to major-league glory and beyond. Told in Boog's colorful style, this rollicking journey is spiced with recipes and topped off with interviews from former teammates like Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson and Jim Palmer.

Each spring, thousands of spectators clamber onto hillsides with picnics and binoculars to watch steeplechase racing, a fast-paced equine sport born out of the fundamentals of fox hunting. Since 1894, when the first Maryland Hunt Cup was run, the month of April has been synonymous with steeplechase racing. Starting with the Elkridge-Harford Hunt races and continuing with the National Steeplechase Association- sanctioned "Big Three" races--the My Lady's Manor, Grand National, and Maryland Hunt Cup--the countryside buzzes with horses and fans every Saturday throughout the month. Images of America: Maryland Steeplechasing traces the history of Maryland's other triple crown of racing, bringing together images of Maryland's three most-coveted races for the first time in one volume.

Join author C.L. Marshall as he weaves humorous and harrowing tales of the sporting life on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake.

Fish and fowl make their way to the Chesapeake Bay with the changing seasons, and sportsmen yearn for the hunt. Whether on the wing or water, stories of the chase are integral to life on the Eastern Shore. Thousands of fishermen turn out for the annual White Marlin Open, but not every boat comes close to winning the tournament's big money. Dedicated hunters brave the Bay on a cold January day to hunt waterfowl on the Pocomoke Sound. Only the most committed fishermen launch a brand-new boat from Saxis Island in the teeth of a summer storm.

This book charts the story of Navy football and steers readers through the reemergence of an iconic program representing our nation's finest.

Navy football holds a unique place in college athletics as one of the oldest and most prestigious programs the game has ever known. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Midshipmen were nationally recognized by the major bowl games they played and Heisman Trophy–winning players Joe Bellino and Roger Staubach. Although the program struggled mightily to maintain relevance in subsequent years, Athletic Director Chet Gladchuk kick-started the renaissance of Navy football by hiring Coach Paul Johnson in 2001. The team's current coach, Ken Niumatalolo, once fired by the academy in the dining room of a McDonald's in 1998, returned to become the winningest coach in school history. Cameron charts the story of Navy football and steers readers through the reemergence of an iconic program representing our nation's finest.

Between 1915 and 1930, nine towns in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia hosted teams in one of the most successful Class D minor leagues in professional baseball. The Blue Ridge League launched the careers of legendary Hall of Famers Lefty Grove and Hack Wilson and served as a training ground or final stop for over 100 major-league players. This feisty league challenged laws prohibiting Sabbath baseball games (resulting in mass arrests of players and management), pioneered night baseball, served as a laboratory for the establishment of baseball's farm system, and helped develop a postseason five-state championship series.

Immerse yourself in the stunning flora and fauna, trails, ruins and other wonders the Patapsco Valley State Park provides.

Patapsco Valley State Park is nestled in four Maryland counties - Carroll, Baltimore, Howard, and Anne Arundel. From its humble beginnings in 1907 as a 43-acre forest reserve to its expansion to over 16,000 acres today, this hidden gem has become a refuge for wild animals and native vegetation and a retreat from suburban and city life. With its eight developed recreation areas and over 200 miles of trails, more than a million visitors annually explore this vast area rich with history. Visitors have discovered the park's National Historic Landmark, the Thomas Viaduct, which remains in use today with modern trains passing over the first multiple-arch stone railroad viaduct in the United States. Other marvels from the past include remains of 19th-century mills and mill towns, the Civilian Conservation Corps' Camp Tydings, and the popular and scenic swinging bridge. Visitors to the park today continue to experience the joy of the great outdoors like millions before them.

Experience life on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. A shoreman's life revolves around nature's inevitable changes. The tides of the bay parallel the seasonal outdoor opportunities that the Eastern Shore provides. From the chaos of hunting marsh hens over flooded marshes during a hurricane to the solitude felt standing over a fallen trophy buck, gain an insider's look at this unique way of life. Feel the sea's power. Smell the gunpowder. Appreciate the solitude. Local author and outdoorsman C.L. Marshall tells the stories of the constant changes of the islands, the creeks and the bays.

From their opening in 1740 through the 1955 closing, Belair Stud Farm became known as one of the most important stables in American racing. Although the high-profile murder of the farms final owner, Billy Woodward, eventually forced the farm to close, it did produce an extraordinary number of winning horses throughout its expansive history. The farm claims three Kentucky Derbies, three Preakness Stakes, and six Belmont Stakes, winning titles in several prestigious English races. It remains one of two stables to have produced more than one Triple Crown winner, and it is also the only stable to have produced father-son Triple Crown winners. Its list of legendary thoroughbreds includes Gallant Fox, Omaha, Johnstown, Granville, and Nashua. However in addition to the history of champion thoroughbreds, there is a second history devoted to the many interesting people whose own stories are part of the Belair Stud farm, including Samuel and Benjamin Ogle, Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons, former slave Andrew Jackson, and even George Washington.

Join author and avid outdoorsman C.L. Marshall as he tells tales of the ups and the downs of outdoor life on the Chesapeake Bay.

It’s more often the failures rather than the successes that stick in the memories of outdoorsmen. Late September can bring some of the best white marlin fishing of the season to Delmarva, but sometimes you catch a batch of pineapples instead. Sometimes poor weather and a rough season can lead to a duck depression, but one good afternoon can turn it all around. The relationships built during these hunting and fishing adventures can make up for even the worst of days - a broken boat, the loss of a beloved dog and more.

The boxing history of Baltimore dates back over a century. Over that time the Monumental City has produced seven world champions and numerous top contenders. Joe Gans, the first Baltimorean and African-American ever to win a world title, in 1902, learned his boxing science in the city, earning him the title of "The Old Master" while he shucked oysters on Broadway.

Baltimore's Boxing Legacy: 1893 to 2003 chronicles the evolution of fistiana from venues such as the Eureka Athletic Club, Gayety Theatre, Lyric Theatre, Carlin's Park, Baltimore Coliseum, Oriole Park, Steelworkers' Hall, to the Civic Center. It is a tale of ethnicity and race, of color barriers broken, and near-champions and contenders remembered. The likes of Johnny Kid Williams, the Dundee brothers Joe and Vince, Benny Schwartz, Jack Portney, Harry Jeffra, Red Burman, Joe Poodles Sr., Mack Lewis, Vincent Pettway, Hasim Rahman, and many more are showcased in addition to trainers, managers, matchmakers, and promoters.