Newby has written a quality book. Readers will walk away not only knowing more about Pete Browning but inspired to learn more about other baseball figures from the era.
~Ralph Carhart, author of The Hall Ball: One Fan's Journey to Unite Cooperstown Immortals with a Single Baseball
Readers will be drawn in by the exploits of a player who does absolutely belong in the 'too weird to live, and too rare to die!' wing of baseball lore.
~Sean J. McLaughlin, author of The Finest Place We Know: A Centennial History of Murray State University, 1922–2022
Tim Newby makes an ironclad case for Pete Browning's inclusion in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in this captivating biography. But more important than that, with his thorough research and terrific writing, he's uncovered and preserved the epic tale of a unique, distinctly American hero, breathing three-dimensional humanity into a nineteenth-century ballplayer. A master storyteller, Newby has given us a swashbuckling, true adventure from big league baseball's fascinating paleolithic era.
~Jerry Grillo, author of Big Cat: The Life of Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Mize
An impressive feat of research about an underappreciated guy.
~Brad Balukjian, author of The Wax Pack: On the Open Road in Search of Baseball's Afterlife
Pete Browning, the original and inimitable Louisville Slugger, comes fully to life in this fast-paced, historically informed, and deeply researched book. Determined to uncover the real Browning, Tim Newby's nuanced and engaging biography takes full account of his subject's stunning propensity for self-promotion and drunken debauchery, his debilitating physical and mental demons, as well as his amazing hitting prowess during a short, but legendary twelve-year professional career. This is a must-read for every baseball and sports fan, as well as anyone interested in powerful, memorable human stories that are brilliantly told.
~David Wrobel, author of America's West: A History, 1890-1950
There is nothing like old school baseball and Pete Browning personifies that. The best book on 19th century baseball I've ever read.
~H. Foley, host of the Are You Garbage? podcast
Baseball is a game full of myths, legendary figures, and tragic stories. With this wonderfully woven biography of the original "Louisville Slugger," Tim Newby artfully combines all three.
~Lee Kluck, author of Leave While The Party's Good: The Life and Legacy of Baseball Executive Harry Dalton
Pete Browning is an iconic outlaw from baseball's early wild years. He is vividly brought to life in all his hard living and hard swinging glory by Tim Newby in The Original Louisville Slugger. Through the story of Browning's life, insight into the baseball of that era and the tone of the times is revealed, and the essence and beautiful simplicity of baseball captured.
~Jim Riggleman, former Major League Baseball (MLB) manager
The colorful tale of Pete Browning is a reminder that the beating heart of baseball is the people who play and watch the games. Through Newby's telling, we see the rules and the industry of the national pastime grow up around Browning. Browning's rise and fall is depicted with compassion and humor, illuminated against a backdrop of a complex nation stumbling its way towards the twentieth century.
~Clifford R. Murphy, author of Ink: The Indelible J. Mayo Williams
Newby paints a spectacular portrait of 19th century hitter Pete Browning, moving beyond the typical baseball-heavy focus to render a more intimate look at the man himself, both his merits and his foibles.
~Bevis Baseball Research
A joyous biography of an oft-overlooked sports legend, The Original Louisville Slugger pays deserved but tempered tribute to an all-time great, capturing the player and his era.
~Foreword Reviews
