No Minor Accomplishment: The Revival of New Jersey Professional Baseball

Contents

Acknowledgments ix Chronology xiii Introduction 1 1. Baseball’s Early Roots in New Jersey 5 2. The Decline and Reinvention of the Minor Leagues, Post-1950 25 3. Baseball Returns to New Jersey in 1994 39 4. The Trenton Thunder: The Capital of New Jersey Baseball 55 5. A League of His Own: Frank Boulton and the Atlantic League 74 6. The Somerset Patriots: Location, Location, Location! 88 7. Newark and the Bears: Combining the Past and the Present 105 8. Discovering Camden with the Riversharks 123 9. The Atlantic City Surf: Searching for a Niche 137 10. Youth Must Be Served: The Can-Am League in New Jersey 153 11. Nine Innings with the Lakewood BlueClaws 169 12. Conclusion: The Community of New Jersey Baseball 185 Notes 189 Index 199 vii Contents ...