Seven Lectures at Seven Gables: Early Irish influence on baseball changed the game
SALEM — There was a time, early in the 19th century, when baseball was a gentlemanly game played by the upper class. Things changed when second-generation Irish immigrants took an interest. “The Irish had a huge influence on the development of early American baseball,” says Brian Sheehy, history teacher, and sports scholar. “Without the Irish, baseball may not have become the