Peverelly's Book of American Pastimes, which covered several sports from
badminton to horseracing, is best known for its dominant chapter on base
ball, The National Game. It is the first historical-reference book ever
published about the sport, and includes the rosters of the most
prominent early clubs with results of games played from their beginnings
through 1866. The original 200-page chapter, a seminal work of baseball
historiography, is reproduced here in full, supplemented by contemporary
images and captions by nineteenth-century baseball historians John
Freyer and Mark Rucker.