Death in the strike zone: the mysterious fate of James Creighton, baseball’s first star

A new book explores the career of a player who many credit with inventing the curveball, and why he has been kept out of the Hall of Fame

The Civil War provides a host of baseball-related mysteries pertaining to pitcher James Creighton. By the time of his death at age 21 in 1862, Creighton had compiled a ledger of accomplishments, starring for one of America’s top teams at the time, the Brooklyn Excelsiors. His grave became a shrine to the player and the sport he dominated. Then the clouds came in – over the circumstances of his death, over the achievements of his career. He is not in the Hall of Fame, but baseball historian Thomas Gilbert makes a convincing case for his inclusion in a new book, Death in the Strike Zone: The Mystery of America’s First Baseball Hero.

“One hundred years ago, his impact was clear,” Gilbert says. “Until the turn of the 20th century, he was remembered and talked about … When Albert Spalding wrote his book on baseball in 1911, he said: ‘Obviously Creighton was the greatest, fastest pitcher ever.’”

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