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John Thorn

John Thorn
Photograph by Dion Ogust, Woodstock, N.Y.

John Thorn

John Thorn was named the Official Baseball Historian for Major League Baseball by Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig in 2011. Thorn founded and edits Base Ball: A Journal of the Early Game, a semiannual scholarly publication. He was the coauthor of Total Baseball, a well-known baseball book, and many other baseball books, notably The Hidden Game of Baseball. He often appears on ESPN, the History Channel, and the MLB Network. He was the chief consultant and on-screen historian for Ken Burns's series "Baseball." He serves as publishing consultant to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Museum of the City of New York.

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Baseball in the Garden of Eden will be released on March 20, 2012 in Trade Paperback
Mar 20, 2012
Baseball in the Garden of Eden is now available in Trade Paperback
Mar 20, 2012
Author Appearances have been announced:
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Mar 18, 2011
Baseball in the Garden of Eden will be released on March 15, 2011 in Hardcover, eBook
Mar 15, 2011
Baseball in the Garden of Eden is now available in Hardcover, eBook
Mar 15, 2011
Author Appearances have been announced:
Find John Thorn appearances
Mar 09, 2011
Author Appearances have been announced:
Find John Thorn appearances
Feb 10, 2011

Authors on the Web

NewsBlaze, February 8, 2013
...its details of the trip, which had been largely overlooked until this publication. As MLB's official historian John Thorn wrote when the book was published (University of Nebraska Press), "How did two nations which shared the values of the same...
Poughkeepsie Journal, January 18, 2013
...Game's official historian: 'It's the Hall of FAME' I spoke with John Thorn in Cooperstown during the 2012 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction weekend. Sure, we talked baseball; its the common tongue in Cooperstown. But when youre talking baseball with...
SportsBusinessNews.com, January 10, 2013
...the Baseball Hall of Fame. “Plaster saints is not what we have in the Hall of Fame,” said John Thorn, perhaps the nation’s most widely known baseball historian and the author of more than a dozen baseball books in the New York Times report...
Bend Bulletin, January 10, 2013
...never been conclusively verified. ?Plaster saints is not what we have in the Hall of Fame," said John Thorn, perhaps the nation?s most widely known baseball historian and the author of more than a dozen baseball books. ?Many were far from moral...
New York Times, January 8, 2013
...has never been conclusively verified. Plaster saints is not what we have in the Hall of Fame, said John Thorn, perhaps the nations most widely known baseball historian and the author of more than a dozen baseball books. Many were far from moral...
Individual.com, December 15, 2012
...football fanatic: "The Pro Football Hall of Fame 50th Anniversary Book: Where Greatness Lives" (by Joe Horrigan and John Thorn; published by Grand Central Publishing, 320 pages, $34.99) offers the highlights of the Hall of Fame in one convenient volume,...
Detroit News, December 11, 2012
...-- Susan Whitall "The Pro Football Hall of Fame 50th Anniversary Book," edited by Joe Horrigan and John Thorn (Grand Central Publishing, $34.99) OK, it's a less-than-riveting title … but if you have any appreciation for football history, you'll...
NBC Sports, January 18, 2013
...to be immediately and effortlessly successful in other pursuits as well. Which, unfortunately, isn’t always the case." John Thorn had an explanation too. I like his answer better. Either way, fun article...
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, January 18, 2013
...Game's official historian: 'It's the Hall of FAME' I spoke with John Thorn in Cooperstown during the 2012 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction weekend. Sure, we talked baseball; its the common tongue in Cooperstown. But when youre talking baseball with...
Poughkeepsie Journal, January 18, 2013
...Game's official historian: 'It's the Hall of FAME' I spoke with John Thorn in Cooperstown during the 2012 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction weekend. Sure, we talked baseball; its the common tongue in Cooperstown. But when youre talking baseball with...
Scranton Times-Tribune, January 15, 2013
...what we have in the Hall of Fame ... many were far from moral exemplars," said baseball historian John Thorn. Baseball's historical pantheon has entered the steroid era and Hall of Fame voters last week put up a rare "0" on the admission's scoreboard. ...
Houston public radio, January 12, 2013
...and raucous group of men who would climb down off their plaques and go rampaging." Baseball historian John Thorn points out that before players were rich men with non-profit foundations, "they were not considered fit for polite company," he says. "And...
The Empire, January 12, 2013
...and raucous group of men who would climb down off their plaques and go rampaging." Baseball historian John Thorn points out that before players were rich men with non-profit foundations, "they were not considered fit for polite company," he says. "And...
WKAR, January 12, 2013
...and raucous group of men who would climb down off their plaques and go rampaging." Baseball historian John Thorn points out that before players were rich men with non-profit foundations, "they were not considered fit for polite company," he says. "And...