Early Baseball Star Jim Creighton

Sports History Network · Apr 17, 2026 · 59m

Author Tom Gilbert has written an excellent biography of baseball's first superstar, Jim Creighton. Even though he died in 1862 at only 21 years of age, Creighton revolutionized the way the game was played and his death was mourned throughout the sporting world.

In his book, "Death in the Strike Zone: The Mystery of America's First Baseball Hero", Gilbert tells of how Creighton revolutionized pitching, caused the invention of the strike zone, and helped make Brooklyn the center of the baseball universe in the 19th Century. And we learn about his catcher Joe Leggett as well! One of baseball's…