A (Below) Average Joe review of Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame -

James Miller Huggins (JD, 1902) as a player for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1910

I’ve always been a man of numbers. From even looking at my (dormant) Bluesky page for a minute, you’ll see that. That’s why the Hall of Fame has always been of such fascination. The collection of the best of the best with some eye-popping statistics. That’s why when I got a message from the fantastic Louis Schiff about his and Robert M. Jarvis’s new book about attorneys in the Hall of Fame, I couldn’t help but snap at the opportunity.

I snapped not only due to the baseball nerd within me, but also my struggles within academia. I did a year and a half at university before I was simply done with the style of writing. Between my middle school reading age and inability to sit still, I’d had enough. So this review is hopefully the first of many for the (below) Average Joes like myself. I would really encourage you to check out other reviews on this book as they cover it in different ways – Craig Calcaterra’s Cup of Coffee newsletter does so here, for example.

What’s involved?

Just eleven individuals with law degrees have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Each one is written about by either a law professor or a law librarian. In other words, someone who knows their stuff. The book focuses more on their law careers rather than on individual baseball efforts. As it turns out, many of them used their education for good within baseball. Topics such as the Black Sox scandal, integration and labour issues are spoken about in between much lighter topics.

Having a blend of players, executives, managers, and commissioners was really enjoyable. The players particularly helped to create interesting comparisons. James O’Rourke continued to practice law while playing, whereas Miller James Huggins simply refused, brilliantly stating: “Either I’m a lawyer or a ball player. I can’t be both.” It’s unapologetically a complete nerd fest. I learnt a lot, and I believe even experts on the subject would learn huge amounts too.

Accessibility

If we’re being honest, it’s no real shock how in-depth the book is. You’ve got experts in law writing about their passions. What I was more concerned with was how accessible it would be – but I think they smashed it. Now I’d be lying if I understood every word on every page. I’d also be lying if I said flew through it like it’s the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid instalment I used to finish before Christmas Dinner. After all, as well as a book, it’s a fascinating piece of academia.

Somehow, though, they kept a dyslexic Brit with no law knowledge locked in across a month of on and off reading. It’s a huge credit to not only every single author but to Louis and Robert, who edited this. From the people I’ve spoken to while I was at university or doing my baseball shenanigans, I’ve learnt that the most impressive trait someone as intelligent as our two authors is that they can get their point and ideas across to your average person. Too often professors only speak like their peers all have master’s degrees or doctorates in their subject.

Conclusion

So it’s pretty clear I like the book, if you hadn’t noticed. It is a wonderful project that was put together with a lot of hard work. If you’re a nerd like myself, I can’t recommend this enough. It is an extremely interesting, insightful read through all eleven individuals and remains inclusive throughout.

A huge thank you to Louis for reaching out to me and giving me this opportunity, as well as a huge thank you to his co-author, Robert, and every single contributor in this book. If there are any other books people would like me to review throughout the sporting world please let me know, because this was a lot of fun!

You can buy the book on Amazon here if you’re interested in doing so. It’s always the best way to support these passion projects and allow for more content in the future.