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J B MANHEIM is Professor Emeritus at The George Washington University, where he developed the world’s first degree-granting program in political communication and was later founding director of the School of Media & Public A#airs. In 1995 he was named Professor of the Year for the District of Columbia. He learned his love of baseball watching Dizzy Dean on the Game of the Week and huddling with his grandfather for warmth on July nights at !e Mistake By the Lake, AKA, Cleveland Municipal Stadium, and renewed it when the National Pastime finally returned to the Nation’s Capital. He is a member of SABR (Society for
American Baseball Research) and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America.
LAWRENCE KNORR is a lifelong baseball fan and member of SABR. He has written or co-authored several baseball books and numerous other histories and biographies. Lawrence graduated from Wilson College with a BA in Business and Economics with a minor in History. He holds an MBA from Penn State and a Ph.D. in History from Liberty University. Lawrence has had a long career in information technology and has been an entrepreneur and executive. He is the founder and CEO of Sunbury Press, Inc., the trade publisher. You can listen to Lawrence’s podcast, The
Sunbury Press Books Show on the BookSpeak Network.
Reviewed by Maalin Ogaja for Readers' Favorite
In What’s In Ted’s Wallet, J.B. Manheim and Lawrence Knorr give us a glimpse into Theodore Miller Edison’s life as a young baseball fan in the early 1900s. Theodore, or Ted as he was known, was the youngest son of the famous inventor, Thomas Edison. Born when his father was fifty-one years old, Ted developed an interest in baseball, partly as a way to connect with his busy father. However, this interest grew into a genuine love for the game. To express this passion, Ted began collecting baseball cards found in cigarette packets. It remains unclear who the smoker was that helped Ted acquire these cards, considering Ted’s father's aversion to cigarette smoking. Yet, Ted’s father must have been aware of this hobby and seemed to approve of it.
In What’s In Ted’s Wallet, J.B. Manheim and Lawrence Knorr carefully lay out the background of Thomas Edison’s love for baseball and his views on cigarette smoking, particularly concerning young men and boys. This is thoroughly displayed through a wide array of letters and pictures. This context provides an excellent backdrop against which Ted’s story of baseball collection begins, highlighting the prevailing attitude toward cigarette smoking during that period. My favorite part of this story is the pictures of the collection of baseball cards that Ted kept in his wallet. These pictures add a tangible connection to Ted’s youth and dreams. I appreciated the historical aspect that this narrative offered on the most iconic American game, capturing the evolution of baseball and its cultural significance.
