<p> In 1884, Providence Grays pitcher Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn won an astounding fifty-nine games?more than anyone in major-league history ever had before, or has since. He then went on to win all three games of baseball's first World Series. </p> <p> <i>Fifty-nine in '84</i> tells the dramatic story not only of that amazing feat of grit but also of big-league baseball two decades after the Civil War?a brutal, bloody sport played barehanded, the profession of uneducated, hard-drinking men who thought little of cheating outrageously or maiming an opponent to win. Wonderfully entertaining, <i>Fifty-nine in '84</i> is an indelible portrait of a legendary player and a fascinating, little-known era of the national pastime. </p>