Bevis, Charles W. 1954–

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BEVIS, Charles W. 1954–

(Charlie Bevis)

PERSONAL: Born 1954, in Bridgewater, MA; son of Harold (a mill foreman) and Josephine (a homemaker; maiden name, Karasiewicz) Bevis; married Kathie Crudale (a teacher); children: Scott, Kelly. Education: University of New Hampshire, B.A., 1975.

ADDRESSES: Home—5 Thornton Lane, Chelmsford, MA 01824.

CAREER: Worked in investment management field, Boston, MA, 1976–97; Financial Research Corp., Boston, research study editor, 1998–.

AWARDS, HONORS: McFarland-Society for American Baseball Research research award, 2003, for paper titled "Evolution of the Sunday Doubleheader and Its Role in Elevating the Popularity of Baseball."

WRITINGS:

(Under name Charlie Bevis) Mickey Cochrane: The Life of a Baseball Hall of Fame Catcher, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 1998.

(Under name Charlie Bevis) Sunday Baseball: The Major Leagues' Struggle to Play Baseball on the Lord's Day, 1876–1934, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2003.

Contributor to periodicals, including Nine: Journal of Baseball History and Culture and Baseball Research Journal.

WORK IN PROGRESS: New England League: A Cultural History of One of Baseball's Oldest Minor Leagues, completion expected in 2006.

SIDELIGHTS: Charles W. Bevis told CA: "The cultural aspect of baseball history is what intrigues me most, not so much the game and players on the field. I was particularly taken by the lack of research and general knowledge about the struggle to play professional baseball on Sunday. Most people at the turn of the twentieth century worked six days a week, nine to ten hours a day, with Sunday the only day most could attend a ball game, yet ball games were legally prohibited that day. It was amazing to research the ways legislators thwarted initiatives for Sunday baseball (a term roughly equivalent to the political volatility of abortion today) and the ways baseball club owners tried to subvert those laws!

"Research for the book led to my paper for which I received the McFarland-Society for American Baseball Research award; it is also the focus of another paper, 'Rocky Point: A Lone Outpost of Sunday Baseball in Sabbatarian New England.' My book on the history of the New England League is also motivated by cultural elements, particularly the connection with the history of the textile and footwear industries in the region."