Baseball is a game steeped in its own mythology, and perhaps none of its stories have been as distorted by time and legend as those of its origins. For generations, the tale of America’s pastime being invented by Abner Doubleday in a cow pasture in Cooperstown, N.Y., was held up as the sport’s seminal moment by the president of the National League, though Doubleday himself never made such a claim.

Author and historian Patricia Millen will reveal the true story of baseball’s lineage as detailed in her groundbreaking book, From Pastime to Passion: Baseball and the Civil War, in a presentation hosted by the Lower Makefield Historical Society on Sunday, April 27.

This event is free and open to the public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Patricia Millen is a retired museum professional with over forty years working in museums in New Jersey and New York State. She holds a Bachelor of Science in American Studies from SUNY Albany and teaching certificates in United States and World History. She is the author of three books and dozens of articles on 19th century American history. Millen’s latest book, Images of America, Washington Crossing, was published 2022. From Pastime to Passion; Baseball and the Civil War, published by Heritage Press, was the first book published on the subject in 2001. Her work on the subject has been shared on the official blog of Major League Baseball.

Millen’s articles on the history and evolution of baseball and the games played in prison camps during the Civil War have been published by The Society of American Baseball Researchers, Tri-County Historical Review, McFarland Publishers, and Major League Baseball. Patricia became interested in the subject of baseball during the Civil War while living and working in Cooperstown, N.Y., at the New York State Historical Association.