Really enjoyed this book. Great plot and engaging, believe characters. I was drawn right into the story. Would definitely recommend.

While this is a good account of the life of Mrs. Josephine Morhadt and the struggles she went through in her work and relationships, I felt that the cover and description of the book is a bit misleading because there isn't a lot of baseball in the book. It's more of a human interest story than a baseball book. Taken from that perspective, I'll give it four stars.

Baseball is America's pastime, but I never knew how Little Leagues got started. Mrs. Morhard s started the first baseball league for boys and forever changed how young boys would spend their free time.

Mrs. Morhard is an amazing woman! From a young girl she faced many challenges. Her family was dependent upon her strengths of being a hard-working, independent, smart and responsible. She was forced to take on responsibilities that her parents shifted to her - such as taking care of the younger children, plowing fields, feeding animals; all of this and she was early elementary age. Those traits that helped her be successful as a child carried her through her life bringing into existence a woman that was confident, smart, dedicated to her family, and innovative. This book tells the story of her life and how she managed her life facing abuse, neglect, sexism, and surviving the difficulties of taboo divorces. She inspires me. She motivates me, And, I would love her as a friend. I would love to be beside her watching baseball games and fundraising for projects. The final pages of this book prove the impact this woman had on the lives of those around her, the boys that she coached. She teaches all of us to find our niche and do for others.

A true story that reads like a novel. Mrs. Morhard & the Boys unearths the strong, determined, single mother who created the first boys' baseball league. From her childhood working as a farmhand on the family plot, through her abusive marriages, and her life as a single mother, Josephine Morhard never stopped striving to make life better for herself and her family. Hers is a very American story.

Still wiping the tears from my eyes. This book is a wonderful account of the driving spirit of one woman to create something special for the boys in her community and beyond.

I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful account of Mrs Josephine Morhard's incredible tenacity in creating a boys' baseball league in Cleveland. Ruth skillfully recounts Mrs Morhard's life from the early years right through to her magnificent work not just creating a league but continuing to refine and improve it from a couple of kids throwing a ball about in rundown lot to something much greater. Although I was a little impatient to get through the childhood years (and into the baseball stories), I became gripped by the book as soon as Mrs Morhard left home. Her resilience in overcoming the many challenges she faced was moving and inspirational. Her drive and desire in setting up the league, and what it meant to those involved, is so beautifully captured in this book. Ruth has done a lot of research in writing this book and yet has told the story in such a detailed and engaging way that I felt I was there in the moment.

Thank you for ensuring Mrs Morhard's contribution to baseball is remembered and celebrated.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

MRS. MORHARD AND THE BOYS is the story of Josephine Morhard, a resilient mother in Cleveland, who in the 1930's and 1940's, created the first boys' baseball league. Finding something worthwhile and fun for her son to do, Morhard's vision quickly became a reality, and her boys' league was quickly embraced by the community, the city of Cleveland, and the country. She was resourceful, creative, and driven; three attributes that helped mold and shape her league and any and all boy's baseball leagues from then on.
The story of the woman who started boys' baseball is an intriguing topic for a book. The book, to my surprise, spends an excessive amount of time chronicling the life of Mrs.Morhard, and less than half the book deals with her creating the boys' baseball league in Cleveland. The creation of the league and the way Mrs.Morhard embraced creating the best league possible was fascinating reading. Her innovations were a pleasure to find out about and how other cities were inspired by her creation to start leagues themselves. Then quickly, the book finishes. The reader finds out about where many of the boys and the adults around the league ended up. The title and cover of the book lends itself to a story of beginnings of the boys' baseball, but disappointedly much of the book has nothing to do with baseball.
Mrs Ruth Hanford Morhard, the author, is a gifted writer who paints nice pictures with words and describes people quite well, but I just thought the focus of the story was misguided when comparing it to the title of the book.