"There's too much nature in that ballpark"--Harry Chiti

And make no mistake, whether it's the wind full-tilt off Lake Michigan, an early-season snowstorm at Waveland and Sheffield, or spring ivy hiding the batted balls of the visiting nine, nature seems to have Wrigley Field and the Cubbies under its thumb. In this book, John Skipper talks with 35 former Chicago Cubs who relive their ball-playing days and speculate on the eternally middling and undeniably popular Northsiders. This troop of now-grizzled bears, including Claude Passeau, Hank Wyse, Alvin Dark, Don Kessinger, Joe Niekro,...

The Cubs' journey to the National League pennant in 1945 is detailed here. The author interviewed nine surviving members of the 1945 Cubs, including pitchers Erickson, Hank Borowy, Hank Wyse and Claude Passeau, second baseman Don Johnson, shortstop Lenny Merullo, backup catcher Dewey Williams, first baseman Phil Cavaretta, and more.

When in 1911 Phillies pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander set the National League record for wins by a rookie (28), it was a sign of things to come. Alexander went on to win 373 games over his 20?year career, the third highest total in major league history, and he would lead the league in ERA four times, shutouts seven times, complete games six times, and wins six times. But he also became a deeply troubled man. After the Shell-Shocked pitcher returned from World War I, he would battle alcoholism, epilepsy, and personal demons that damaged his reputation and proved disastrous for his life...

Charles ?Dazzy? Vance became known as the strike out king after leading the National League in strikeouts seven years in a row. Dazzy mesmerized opposing hitters with a blazing fastball, off-the-tabletop curve, a high leg kick and a sleeve on the undershirt of his pitching arm with slits cut into it that would flutter and distract batters as he delivered the pitch. This famed baseball pitcher was in the minor leagues for 10 years and didn?t make it to the majors to stay until he was 31. He retired at age 44 just missing his goal of winning 200 games. He finished with 197 victories. In 1955,...

Charlie Gehringer was the best second baseman of his era, and one of the best ever. A tireless worker with an uncanny ability to focus on the task at hand, he made himself into an outstanding fielder and perhaps the greatest two-strike hitter of all time. His drive soon earned him the nickname Mechanical Man, and it reflected a deep-seated sense of devotion to all that he committed himself to, both on and off of the field. This work follows Gehringers career from the day a scout spotted him on the sandlots of Michigan in 1923 to his induction into the Hall of Fame in 1949 and into his life...

In this work, nineteen umps provide their unique insight on some of the most important and pivotal moments in baseball history. Don Denkinger recounts his call that turned the 1985 World Series. Red Flaherty and Bill Kinnamon recall the excitement of Roger Maris' 61st homer. From these men and 16 others we get a different view of the game and a new appreciation for the job the umpires do on a daily basis.

In this dictionary of major league baseball managers John C. Skipper provides biographical details of more than 500 men who have managed teams over the past 125 years. The examples cited cover managers of widely varying levels of competence.

Smaller in population than several U.S. cities, the state of Iowa has become an unexpected and unparalleled proving ground for would-be presidential candidates. The Iowa caucuses provide a unique brand of retail politics, on the decline in an age of multi-million dollar advertising blitzes. Potential candidates have gone to extraordinary lengths to impress Iowa's voters, dying their hair, changing their wardrobes, posing--and giving speech after speech. This book chronicles the most important events of each Iowa caucus since 1972 and reveals how the unassuming Midwestern state came to be an...

In the summer of 1964, three forces converged at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, each with the potential to shake the moorings of traditional democracy: the all-white segregationist delegation from Mississippi, a mostly black delegation determined to unseat the segregationists, and President Lyndon Johnson, who had signed the civil rights bill but wanted to avoid trouble that could jeopardize his chances of carrying the South in the November election. These groups struggled to reach a "compromise" that in the end epitomized sheer political power and its...

Billy Southworth was the most successful major league baseball manager of the 1940s including the three straight years in which his St. Louis Cardinal teams won more than 100 games. He won three National League pennants with the Cardinals and one with the Boston Braves, and his .597 winning percentage is the fifth highest in baseball history. But Southworth was dogged by demons off the field, including the deaths of three children. On the field, his achievements were minimized by many because they occurred during the war years when the baseball talent level was below par. When he finally got...