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Title: Occasional Glory: The History of the Philadelphia Phillies by David M. Jordan ISBN: 0-7864-1260-7 Publisher: McFarland & Company Pub. Date: December, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: One of the best book I have read period.
Comment: Having been a huge Phillies fan for over 25 years, I have followed the team through the glory of the 70's and early 80's, through the leans late 80's and 90's. This book has allowed me to go back to my childhood and relived some of the greatest moments.
The book starts off from the4 very beginnings in 1876 through the 2000 season and the travel is a great time, as I was able to read through the entire text in just under 2 hours.
From the early days with Ed Delhanty, Billy Hamilton, Sam Thompson, Duffy Cooley and Elmer Flick to the 50's Whiz Kids with Robin Roberts, Jim Bunning and Richie Ashburn all the to the great teams of the 70's and 80's with Schmidt, Carlton and even today with players like Schilling, Rolen, Hollins and Daulton there is a story for everyone.
Read about the bad trades, the mangers, the end of season collapses and heartbreaks to the World Series win in 1980 and the losses in 1983 and the dramatic loss in 1993. The book was a delight to read and a great addition to my personal library.
If you love the Phillies as much as I do or if you are a baseball history nut than this is book is certainly one to look at. Overall one of the best baseball books I have ever read.
Rating: 3
Summary: The Fightin' Phils
Comment: With all due respect to the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs, the Philadelphia Phillies are baseball's loosers. The Phillies have lost more games and finished in last place more times than any team in major league baseball history. To say that you are a fan of such a team is a badge of honor that is proudly worn by the fans of the Cubs and Red Sox, but not Philly fans.
David M. Jordan in "Occasional Glory: The History of the Philadelphia Phillies" tells the history of the Phillies from their inception in 1883 to their hiring of Larry Bowa to manage the team in 2001. In the 118 years covered by Jordan's history, the Phillies have won exactly five penants and one championship. Most of the Phillies' 'success' has come over the last 30 years with penants in 1980, 1983, and 1993 and their lone championship in 1980. Since baseball went to the divisional format in 1969, the Phillies have won six divisional crowns in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, and 1993.
Jordan only touches very briefly on the subject that I most wanted to learn about the Phillies: their off-the-field story. The Phillies have had a very odd relationship with the city of Philadelphia. For the first half of the team's existence, they weren't even the city's favorite team. That distinction went to the Athletics who were the American League's Philadelphia team. The A's always outdrew the Phillies and the Phillies even wound up playing in Connie Mack Stadium, which was named for the A's long time owner and manager. It was the 1950 'Whiz Kids' team and the deep pockets of the Carpenter family that allowed the Phillies to survive the winnowing of two team cities when the Athletics left for Kansas City in the 1950s.
Jordan focuses too much on the playing field and excessively on statistics. Statistics have always been an important part of baseball lore; but, the game is much more than that. Some people like to find similarities between baseball history and American history since the Civil War. By extension, the history of a particular team should coincide with the history of the team's city. Jordan only scratches the surface of this when he says that the Phillies were a Democrat team and the Athletics were a Republican one. Philadelphia was a Republican city until the 1950s and the A's were the city's team. When the Democrats began to take over in the 50s though, the Phillies climbed to the top of the baseball heap in Philadelphia and ultimately forced the Athletics out of town. However, Jordan doesn't go into any more depth than this on the subject.
While I write this review on 30 June, 2002, the Phillies are once again in last place in the National League East Division with no sign of rising out of it by season's end. If not for the Montreal Expos and the Florida Marlins, the Phillies would also have the lowest attendance figures in the league. Unlike the lovable loosers in Boston and Chicago, the Phillies do not have a good relationship with the residents of their city. The reason for this is clear, while the Cubs and Red Sox continue to not win championships, they still spend extravagant amounts of money to bring some of the game's better players to their teams. The Phillies by comparison are hamstrung with shallow pocketed owners who struggle to keep or attract even the game's mid-level stars. However, through it all I can't see myself giving up hope that some day the Phillies will return to the World Series and win it all once again. I was too young to enjoy the appearances in 1980 and 1983 and had my appetite thoroughly whetted by the 1993 loss to Toronto. I figure that the Phillies can't go too much longer without another penant. They have to at least win one in the next fifty years. Don't they?
Rating: 5
Summary: A must for Phillies fans - or any baseball fan
Comment: As a transplanted Philadelphian, I very much enjoyed this author's book on the Philadelphia Athletics and was really looking forward to this history of the Phillies. I was not disappointed. Jordan thoroughly explores the sometimes glorious and most times not-so-glorious history of the Phillies with humor and intelligence. His analysis of the 1980 and 1993 post-seasons is particularly good. I highly recommend this book!!
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Title: You Can't Lose 'Em All: The Year the Phillies Finally Won the World Series by Frank Fitzpatrick ISBN: 0878331999 Publisher: Cooper Square Publishers Pub. Date: 01 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Tales from the Phillies Dugout by Rich Westcott ISBN: 1582616450 Publisher: Sports Publishing Pub. Date: 10 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: September Swoon: Richie Allen, the '64 Phillies, and Racial Integration by William C. Kashatus, Gerald Early ISBN: 0271023333 Publisher: Keystone Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: The Athletics of Philadelphia: Connie Mack's White Elephants, 1901-1954 by David M. Jordan ISBN: 0786406208 Publisher: McFarland & Company Pub. Date: 01 April, 1999 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: More than Beards, Bellies and Biceps: The Story of the 1993 Phillies by Robert Gordon, Tom Burgoyne ISBN: 1582614911 Publisher: Sports Publishing Pub. Date: 01 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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