Awards

• Winner of Sports Collectors Digest - Best Baseball Books of 2016.

Overview

The last time the Chicago Cubs played in the World Series, World War II had just ended. The last time they won a World Series, World War I had not yet begun. But from 1906-1910 the Cubs not only played in the World Series four of the five years, they won two World Championships, as well. It was a time when the Cubs ruled baseball, and no one could have imagined the roller coaster adventures that were ahead for this grand old franchise. In The Last Chicago Cubs Dynasty: Before the Curse, Hal Bock tells the story of this legendary team, the characters who were central to its success, and the misfortunes which have plagued the team ever since. Stars such as pitcher Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown and the double-play combination of Tinker to Evers to Chance are profiled, as are opponents who caused the Cubs unending headaches, like superstar pitcher Christy Mathewson and immortal shortstop Honus Wagner. A chronology and cast of characters set the stage for the reader before Bock delves into the early history of the Cubs and the assembly of what would become a dynasty. With talent to spare and just a little bit of luck going their way, the Chicago Cubs were unstoppable. But when an angry fan issued a curse on the team during the 1945 World Series, some believe it marked the beginning of the end for this storied franchise. Featuring 100-year-old images from historic baseball cards, profiles of Hall of Fame legends, and a foreword by Cubs supporter and TV star Joe Mantegna, The Last Chicago Cubs Dynasty will appeal to all baseball fans, but especially to those always-passionate Cubs enthusiasts from around the nation.

Full Product Details

9781442253308

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Reviews

Not until 1950 did the New York Yankees pass the Chicago Cubs for most pennants won with 17. The Cubs! Who would believe it today!? Hal Bock, one of the great historians of the game, takes us back to the streets of The Windy City when the Cubs ruled baseball, and Tinker-Evers-Chance knew how to spin a double play. This charming book puts us right in the grandstand and reminds us why baseball is timeless. -- Marty Appel, author of Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss As the Cubs enter upon a promising new era, Hal Bock recalls for us their golden days of yore. When they were good, as he winningly relates, they were very, very good, even if when they were bad they were horrid. In The Last Chicago Cubs Dynasty he may well provide a glimmer of tomorrow. -- John Thorn, Official Historian of Major League Baseball As World Series glory continues to elude them, highly respected baseball historian Hal Bock brings to life again the Chicago Cubs' greatest era with this important baseball book. Yes, there really was a time when the Cubs ruled the baseball world and Bock captures it all in this wonderful retrospective, liberally sprinkling previously untold nuggets of history about the early Cub Hall-of-Famers, Tinker, Evers, Chance, King Kelly, and Mordecai Brown, as well as informatively chronicling the Cub pathos ever since. -- Bill Madden, 2010 J.G. Taylor Spink Award winner and author of New York Times bestsellers Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball and Zim: A Baseball Life

Author Information

Hal Bock was a sports writer and columnist with The Associated Press for over 40 years. During that time he covered 30 World Series, none of them including the Cubs. After retiring, Bock became an adjunct professor of journalism at Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus. He is the author of thirteen books, including Willard Mullin’s Golden Age of Baseball Drawings and the text for The Associated Press Pictorial History of Baseball.

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