Product Details
Wrigleyville: A Magical History Tour of the Chicago Cubs

Wrigleyville: A Magical History Tour of the Chicago Cubs
By Peter Golenbock

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Product Description

For celebrated sportwriter Peter Golenbock, Wrigleyville is a symbol of America's fidelity to its greatest sport. As he did with classics of sports literature, Bums (a history of the Brooklyn Dodgers) and Dynasty (a history of the New York Yankees), Golenbock turns to a team that has won and broken the hearts of generations of fans; the Chicago Cubs. Utilizing dozens of personal interviews with players, coaches, fans, sportswriters, and clubhouse personnel, as well as out-of-print memiors by nineteeth-century players, Peter Golenbock has created a perfect gift for every baseball fan: a book that entertains, warms the heart, and touches the soul. This updated edition includes material from the team's past five years, such as Harry Caray's death, the magical seasons of Sammy Sosa and Kerry Wood, and the Cubs' 1998 playoff dive.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #1408535 in Books
  • Published on: 1999-06-19
  • Original language: English
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 592 pages

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The Chicago Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908 or the National League pennant since 1945. Yet the team has some of the most devoted fans in all of sport. Golenbock (The Bronx Zoo) looks at the reasons for the loyalty of Cubs fans, and along the way traces the history of the team through interviews with numerous former players, coaches and executives. In fact, the history of the Cubs is pretty much the history of the National League. The first Chicago baseball clubs were founded in the 1860s, but the team that would become the Cubs was largely the creation of Al Spalding. He not only was a star player, but became the Cubs' owner and in that capacity helped write the constitution that became the foundation of Major-League Baseball. Golenbock examines all the various Cub eras?Spalding/Cap Anson; the Wrigley years, of William and son Phillip?and closes with the current owners of the team, the Tribune Company. Written as an oral history, the text becomes repetitive at times, but Cub fans and baseball historians will find the work hard to put down. Photos .
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Golenbock, author of two earlier team oral histories, Bums (LJ 9/15/84) and Fenway (LJ 2/1/92), and many other sports titles, has crafted another winner about a team often thought of as lovable losers. He shows how the charming Wrigley Field, one of the oldest ballparks in the Major Leagues, has played a big role in the team's popularity. A solid work recommended for medium and large public libraries.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The Chicago Cubs have had a 50-year reign as baseball's lovable losers, but this chronicle of their tear-stained history is a winner all the way. Popular sports historian Golenbock covers the origins of the team, including its early, often successful years, and gradually segues into the post^-World War II malaise, which threatens to extend into the next millennium. The follies of chewing-gum magnate Phil Wrigley and his family are detailed, as is the corporate buffoonery of the team's current owner, the Chicago Tribune. As the history moves closer to the present, Golenbock interviews players, managers, coaches, and fans. It's what he does best. The accounts by the players of the infamous 1969 collapse, the Durocher years, and the team's recent ups and downs are clearly the highlights. Baseball players are very good at remembering details, and few can draw them out like Golenbock. Cable has created Cub fans all over the world, and each of them will find something to enjoy in this celebratory history of their team. Wes Lukowsky