With today being an off day, at least this early in the morning there's nothing really new to report from spring training. There may be more roster cuts announced soon, but that could happen later in the day or early tomorrow, since the Cubs don't play till tomorrow night vs. the Giants at Scottsdale.
With that, I have a couple of baseball/Cubs books that I've been meaning to review, but haven't had time in the crunch of spring training. Here's the first.
People are running out of book titles -- there are two recent books out with this title (The other one is called "Chicago Cubs Yesterday And Today", the difference being the word "and" instead of the "&" -- the other book is also similar in format and content). The one reviewed here has the cover pictured, with a photograph from the 1940's; it appears to be a black & white photo from the era that was colorized. That's not a knock on the photo, which is attractive, just an (apparent) fact. Saul Wisnia, the author, is a Boston-based writer currently working on a history of the Boston Braves, but he knows his Cubs history, too.
photo via ecx.images-amazon.com
Naturally, I had to figure out when this photo was taken. It didn't take too long to discover that the May 16-17-18 series against the Dodgers took place in 1949. The series followed a 12-game road trip (longer homestands and trips were more common in those days of train travel), so it could have been taken any day before May 16. What we do know from the schedule link above is that the May 16 game must have been rained out -- there's no result for that day -- and the Cubs lost the other two games, 8-5 and 14-5, dropping to last place; the rest of 1949 they never placed higher than seventh.
The beauty of this coffee-table size book is not the nuts-and-bolts history of the team; it's the large and colorful photos, many of which I had never seen before. It details eras in Cubs history and each section has a description of what a day at the ballpark would have been in each era. Photos include a wistful-looking photo of Buck O'Neil, a Cubs coach in the College of Coaches era; to this day it's a sad statement that he never got a chance to be Head Coach, as the others did in the rotation. There's a photo of the phantom 1969 World Series tickets (sigh...) and many others, from players and owners to ballparks.
There will be a new version of this book out sometime this spring which will include pages on the 2007 and 2008 seasons, but I have been informed by the author that it may be in a smaller format and have some content eliminated, so if you want to see the photos in all their glory now, you can order one from this amazon.com link.
There are illustrations of tickets and scorecards and other souvenirs, some that I have never seen anywhere else. So, I highly recommend "Chicago Cubs Yesterday & Today" for the photos and illustrations alone.
0 recs | 22 comments
Crazy '08 by Cait Murphy
is a book I got as a gift. I’m about 1/3 of the way thru it. But so far I have been enjoying it.
Madison Cub Fan - March 25, 2009
Crazy '08 is terrific.
I reviewed it when it first came out.
Al Yellon - March 25, 2009
Al, are you going to the "Fergie and Friends" game today?
If you are going, post pictures please!
Zeke - March 25, 2009
I hadn't planned on going...
… but I am going to see Rich Harden pitch at Fitch Park this afternoon.
Al Yellon - March 25, 2009
What - no game thread? ;-)
ballhawk - March 25, 2009
LOL
That would have required faster Twittering than I can do!
Al Yellon - March 25, 2009
1957
I think that its 1957, not 1948. The Cubs played the Dodgers on the 16th but the next game wasn’t until the 21st. That suggests rain on the 17th and 18th. The Cubs played the Pirates on the 14th. Thus, since it is not raining and since the Cubs are shown as “now” playing Brooklyn, the picture was taken on either the 15th or the 16th.
Also the car on the right just coming into the picture looks to be newer than a 1947.
frustratedfan - March 25, 2009
The marquee showed the next matchup, IIRC
It didn’t necessarily reflect that given day (ie off day, road trip).
Shanghai Badger - March 25, 2009
1949, not 1948.
The 1949 matchups match this marquee perfectly. 1957 might, but we have no way of knowing whether the 1957 series was a 3-game or 4-game, since it started on a Thursday.
The cars in the photo both look 1940’s vintage to me.
Al Yellon - March 25, 2009
I'd love to see a pic of those 1969 tickets.
Employee22 - March 25, 2009
The marquee is the wrong color
One mistake you see in many colorized pictures of the marquee is that they show it as red. It wasn’t painted red until the early 1960’s. Here is a picture of it when it was blue:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Nt0fx5rZOtjTMqr8FRyetA?authkey=Gv1sRgCMO4gYup8tCvBQ&feat=directlink
08 Cubs - March 25, 2009
That's a cool pic - thanks for the link
Almost looks like someone spilled blue ink on the middle of the pic.
Shanghai Badger - March 25, 2009
Very cool pic.
It had to be taken in 1962; that’s the only year that matches those dates.
Al Yellon - March 25, 2009
Yes, 1962
I believe the Cubs hosted one of the All Star games that year and the ballpark was being spruced up for the game
08 Cubs - March 25, 2009
The Cubs did host one of the ASG's in 1962.
So “spruced up” included painting the sign blue? Weird.
Al Yellon - March 25, 2009
Here is another picture
The sign was always a shade of blue or bluish green. I’ve got books that describe the original color as fern green porcelain. Here is another picture, this from 1957, although the color isn’t as good. You can definitely tell that the sign isn’t red.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Meu2ey7HX4nKYBr5Pu8uaQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCPDRhcaH3_70Mg&feat=directlink
08 Cubs - March 25, 2009
Wonder why they decided to paint it red, then?
Al Yellon - March 25, 2009
Two guesses...
….the red would stand out more, making the sign more visible
or
…they got a good deal on some paint, but red was the only color available!
08 Cubs - March 25, 2009
Knowing the Wrigleys, I'd wager the latter...
Zeke - March 25, 2009
1949
I don’t think so. The Dodgers played a double header in Boston on the 15th. The train ride, even in those days of good trains, was just too long to have them play a game on Monday. For trips of that distance the series normally started on the next day. The Cubs were coming from Cincy, not quite as long, but not St. Louis.
frustratedfan - March 25, 2009
1962?
No. It says Brooklyn. 1957’s the last possible season. In 1958 it would have said Los Angeles.
frustratedfan - March 25, 2009
1962...
…. was the date the photo in the Picasaweb link above was taken, not the book cover.
You may be right about 1957 for the book cover — the Dodger schedule for that year has them in St. Louis on May 19, so May 16-17-18 would have been the likely dates for a Cub series at Wrigley. Also, they were in Milwaukee on May 15, an easy drive (or train ride).
Al Yellon - March 25, 2009
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