The first in-depth look at Lance Armstrong's doping scandal, the phenomenal business success built on the back of fraud, and the greatest conspiracy in the history of sports Lance Armstrong won a record-smashing seven Tours de France after staring down cancer, and in the process became an international symbol of resilience and courage. In a sport constantly dogged by blood-doping scandals, he seemed above the fray. Then, in January 2013, the legend imploded. He admitted doping during the Tours and, in an interview with Oprah, described his "mythic, perfect story" as "one big lie." But his admi... View More...
Created in conjunction with the Chicago Cubs, a unique tribute to baseball's most beloved landmark"Wrigley Field "brings to life and pays tribute to one of baseball's greatest ballparks. The story of this revered park, from its opening in 1914 through today, this revered park's story is gloriously depicted in picture and in word. This up-close-and personal record, proves why Wrigley is sacred ground to millions, from its manually operated scoreboard and the climbing green ivy of its outfield walls, to the raucous bleacher bums and bright days bathed in sunlight, massaged by Lake Michigan's soo... View More...
"Part manifesto, part how-to-guide . . . required reading for anyone who's searching for new ways to be fearless." --Carrie Brownstein When most Americans hear the words "roller derby" today, they think of the kitschy sport once popular on weekend television during the seventies and eighties. Originally an endurance competition where skaters traveled the equivalent of a trip between Los Angeles and New York, roller derby gradually evolved into a violent contact sport often involving fake fighting, and a kitschy weekend-television staple during the seventies and eighties. But in recent decades ... View More...
He was told that the color of his skin would keep him out of the big leagues, but Joe Black worked his way up through the Negro Leagues and the Cuban Winter League. He burst into the Majors in 1952 when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. In the face of segregation, verbal harassment, and even death threats, Joe Black rose to the top of his game; he earned National League Rookie of the Year and became the first African American pitcher to win a World Series game. With the same tenacity he showed in his baseball career, Black became the first African American vice president of a transportation... View More...
Baseball and Philosophy brings together two high-powered pastimes: the sport of baseball and the academic discipline of philosophy. Eric Bronson asked eighteen young professors to provide their profound analysis of some aspect of baseball. The result offers surprisingly deep insights into this most American of games.The contributors include many of the leading voices in the burgeoning new field of philosophy of sport, plus a few other talented philosophers with a personal interest in baseball. A few of the contributors are also drawn from academic areas outside philosophy: statistics, law, and... View More...
Located in a bustling Chicago neighborhood, Wrigley Field is one of the oldest ballparks in the Major Leagues. Featuring photographs of key games and notable players, a complete chronology of the ballpark and a colour pop-up, 'Wrigley Field' is a unique celebration of this temple to baseball. View More...
Relive the Chicago Cubs? historic 1945 season, the last time the team won a pennant. Charles N. Billington paints an evolving portrait of the season and its players, and chronicles the effects of World War II on the wider national scene during this unique period in baseball history. This fast-paced narrative includes statistical analysis, interviews, inning-by-inning accounts of key games, highlights of winning streaks and road trips, and a discussion of how and why the team quickly unravels. Featuring the photography of critically-acclaimed baseball historian and portrait photographer, George... View More...
The definitive and revealing biography of Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks, one of America's most iconic, beloved, and misunderstood baseball players, by acclaimed journalist Ron Rapoport.Ernie Banks, the first-ballot Hall of Famer and All-Century Team shortstop, played in fourteen All-Star Games, won two MVPs, and twice led the Major Leagues in home runs and runs batted in. He outslugged Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Mickey Mantle when they were in their prime, but while they made repeated World Series appearances in the 1950s and 60s, Banks spent his entire career with the woebegone Chicago Cu... View More...
One Hundred stories from the last century that salute the legacy of Wrigley Field and its beloved Cubs.Charge through the turnstiles of this collection of personal stories about baseball's greatest ballpark and the sacred space it occupies in the hearts of Cubs fans and the soul of Wrigleyville. With contributors like Bob Costas, Rick Sutcliffe and Steve Stone, these 100 stories reflect the variety of millions of Cubs fans around the world, from those whose relationship with the Friendly Confines has lasted a lifetime to those who are taking their seats up close to the ivy for the very first t... View More...
Legendary broadcaster Jack Brickhouse once said "any team can have a bad century." He was joking, of course, but the Chicago Cubs franchise, whose games he worked for decades, entered 2008 on the brink of making his words come painfully true. A number of expansion teams in the four major sports never have won a World Series, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, or NBA title in their brief histories. But no team ever has gone 100 years without winning a championship. Following the Cubs' quest to avert that infamous distinction is the backdrop for Living the Dream, which, for author Jim McArdle, it truly wa... View More...
Cubs Journal is the definitive 128-year history of the Chicago Cubs. The chronicle covers each year from 1876 through the 2004 season. Organized by decade, each section features a summary, team and player statistics, and highlights of great games. Within each respective decade, every year is given extensive coverage, including a statistical overview and day-by-day breakdowns. Each date includes anecdotes, hitting and pitching highlights, plus interesting and unusual facts -- much more than just a box score. View More...
What do Dizzy Dean, Catfish Metkovich, John Boccabella, Bill Buckner, Mark Prior, and Jason Heyward all have in common? They all wore number 22 for the Chicago Cubs, even though eight decades have passed between the last time Dizzy Dean buttoned up a Cubs uniform with that number and the first timeoutfielder Jason Heyward performed the same routine. Since the Chicago Cubs first adopted uniform numbers in 1932, the team has handed out only 77 numbers to more than 1,500 players. That's a lot of overlap. It also makes for a lot of good stories. Newly updated, Cubs by the Numbers tells those stori... View More...
The perfect gift for baseball fans, now with a new epilogue by author R.A. Dickey, winner of the 2012 Cy Young award. An astounding memoir--haunting and touching, courageous and wise.--Jeremy Schaap, bestselling author, Emmy award-winning journalist, ESPN In 1996, R.A. Dickey was the Texas Rangers' much-heralded No. 1 draft choice. Then, a routine physical revealed that his right elbow was missing its ulnar collateral ligament, and his lifelong dream--along with his $810,000 signing bonus--was ripped away. Yet, despite twice being consigned to baseball's scrap heap, Dickey battled back. Susta... View More...
Joe DiMaggio was, at every turn, one man we could look at who made us feel good. In the hard-knuckled thirties, he was the immigrant boy who made it big--and spurred the New York Yankees to a new era of dynasty. He was Broadway Joe, the icon of elegance, the man who wooed and won Marilyn Monroe--the most beautiful girl America could dream up. Joe DiMaggio was a mirror of our best self. And he was also the loneliest hero we ever had. In this groundbreaking biography, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Richard Ben Cramer presents a shocking portrait of a complicated, enigmatic life. The story tha... View More...
In the summer of 1998 two of baseball leading sluggers, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, embarked on a race to break Babe Ruth's single season home run record. The nation was transfixed as Sosa went on to hit 66 home runs, and McGwire 70. Three years later, San Francisco Giants All-Star Barry Bonds surpassed McGwire by 3 home runs in the midst of what was perhaps the greatest offensive display in baseball history. Over the next three seasons, as Bonds regularly launched mammoth shots into the San Francisco Bay, baseball players across the country were hitting home runs at unprecedented rates. For ... View More...
Pitchers are the heart of baseball, and John Feinstein tells the story of the game today through one season and two great pitchers working in the crucible of the New York media market. Tom Glavine and Mike Mussina have seen it all in the Major Leagues and both entered 2007 in search of individual milestones. View More...
One of Sports Illustrated's top 100 sports books of all-time The 1908 National League pennant race was without question the most exciting and dramatic battle of all time. Three teams, the Giants, the Cubs, and the Pirates, battled from start to finish, concluding the season with just one game separating them in the standings. The story of this race is like a Hall of Fame sprung to life, including John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance, Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, and Honus Wagner. Yet the one name that truly stands out belongs to a young Giant rookie, Fred Merkle. His bas... View More...
Advance Praise for Five O'Clock Lightning "Come along with Harvey Frommer on a jaunty stroll through baseball eighty years ago. The 1927 Yankees may or may not have been the best team ever, but surely this is the best book about that wonderful concentration of talent." --George F. Will "Harvey Frommer brings the perceptive eye of a historian to what was arguably the most feared batting order of all time. Add to that his contagious enthusiasm for classic baseball and you have a most enjoyable book." --Roger Kahn "An engrossing and entertaining look at a mythical baseball team. Ride the train... View More...
Lou Gehrig was the Iron Horse, baseball's strongest and most determined superstar -- struck down in his prime by a disease that now bears his name. But who was Lou Gehrig, really? What fueled his ferocious competitive drive? How did he cope with the illness that abruptly ended his career and drained him of his legendary power? Drawing on dozens of new interviews and hundreds of pages of Gehrig's personal and previously unpublished letters, this definitive biography gives us a deeper, more intimate understanding of the life of an American hero. Lou Gehrig is regarded as the greatest first base... View More...
