Wrigley Field Year by Year: A Century at the Friendly Confines

(Hardback)

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More than just a lavishly illustrated and highly readable book, Wrigley Field Year by Year, originally published in 2014, is the result of a quarter century of meticulous research. Written by a baseball historian and recognized authority on the Friendly Confines, this is the first book to detail each year of the storied parks existence. The book covers not only the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Federal League baseball teams in detail, it touches on the Chicago Bears football team, basketball, hockey, high school sports, track and field, and political rallies. It references activities and changes throughout the park and in its neighborhood on Chicagos North Side. In addition to pertinent Cubs statistics, the authors year-by-year coverage includes:
A game of the year
A description of unusual and interesting happenings in the ballpark
A quote from the year that best captures its essence
Supplementing the year-by-year approach are nine chapters that divide Wrigley Fields rich history into nine innings along with informative appendixes that will delight every Cubs fan, from the casual to the obsessed. The books easy-to-use format and wealth of information make it a resource that readers will turn to again and again.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sportsbooks about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team.

Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Reviews

The facts Pathy unearths are a delight. . . . Its the type of book one can pick up, turn to a page, and learn something new each time. Tampa Tribune

There has never been a book that chronicled the entire history of a baseball park by the year. That is, not until now. . . Every Cubs fan should savor it: 25 years worth of research, 100 years worth of history, a lifetime worth of memories. Wrigley Field Year by Year will help fans to relive those moments and perhaps learn about some new ones along the way. Bleacher Report

Chicago songwriter Steve Goodman once sang that Wrigley Field was the Cubs 'ivy-covered burial ground.' But as Sam Pathy shows us there has been a lot of living in the friendly confines over the past century, too. Engagingly written, cleverly organized, and containing fascinating bits of information that even the most hardened Cubs fan may not know, Wrigley Field Year by Year is a nostalgic tribute to one of Americas best-loved public buildings. And oh those pictures! No Chicago coffee table should be without it.
Ron Rapoport, former sports columnist, Chicago Sun-Times

I could tell you about Wrigley Fields modest beginnings, its architectural niceties and oddities, its hosted feats, its improbable survival as a relic of a teamthe Chicago Whalesand a major league that vanished after the 1915 season. But the author, Sam Pathy, does a splendid job of that, aided by wonderful photographs. . . . Happy Birthday, Wrigley Field! This book does you proud. From the Foreword by John Thorn

Pathy puts a little of everything into his breakdown of the last 100 years at 1060 W. Addison. . . . [He] gives equal space to the Cubs and Bears in the years they shared the park, and he doesnt overlook or whitewash the scandals. Chicago Sun-Times

Sam Pathy provides a comprehensive chronicle of the wild and wacky in addition to the hardcore hardball history. Yahoo! Sports The PostGame

The coffee table sized book by Sam Pathy with an appealing intro by the sagacious Official Historian of MLB, John Thorn, is a winner in every way. Priced right, a labor of love and accuracy by the ... author who spent the past quarter century researching Wrigleys history, this handsomely designed effort belongs on your sports bookshelf. Dr. Harvey Frommer, SportsBookShelf
The facts Pathy unearths are a delight. . . . Its the type of book one can pick up, turn to a page, and learn something new each time. Tampa Tribune

There has never been a book that chronicled the entire history of a baseball park by the year. That is, not until now. . . Every Cubs fan should savor it: 25 years worth of research, 100 years worth of history, a lifetime worth of memories. Wrigley Field Year by Year will help fans to relive those moments and perhaps learn about some new ones along the way. Bleacher Report

Chicago songwriter Steve Goodman once sang that Wrigley Field was the Cubs 'ivy-covered burial ground.' But as Sam Pathy shows us there has been a lot of living in the friendly confines over the past century, too. Engagingly written, cleverly organized, and containing fascinating bits of information that even the most hardened Cubs fan may not know, Wrigley Field Year by Year is a nostalgic tribute to one of Americas best-loved public buildings. And oh those pictures! No Chicago coffee table should be without it.
Ron Rapoport, former sports columnist, Chicago Sun-Times

I could tell you about Wrigley Fields modest beginnings, its architectural niceties and oddities, its hosted feats, its improbable survival as a relic of a teamthe Chicago Whalesand a major league that vanished after the 1915 season. But the author, Sam Pathy, does a splendid job of that, aided by wonderful photographs. . . . Happy Birthday, Wrigley Field! This book does you proud. From the Foreword by John Thorn

Pathy puts a little of everything into his breakdown of the last 100 years at 1060 W. Addison. . . . [He] gives equal space to the Cubs and Bears in the years they shared the park, and he doesnt overlook or whitewash the scandals. Chicago Sun-Times

Sam Pathy provides a comprehensive chronicle of the wild and wacky in addition to the hardcore hardball history. Yahoo! Sports The PostGame

The coffee table sized book by Sam Pathy with an appealing intro by the sagacious Official Historian of MLB, John Thorn, is a winner in every way. Priced right, a labor of love and accuracy by the ... author who spent the past quarter century researching Wrigleys history, this handsomely designed effort belongs on your sports bookshelf. Dr. Harvey Frommer, SportsBookShelf

Author Bio

Sam Pathy is a public librarian and member of the Society for American Baseball Research. He has contributed to the Baseball Research Journal and has spent more than twenty-five years researching the history of Wrigley Field.

John Thorn is the official historian of Major League Baseball. Apart from his creation, with Pete Palmer, of Total Baseball, he is often visible on ESPN, MLBTV, the History Channel, and other television outlets as a sports authority and commentator. He was also a major on-screen presence in and chief consultant to Ken Burnss 18 -hour PBS film Baseball. Thorn co-wrote The Hidden Game of Baseball and has written several other books on baseball, including Treasures of the Baseball Hall of Fame, The Game for All America, and Baseball in the Garden of Eden: A Secret History of the Early Game.