Occasional Glory

With more losses and last-place finishes than any other club in Major League Baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies have earned a reputation as one of the most unsuccessful teams ever to take the field. Even so, the Phillies have boasted many unforgettable players and achieved a number of notable triumphs. This history of the Phillies begins with the club’s inception in 1883 and goes through the 2012 season, highlighting the team’s finer moments and players but also covering less memorable times. Among the people and events it recounts are the great outfield of the 1890s, Chuck Klein’s slugging feats, the 1980 World Series, the surprise 1993 pennant win, and the very successful years in Citizens Bank Park, including the world champions of 2008. An exploration of the Phillies’ special relationship with Philadelphia and numerous historic photographs complete this comprehensive celebration of the oldest continuous one-name, one-city franchise in professional sports history.

A longtime Philadelphia baseball fan, David M. Jordan is a retired attorney and the author of nine books on the Civil War, political events, and baseball.

David M. Jordan

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 254
Bibliographic Info: 29 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7028-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0054-3
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction 1
1 • The Coming of the Phillies 5
2 • The Phillies in the 1890s 11
3 • The American League Invasion 19
4 • Dooin Takes the Reins 27
5 • A Pennant for Pat Moran 35
6 • For Pickles Dillhoefer??? 41
7 • Hitting Isn’t Everything 51
8 • Doormats of the National League 58
9 • The Wartime Phillies 64
10 • Postwar Vistas 72
11 • Jubilee 81
12 • Middle-Class Baseball 89
13 • The Coming of Gene Mauch 97
14 • Tote’m Home Pennant 104
15 • Last Years of an Old Ballpark 112
16 • The Vet 120
17 • The Ozark Years 124
18 • The Team That Wouldn’t Die 135
19 • Another Flag 146
20 • Michael Jack and the Dude 155
21 • Winning—and Losing—Wild 167
22 • More Losing Seasons 179
23 • Last Years of the Vet 186
24 • A Fine New Ballpark 191
25 • All the Way 198
26 • J-Roll, Chase and Ryan 205
27 • On to the World Series! No, Wait… 216
28 • Glory Nevertheless 223
Chapter Notes 225
Bibliography 233
Index 237

• “an engaging book that covers the club’s inception in 1883 to the start of the 2001 season…a well-researched book”—Choice
• “the Phillies have had some splendid players and notable triumphs”—Sports Collectors Digest
• “covers Phillies history from their inception in 1883 to the 2000 season”—The SABR Bulletin