The 1964 Phillies: The Story of Baseball's Most Memorable Collapse [Paperback]

John P. Rossi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2005

In 1964, thousands of Philadelphia baseball fans were caught up in the Phillies’ unexpected run at the National League pennant. Nearly a decade of continuous defeat had earned them little more than the reputation for an unprecedented record of consecutive losses. But in that ’64 season the Phillies shocked the baseball world, taking over the National League in mid–July and holding on to first place for 73 consecutive days. And then, as the team’s first pennant in a generation seemed within reach, the Phillies collapsed in the greatest meltdown in baseball history.

This account traces the rise and fall of that year’s Phillies team and attempts to disentangle the complex issues that ultimately cost them the pennant. The book sheds light on the influential events of the fifties and sixties that rendered the team first futile and then undefeated, beginning with an exploration of Philadelphia itself and its team in the 1950s. Early chapters discuss the acquisition of a new manager (Gene Mauch) and the dramatic additions of a dynamic new pitcher (Jim Bunning) and the first great African American player produced by the farm system (Richie Allen). Following chapters focus specifically on the 1964 season and its critical moments, from Jim Bunning’s perfect game and Johnny Callison’s winning home run in the All-Star game, to Chico Ruiz’s steal of home that began the devastating 10-game losing streak at the end of the season. Final chapters analyze what went wrong during the season and discuss the Phillies’ position in baseball today. Three useful appendices provide the statistics for the games of the ’64 season and for the individual players on the team, and detailed statistics for the 10-game losing streak.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Philadelphia’s John P. Rossi, professor of history, LaSalle University, has written on baseball history for The International Journal of the History of Sport and The Phillies Report and periodically teaches a course on the relationship between baseball and American history. He is also the author of A Whole New Game: Off the Field Changes in Baseball, 1946–1960 (1999) and The National Game: Baseball and American Culture (2000).

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (May 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786421177
• ISBN-13: 978-0786421176
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #234,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sad Story of a Summer Long Ago, October 16, 2005

By 

Gordon C. Duus (Glen Ridge, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The 1964 Phillies: The Story of Baseball's Most Memorable Collapse (Paperback)

In this book, John Rossi tells the story of the 1964 Phillies, most famous for being in first place with a 6 1/2 game lead with 12 games to play, only to suffer a 10 game losing streak and end up in second place. This Phillies season did more than anything else to define the psyche of the Philadelphia sports fan, who is now conditioned to always expect the worst. I was a 9 year old Phillies fan that summer and have vivid memories of my father, grandfather and uncle enjoying the success of the team, led by manager Gene Mauch, in the days before playoffs when winning the National League pennant meant a trip to the World Series.

Rossi, a history professor at LaSalle University in Philadelphia, does an excellent job of providing the historical context for the season, describing the City of Philadelphia, the Phillies' losing tradition, the management of the team in the lean years after the Whiz Kids of 1950 won the pennant, and the emergence in the early 1960s of the Phillies under Gene Mauch. (However, throughout the book Rossi annoyingly refers to the Phillies' stadium as Shibe Park, when it had been renamed Connie Mack Stadium in 1953 and virtually no one called it by its former name in 1964.)

Rossi then goes through a game by game description of the season, including the fast start, grabbing first place in mid-July and holding on for 73 fateful days. The Phillies were having a magical summer, highlighted by Jim Bunning's perfect game on Father's Day, Johnny Callison's All-Star game winning homer, and Richie Allen's Rookie of the Year season. The author explains how all season long the Phillies really were playing above their heads, with a lineup that on paper was not the equal of the Reds, Giants and Cardinals, all of which were stocked with future Hall of Famers.

The ten game losing streak is then described in excruciating detail, including an analysis of what went wrong. For decades, the common wisdom was that Mauch cost the Phils the pennant by panicking and repeatedly starting Bunning and Chris Short on 2 days rest. This book shows that Mauch's genius was largely responsible for the Phillies 1964 success, and that the 10 game losing streak was an untimely combination of weak offense, uncharacteristically bad defense and an exhausted pitching staff. Once the losing began, the psychological burden on the Phils of failing to fulfill everyone's high expectations just seemed to steamroll the team.

Philadelphia has never fully recovered from 1964. At key times of the Phillies "dynasty" in the mid-1970s and early 1980s, whenever things would start to go wrong the spectre of 1964 would be raised. Some say that the roots of the current attitude of Philadelphia sports fans generally, and in particular Phillies fans, are traceable back to 1964, although rooting for the Phils with their history of losing more games than any team in any professional sport ever may also have something to do with it. Rossi's book brings the 1964 season back to life and with it the opportunity to relive both the summer of magic as well as the crushing collapse.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bad Memories Well Told, September 1, 2005

By 

Sam Charles Gould MD (Los Angeles, CA. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The 1964 Phillies: The Story of Baseball's Most Memorable Collapse (Paperback)

John P. Rossi's factual account of a sweet summer that turned to ashes in the final two weeks of the season is a must read for all long suffering Phillies fans and baseball historians. It brought back a flood of memories from that summer of my second year of medical school. Many a night the Phillies were my companion as I labored over my medical textbooks and studied for my tests. My anticipated reward was to be the 1964 World Series. Like the rest of Philadelphia, I witnessed the Fightin Phils collapse in stunned disbelief at the end of the season. John P. Rossi explains the story behind the Phillies unexpected success and the reasons for their ultimate defeat. Many of my "memories" of the losing streak were shown to be innacurate when the record was closely examined. Rossi examines the role of manager Gene Mauch in the late season collapse. He analyzes the strength and weakness of the pitching staff, the season long vulnerability to left handed pitching, the role of race in Philadelphia baseball, the emergence of Rich Allen and Johnny Callison as stars, the impact of GM John Quinn and the long term impact of the collapse upon the Phillies. I highly recommend this book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 1964 Phillies - Unlike the Phillies, the Book Doesn't Fold!, November 9, 2006

By 

Clay Dalrymple, Jr. "Phillies Fan" (New Hampshire USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The 1964 Phillies: The Story of Baseball's Most Memorable Collapse (Paperback)

This book covers a legendary year and event in baseball history. Although not a world class writing job, it does a workman-like job describing the events of the season. As a Phillies fan, I enjoyed reading the book and would recommend it to other people, although don't expect any great work of art. It includes a lot of recounting of events pretty much out of the boxscores and not an awful lot outside of that.

I'd give it a "B".