Customer Reviews

Baseball Palace of the World: The Last Year of Comiskey Park

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Author Douglas Bukowski captures the feel of Chicago's original Comiskey Park (1910-1990) in this eloquent account of the White Sox final season in that arena. Fans may recall such highlights as the June series against Oakland (providing the team's first sellout in six years), the 4-0 win over the Yankees despite being no-hit, and the 2-1 finale against Seattle. Bukowski writes with poise and emotion, fencing metaphorically with arrogant Sox owner Jerry "The Chairman" Reinsdorf. But the author's attachment keeps him from recognizing why the old ballpark had to go; the bad seats and poor location hurt attendance, cut profits, and made the White Sox chronic underdogs to the media-adored Cubs in popular Wrigley Field. Ironically, Reinsdorf and his cronies ended up building another mediocre ballpark across the street, leaving the Sox franchise (and fans) cursed by greedy, blundering owners.

Bukowski once led a group hoping to save the old ballpark, and his readable prose easily outweighs one or two minor factual errors. This is a fun, informative look at Chicago baseball.