Cubs by the Numbers: A Complete Team History of the Cubbies by Uniform Number [Paperback]

Al Yellon (Author), Kasey Ignarski (Author), Matthew Silverman (Author), Pat Hughes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 26, 2009

A lighthearted, anecdotal history of the Chicago Cubs as told through an analysis of those numbers.

What do Dizzy Dean, Catfish Metkovich, John Boccabella, Bill Buckner, Mark Prior, and Kevin Hart all have in common? They all wore number 22 for the Chicago Cubs, even though seven decades have passed between the last time Dizzy Dean buttoned up a Cubs uniform with that number and the first time reliever Kevin Hart performed the same routine.

Since the Chicago Cubs first adopted uniform numbers in 1932, the team has handed out only 71 numbers to more than 1,100 players. That's a lot of overlap. It also makes for a lot of good stories. Cubs by the Numbers tells those stories for every Cub since '32, from 1930s outfielder Ethan Allen to current ace Carlos Zambrano. This book lists the players alphabetically and by number, but the biographies help trace the history of baseball's most beloved team in a new way.

For Cubs fans, anyone who ever wore the uniform is like family. Cubs by the Numbers reintroduces readers to some of their long-lost ancestors, even ones they think they already know.

75 b/w photos

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Al Yellon directs newscasts at ABC-7 in Chicago. He is also the founder and editor in chief of the popular site bleedcubbieblue.com and the editor of the annual magazine, Wrigley Field Season Ticket, published by Maple Street Press. He lives in Chicago, within walking distance of Wrigley Field.


Kasey Ignarski is founder and proprietor of the website Kasey's Cubs Pages, which has a listing of every Cub who has ever worn a number. He lives in Chicago.

Matthew Silverman is co-author of Mets by the Numbers (with John Springer), Cubs by the Numbers (with Al Yellon and Kasey Ignarski), Red Sox by the Numbers (with Bill Nowlin), and Shea Goodbye (with Keith Hernandez) and the author of Mets Essential, 100 Things Mets Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, and Baseball Miscellany. He also served as the associate publisher at Total Sports Publishing, editing titles such as Total Baseball and Total Football. He lives in High Falls, New York.

Pat Hughes has been the play-by-play voice of the Chicago Cubs, working for WGN radio, since 1996.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (March 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602393729
• ISBN-13: 978-1602393721
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #988,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Cubs Fans, March 28, 2010

By 

James D. DeWitt "Alaska Fan" (Fairbanks, AK United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cubs by the Numbers: A Complete Team History of the Cubbies by Uniform Number (Paperback)

My antitrust law professor - one of the lawyers involved in Flood v. Kuhn - took our antitrust law class to the bleachers of Wrigley Field for "field work" in antitrust law. And so, in the middle 1970's began my hopeless addiction to the Chicago Cubs. I have a virulent case. And one symptom is my near-daily participation in Al Yellon's "Bleed Cubbie Blue" Cubs' blog. Al's Cubs' addiction makes mine look mild. But he has turned it to more useful and, I hope, profitable purposes.

Al is one of the co-authors of this amazing book. Every player since 1932 is organized by uniform number, and the better players for each jersey number are discussed in some detail. And there's usually a note on the most obscure Cubbie to wear a given number.

As an approach to organizing the history of the Cubs, it's excellent. As a research effort, it is very, very impressive. As a read, it is simply delightful. While Al and his fellow authors are serious Cub fans, the book is light-hearted and very well-written. Packed with anecdotes, insights and trivia, it manages to celebrate the team without the self-flagellation that afflicts too many Cubs authors.

The book works as both a read and a reference. It's also good fun; the Cubs have had more than their share of characters over the years. My very highest recommendation for any Cubs fan.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pulls together contemporary & historical Cubbies!, April 12, 2009

By 

Robert Marich (New York) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Cubs by the Numbers: A Complete Team History of the Cubbies by Uniform Number (Paperback)

I never realized Cub players didn't wear numbers until 1932, which is a among the trivia tidbits. The book seems to have them all with the greats -- Ernie Banks is the ninth and presumably last Cubbie to wear #14 -- and the forgettables - Ernie Broglio anyone? This takes the reader on a pleasant guided tour through the eras.....

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, December 28, 2009

By 

Jimmy Zazo - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Cubs by the Numbers: A Complete Team History of the Cubbies by Uniform Number (Paperback)

It's just too bad jersey numbers don't go back to the days of Cap Anson.