To Every Thing a Season [Paperback]

Bruce Kuklick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 11, 1993

Shibe Park was demolished in 1976, and today its site is surrounded by the devastation of North Philadelphia. Kuklick, however, vividly evokes the feelings people had about the home of the Philadelphia Athletics and later the Phillies.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Steegmuller relates the story of the deep friendship between the 18th-century intellectuals Madame d'Epinay and the Abbe Galiani, who met in the Paris of Voltaire and Diderot, and corresponded for years thereafter.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Kuklick (humanities, Univ. of Pennsylvania, author of American Policy: The Division of Germany, LJ 6/1/72) has not written a standard baseball history. Rather, he has integrated two teams, a ballpark, and an urban area into a story that appeals at once to the baseball fan, historian, and sociologist. He examines the neighborhood in North Philadelphia that was the site of Shibe Park (later Connie Mack Stadium), home of the Philadelphia Athletics from 1909 until their departure for Kansas City in 1954, and the Phillies until their move to Veterans Stadium. Each chapter is packed with details concerning the eras, players, and impact of the stadium on its neighborhood. Of particular interest from a historical point of view are the depictions of changes in modes of transportation and the availability and types of jobs for residents. Sadly, most of these changes appear to have been for the worse. The A's are now in Oakland, the Phillies at Veterans Stadium, and Connie Mack has been dead since 1955, but the image of Shibe Park and its neighborhood lives on. Highly recommended for most sports collections as well as for social history collections.
- William O. Schee ren, Hempfield Area Senior H.S. Lib., Greensburg, Pa.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (January 11, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 069102104X
• ISBN-13: 978-0691021041
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #191,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #90 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Miscellaneous > Essays

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll turn, turn, turn the pages...over and over, February 7, 2000

By 

Chip Millard (Silver Spring, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Every Thing a Season (Paperback)

Bruce Kuklick's book is an excellent history about a longtime Philadelphia institution, Shibe Park (ie Connie Mack Stadium). Not just a nostalgia-laden trip down memory lane, the book details the sociological impact baseball, particularly the Philadelphia A's, had on the surrounding neighborhood in North Philadelphia.

The book basically has two plotlines. One plotline deals with the baseball played at Shibe Park. It discusses the extreme peaks and valleys experienced by the A's during their time at the park. It also analyzes the shift in fan allegiance from the A's to the Phillies that occurred in the late 1940's and early 1950's, which eventually forced the A's to move after the 1954 season. Finally, the book discusses how the advancing age of the park forced the Phillies to move out of the park after the 1970 season.

The other plotline deals with the interaction of the community and the ballpark (and teams at the ballpark). It traces the pride the local community had in the ballpark (and the A's) during the early years of the park through the changing demographics of the neighborhood and the changing modes of transportation in America which gradually made the park (and the area around the park) unattractive to most fans. This arc also emphasizes how the A's and later the Phillies were an integral part of the community.

Overall, Mr. Kuklick has written a book that doesn't mythologize Shibe Park, but rather puts it in a more real, human context. The book also includes some interesting pictures, the most of which (to me) was the picture showing the proximity of Baker Bowl (the Phillies old ballpark) to Shibe Park. A highly recommended book for anyone interested in baseball, particularly Philadelphia baseball, or urban geography and history.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll turn, turn, turn the pages...over and over, February 7, 2000

By 

Chip Millard (Silver Spring, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Every Thing a Season (Paperback)

Bruce Kuklick's book is an excellent history about a longtime Philadelphia institution, Shibe Park (ie Connie Mack Stadium). Not just a nostalgia-laden trip down memory lane, the book details the sociological impact baseball, particularly the Philadelphia A's, had on the surrounding neighborhood in North Philadelphia.

The book basically has two plotlines. One plotline deals with the baseball played at Shibe Park. It discusses the extreme peaks and valleys experienced by the A's during their time at the park. It also analyzes the shift in fan allegiance from the A's to the Phillies that occurred in the late 1940's and early 1950's, which eventually forced the A's to move after the 1954 season. Finally, the book discusses how the advancing age of the park forced the Phillies to move out of the park after the 1970 season.

The other plotline deals with the interaction of the community and the ballpark (and teams at the ballpark). It traces the pride the local community had in the ballpark (and the A's) during the early years of the park through the changing demographics of the neighborhood and the changing modes of transportation in America which gradually made the park (and the area around the park) unattractive to most fans. This arc also emphasizes how the A's and later the Phillies were an integral part of the community.

Overall, Mr. Kuklick has written a book that doesn't mythologize Shibe Park, but rather puts it in a more real, human context. The book also includes some interesting pictures, the most of which (to me) was the picture showing the proximity of Baker Bowl (the Phillies old ballpark) to Shibe Park. A highly recommended book for anyone interested in baseball, particularly Philadelphia baseball, or urban geography and history.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great history of Shibe Park, August 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: To Every Thing a Season (Paperback)

This book fully details the life of a great ballpark that created baseball history from 1909-1970. The book details the events and happenings through the years at Shibe Park. Also detailed is how Shibe and the neighborhood around it began to deteriorate to the point where Shibe became an abandoned, weed-filled eyesore. A great book with good maps and illustrations.