Customer Reviews

Miracle Collapse: The 1969 Chicago Cubs

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Attn. Cubs fans and history buffs....
This is the book for you. Most books on the Cubs are mundaine, lifeless, and contain the same old things us Cubs fans have heard time and time again. In this book, Doug Feldmann has breathed new life into the team we all know and love. Even though the story highlights its defeat, the lore and lure of the team shines through thanks to the author's uncompromising use of detail. There's so much that Cubs fans have to learn about that fateful year of 1969.

"Miracle Collapse" does a great job in providing a day-by-day description of what happened during the Chicago Cubs' 1969 schedule. It provides great deal on the nuts and bolts of the season--long-forgotten facts on who was starting at certain positions at what point of the season, who was acquired by trade or purchase and for whom, and what rookies were expected to actually make a difference on that veteran team. What it lacks is a lot of human interest, personal interviews, and anecdotes. Rick Talley's "The Cubs of '69" does a better job at the human interest part, but is riddled with errors. "Miracle Collapse" is not and is meticulously researched. For any Cub fan whose scar of '69 will not heal, "Miracle Collapse" and "The Cubs of '69" are a tandem that is a must-buy.

The basis of the book was a synopsis of the 1969 season in review, month by month, until the final depressing month of September when the Cubs ran out of gas. The book did not include any sort of interviews of players, coaches or fans opinions of why the Cubs did not win in 1969 or what they could have done differently to change the final outcome of the season. It basically gave a recap of the results of the games until the final outcome of the season ending failure by the Cubs.

This account of the 1969 Cubs is notable for the fact that it recounts nearly every game played that year, but offers little else in the way of new insight, insider accounts, or interesting anecdotes.

As a 15 year old kid in the suburbs of Chicago, I ate, slept and drank Cub baseball 24x7. The discussion that frequently pops up among Cub fans today is "which was worst?: 1969, 1984 or 2003?" Easy one for me: Although I'll never forget the 1984 San Diego implosion, and will never forgive Mark Prior and Kerry Wood (one of the most overrated Cubs of all time) for choking in games 6 & 7 in 2003 (leave Bartman alone; it was no more his fault than it was mine), there will NEVER be anything like 1969. It played out over 6 months, took us to enormous new heights, had us singing "Hey Hey Holy Mackerel" at the breakfast table, then just as we should have been toasting the 1st NL championship since 1945, as the leaves started falling from the trees and school started, the rug was yanked out from underneath in the. And the unkindest cut of all, it was provided by the Mets.

I've detested them ever since. To this day, I start every baseball season hoping for two things:
1) A Cub World Series (just friggin' GET there; you don't even have to win it); and
2) The Mets will go 0-162

If you told me I could just make one of those happen, I'd have a hard time choosing. But the truth is, neither ever will. So as you can see, the '69 Cubs have beautifully cultivated my mean, vindictive side which I've artfully used to my disadvantage a time or two in my life.

Enough of that. The book. Yes, a good but not great stroll through memory lane. I was in the right field bleachers on opening day and on the replay that is occasionally shown of Willie Smith's HR, I'm in the picture with my Wieboldts orange windbreaker, jumping up and down; I was at the game when Jim Hickman homered to beat the Pirates in extra innings (on the radio replay I heard later that day
Vince Lloyd said "that ball is headed toward Evanston"); and I was at several other games that the author recounts as well. There were a few interesting stories, particularly the clubhouse confrontation that occurred a year or two later between Durocher, Pepitone and a rightfully enraged Santo. But I'd have liked a lot more of these type of behind the scene accounts.

A while back I read a book (can't remember the title) by Rick Talley, former Chicago sportswriter that totally delivered in the way this book doesn't. He went around the country and interviewed damn near all of the '69 Cubs. It was incredibly interesting to hear their personal recollections as well as find out what had become of their lives.

So in the final analysis, this is a well written, well researched book that is definitely worth reading. As I said: Good/not great. If you're a 1969 Cub-ologist like I am, you ought to find Rick Talley's book and read that too.

I truly enjoyed reading this book. It gives an in-depth summary of nearly every game of "The Championship Season That Wasn't," and Mr. Feldman also documents other memorable events that occurred that summer(moon landing, Tate murders, Woodstock, etc.)which further helped to take me back to 1969.

If you're a Cubs fan like myself you would be used to heartbreak and unfulfilled hopes, this book stories the season of 1969 when the curse struck again after a long and promising season. I am not old enough to remember this era of Cubs baseball but the book seems to bring the era and that particular season alive through detailed paragraphs of games and players mentalities as October grew closer.

If you're a Cubs fan, you got to pick this book up. It's great reading and shows the personality of one of the most historic and storied franchises in American sports history. Great book makes for great reading. Enjoy.

This is one highly interesting story not only of the Cubs failure to maintain first place in 1969, but also an historical background of the events surrounding baseball and insightful descriptions of each player involved. I highly recommend it to any baseball fan, particularly any Cub fan, and especially those who were part of the living history.

It takes two to tango. Particularly when it comes to dramatic pennant races.

The 1978 New York Yankees made up a ton of ground and won the American League East race over the Boston Red Sox. The 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers had a big lead in August, only to not be able to hold off the charging New York Giants. It's tough to know which team in those situations is more "famous" -- the scrappy winner or collapsing loser.

Such was the case for the 1969 National League East race, chronicled in "Miracle Collapse" by Doug Feldmann. The New York Mets came out of absolutely nowhere to win. The Mets -- historically dismal at that time -- went 38-11 down the stretch, led by some great young pitchers and some journeyman hitters who caught lightning in a bottle for a couple of months.

Those Mets are still remembered fondly by most. However, in Chicago, it's a different story. The 1969 Cubs looked like champions for most of the season; in fact, no team had spent more time in first place without winning at that point. Yet, the Cubs picked the wrong time to go on a losing streak -- September. Considering the Cubs' lack of playoff appearances over the last half-century or so, the year 1969 still hurts.

Feldman goes through the 1969 season in painstakingly thorough fashion. He goes through the cast of characters that had been assembled in spring training. The manager was Leo Durocher, who ironically was the manager of the '51 Giants team. It had stars like Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Ernie Banks and Ferguson Jenkins. The Cubs had some other good players that year, such as Don Kessinger, Bill Hands, Glenn Beckert and Ken Holtzman.

The author goes through the season in practically game-by-game fashion. He relies on newspaper accounts for much of the facts involved, although clearly some books were consulted as well. This is something of an "outside-in" look at the season. It's also quite dry after a while. Baseball has a long season, and it's difficult to read about every single game with only a "at the time" perspective provided by the daily reports. It would have been nice to get some fresh perspective from the participants, and there just isn't much of that here. As a result, this has moments of reading like a term paper.

The big question about the '69 Cubs, though, is, "What happened?" Feldman believes the team just didn't have enough depth for the 162-game season. He also implies that Durocher went with his regulars far too long without giving them rest. But there are few critical observations here, except by those of the newspaper columnists of the time. For example, starting Jenkins with only two days rest in a big September game against the Mets might in hindsight be considered a panic move by Durocher. Jenkins was beaten, adding to the Mets' momentum. The story is told matter-of-factly.

One other note: Feldman likes to mention what is going on in the world at the time when writing these books (he has other baseball books to his credit). Therefore, this book has brief sections on such topics as the American League pennant race, Vince Lombardi's arrival with the NFL's Washington Redskins, man's first walk on the moon, etc. This may work better for those who don't remember 1969 as opposed to those who do.

I appreciate the research and effort that went into a book like this, and it's nice to have such work available for the public. After all the books on the '69 Mets, it's nice to have this one on their tango partner. Still, this somewhat dry retelling of the season probably will find an audience only made up of big Cub fans -- and Cub fans who don't mind reviewing a season to forget.

I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK. THE CUBS WERE A VERY GOOD TEAM FOR MOST OF 69. THEY HAD A GOOD TEAM IN MOST AREAS EXCEPT FOR CENTERFIELD AND THE BENCH. THE BOOK COVERS A DAY TO DAY DETAILED LOOK AT THAT GREAT BUT DISAPPOINTING SEASON. THE CUBS LOST IT BECAUSE OF A WEAK BENCH, FATIGUE BECAUSE DUROCHER NEVER GAVE THE PLAYERS AN OCCASIONAL DAY OFF AND THE METS WERE RED HOT. I ROOTED FOR THE CUBS THAT YEAR AND FOR MANY YEARS AFTER THAT. I HAVE FINALLY GIVEN UP. YEAR AFTER YEAR OF DEFEAT HAVE MADE MANY A FAN LOSE INTEREST. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS FOR ALL CUBS FANS AND FANS WHO ARE HISTORIANS OF THE GAME.

I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK. THE CUBS WERE A VERY GOOD TEAM FOR MOST OF 69. THEY HAD A GOOD TEAM IN MOST AREAS EXCEPT FOR CENTERFIELD AND THE BENCH. THE BOOK COVERS A DAY TO DAY DETAILED LOOK AT THAT GREAT BUT DISAPPOINTING SEASON. THE CUBS LOST IT BECAUSE OF A WEAK BENCH, FATIGUE BECAUSE DUROCHER NEVER GAVE THE PLAYERS AN OCCASIONAL DAY OFF AND THE METS WERE RED HOT. I ROOTED FOR THE CUBS THAT YEAR AND FOR MANY YEARS AFTER THAT. I HAVE FINALLY GIVEN UP. YEAR AFTER YEAR OF DEFEAT HAVE MADE MANY A FAN LOSE INTEREST. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS FOR ALL CUBS FANS AND FANS WHO ARE HISTORIANS OF THE GAME.