Cubs Forever

Cubs Forever celebrates the 60-year romance between the team, the superstation, and the fans. It brings to life some of the great games and moments in the team's history, such as Ernie Banks' 500th home run, the first night game at Wrigley Field, and four no-hitters. Add in stories from the men who work behind the scenes at Wrigley and WGN, plus interviews with the team's many stars over this six-decade period, and you have a baseball bonanza for fans of all ages.

Cubs Forever celebrates the 60-year romance between the team, the superstation, and the fans. It brings to life some of the great games and moments in the team's history, such as Ernie Banks' 500th home run, the first night game at Wrigley Field, and four no-hitters. Add in stories from the men who work behind the scenes at Wrigley and WGN, plus interviews with the team's many stars over this six-decade period, and you have a baseball bonanza for fans of all ages.

What do Dizzy Dean, Catfish Metkovich, John Boccabella, Bill Buckner, Mark Prior, and Jason Heyward all have in common? They all wore number 22 for the Chicago Cubs, even though eight decades have passed between the last time Dizzy Dean buttoned up a Cubs uniform with that number and the first time outfielder Jason Heyward performed the same routine. Since the Chicago Cubs first adopted uniform numbers in 1932, the team has handed out only 77 numbers to more than 1,500 players. That’s a lot of overlap. It also makes for a lot of good stories. Newly updated, Cubs by the Numbers tells those stories for every Cub since ’32, from current staff ace Jake Arrieta to former third baseman turned division-winning manager Don Zimmer. This book lists the players alphabetically and by number; these 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 those they think they already know. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Originally called Weeghman Park, Wrigley Field hosted its first game in 1914, and the 2014 season marks the 100th anniversary of baseball's second oldest ballpark. In Wrigley Field: The Centennial, Les Krantz tells the story of Wrigley's first 100 years—from the origins of the ivy on the outfield walls and ballpark traditions such as throwing back home run balls to Ruth's called shot in the 1933 World Series and unforgettable moments featuring stars Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Ryne Sandberg, Greg Maddux, and more. Featuring numerous photographs, Wrigley's first century is beautifully documented and an originally produced DVD narrated by Lou Boudreau Jr. and Ron Santo Jr. features footage from throughout the stadium's history and interviews with Jack Brickhouse, Ron Santo, Ernie Banks, and others.

America loves sports. This book examines and details the proof of this fascination seen throughout American society—in our literature, film, and music; our clothing and food; and the iconography of the nation. This momentous four-volume work examines and details the cultural aspects of sport and how sport pervasively reflects—and affects—myriad aspects of American society from the early 1900s to the present day. Written in a straightforward, readable manner, the entries cover both historical and contemporary aspects of sport and American culture. Unlike purely historical encyclopedias on sports, the contributions within these volumes cover related subject matter such as poetry, novels, music, films, plays, television shows, art and artists, mythologies, artifacts, and people. While this encyclopedia set is ideal for general readers who need information on the diverse aspects of sport in American culture for research purposes or are merely reading for enjoyment, the detailed nature of the entries will also prove useful as an initial source for scholars of sport and American culture. Each entry provides a number of both print and online resources for further investigation of the topic.

A collection of more than one hundred columns by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Mike Royko.

When Ernie Banks passed away in 2015, he was regarded as one of the most beloved men in baseball history. Making his start as a shortstop with the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues as a teenager, Banks went on to become the first African American to play for the Chicago Cubs. Known affectionately as “Mr. Cub,” he brought exceptional talent and boundless optimism to the game of baseball, earning him a Presidential Medal of Freedom and a place in the Hall of Fame. In Let’s Play Two: The Life and Times of Ernie Banks, Doug Wilson explores the life of one of baseball’s most immortal figures, from his humble beginnings as a young boy living in the segregated South to his last few years and the public battles over his remains and will. Drawing on interviews of those close to Banks from all stages of his life, Wilson presents a portrait of the baseball player not just as an athlete, but also as a complex man with ambitious goals and hidden pains. Ernie Banks’s enthusiasm and skill transcended issues of race and helped him to become one of the most highly-regarded men in baseball. Offering details that have never before been printed, this book discusses Banks’s athletic prowess as well as the legacy he left behind. Let’s Play Two is the essential Ernie Banks biography for sports fans and historians alike.

This is a memoir of a diehard--a diehard fan who drove himself and his family half crazy to get to Cubs games that were 700 miles away from their home. Along the way Sullivan recounts the history of Cubs baseball, including events from the 1908 season, as well as reminiscences from other fans and stories of his own experience following a team that has gone more than a century without attaining that final win that would make them world champions.