Wrigleyworld

In 2016 the Chicago Cubs finally won the World Series after a 108 year losing streak. But before that, "never say die” was a way of life for Cubs fans, including sportswriter Kevin Kaduk... In the summer 2005 season, in a fit of nostalgic, heartfelt (and possibly insane) loyalty to his “Lovable Losers,” Kevin quit his job as a sportswriter in Kansas City and moved back to the Windy City on a quest to find the heart and soul of what has come to be known as “Wrigleyville.” As Kevin searched for answers, he found one hell of a good time. In this rollicking exploration of baseball and blind faith, he weaves a riveting tale of the team that stole his heart—and the life of the neighborhood surrounding baseball’s most historic ballpark. He takes us from the famed ivy-fronted bleachers in Wrigley Field to the full-blast party atmosphere that vibrates through the surrounding blocks every game day. He visits the rooftops across the street from the field where the beer is ice cold and the bratwurst never stops coming and explores the depths of Wrigleyville’s bar scene, where raucous celebration and heartrending commiseration are all too common. So crack open a cold one, and get ready to experience the true adventures of Kevin Kaduk—a man who took himself out to the ballgame, bought himself some peanuts and Cracker-Jack...and never came back.

A collection of baseball tales, including highlights from the exciting 2015 season.

More than just a lavishly illustrated and highly readable book, Wrigley Field Year by Year, originally published in 2014 and updated through the 2018 season, is the result of a quarter century of meticulous research. Written by a baseball historian and recognized authority on the “Friendly Confines,” this is the first book to detail each year of the storied park’s existence. The book covers not only the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Federal League baseball teams in detail, it touches on the Chicago Bears football team, basketball, hockey, high school sports, track and field, and political rallies. It references activities and changes throughout the park and in its neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side. In addition to pertinent Cubs statistics, the author’s year-by-year coverage includes: A “game of the year” A description of unusual and interesting happenings in the ballpark A quote from the year that best captures its essence Supplementing the year-by-year approach are nine chapters that divide Wrigley Field’s rich history into nine “innings” along with informative appendixes that will delight every Cubs fan, from the casual to the obsessed. The book’s easy-to-use format and wealth of information make it a resource that readers will turn to again and again.

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.

This collection of 19 essays examine the role of baseball's Cubs in the history and politics of Chicago. They focus on topics such as the rise of a nationwide fan base through the long reach of superstation WGN; the local uses and views of icons Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, and Ryne Sandberg; historical divides along lines of race (on the field) and class (in the stands); Wrigley Field as a public space both sacred and cursed; the importance of local and nationwide media coverage; and the Cubs' impact on Chicago music and literature.

New from the Bathroom Reader: a grand slam, hole-in-one, hat trick collection of sports lore and trivia. Hey, sports fans: Sports Spectacular is bigger and better than ever! The not-so-dumb jocks at the BRI have packed in all the best sports and games articles from the wildly successful Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader series--and then bulked the whole thing up with more than 50 fan-tastic new pages. So place the ball on the tee, square up to the basket, and make sure your laces are laced tight, because it’s time to throw the dice through the goalposts for a home run! You’ll feel the thrill of victory and laugh at the agony of defeat as you read about… * The origins of all the major sports (and a bunch of minor ones) * Classic games, from poker and pinball to Monopoly and Donkey Kong * How to play bathroom blackjack * The world’s worst matador * The Goodyear Blimp * Mascots gone wild * Olympic scandals * NASCAR’s illegal origins * Dodging the cow pies when you play pasture golf * Finnish wife-carrying, gerbil racing, flagpole sitting, and other bizarre sports And much, much more!

Prehistoric foragers, conquistadors, missionaries, adventurers, hunters, and rugged agriculturalists parade across the histories of these little-known islands on the horizon of twenty-first century Southern California. This chain of eight islands is home to a biodiversity unrivaled anywhere on Earth. In addition, the Channel Islands reveal the complex geology and the natural and human history of this part of the world, from the first human probing of the continent we now call North America to modern-day ranchers, vineyardists, yachtsmen, and backpackers. Not far below the largely undisturbed surface of these islands are the traces of a California that flourished before historical time, vestiges of a complex forager culture originating with the first humans to cross the Bering Land Bridge and spread down the Pacific coast. This culture came to an end a mere 450 years ago with the arrival of Spanish conquistadors and missionaries, whose practices effectively depopulated the archipelago. The largely empty islands in turn attracted Anglo-American agriculturalists, including Frederic Caire Chiles’s own ancestors, who battled the elements to build empires based on cattle, sheep, wine, and wool. Today adventure tourism is the heart of the islands’ economy, with the late-twentieth-century formation of Channel Islands National Park, which opened five of the islands to the general public. For visitors and armchair travelers alike, this book weaves the strands of natural history, island ecology, and human endeavor to tell the Channel Islands’ full story.