No ballpark in Philadelphia was more revered than the one at Twenty-first Street and Lehigh Avenue. Originally called Shibe Park and later Connie Mack Stadium, it opened in 1909 as America’s first steel-and-concrete stadium. When it closed in 1970, it had earned a special place in the hearts and minds of Philadelphia sports fans. Home of the Athletics for 46 years, the Phillies for 32 and a half seasons, and the Eagles for 18 years, it was also the site of many boxing matches, Negro League baseball games, and college and high school baseball and football games. Over the years, as the area developed, Shibe Park became known for its obstructed views, delicious hot dogs, Sunday curfews, absence of beer, and boobirds. Along with memorable teams and games, the ballpark played host to eight World Series and two All-Star Games.

Shibe Park-Connie Mack Stadium (Images of Sports)

Arts & Photography

Westcott, Rich

Photography & Video

Arcadia Publishing

The Philadelphia Phillies franchise has been providing thrills and chills for its faithful fanatics for more than 125 years---with the 2008 World Series victory providing the ultimate high for the team and its city. The Phillies have boasted great legends of the game, including sluggers like Chuck Klein, Richie Ashburn, Mike Schmidt, and Ryan Howard; beloved characters like Tug McGraw, Lenny Dykstra, and John Kruk; and stellar hurlers from Pete Alexander to Robin Roberts to Steve Carlton to Cole Hamels. The team has left its fans alternately inspired and frustrated, while forever retaining their loyalty and passion through more than a century of baseball. Philadelphia Phillies Past &amp; Present offers a richly illustrated tour of the players, managers, ballparks, and moments that have defined the Phillies of the past and of the present.

Philadelphia Phillies Past & Present

History

Americas

MVP Books

Philadelphia’s Top Fifty Baseball Players takes a look at the greatest players in Philadelphia baseball history from the earliest days in 1830 through the Negro Leagues and into the modern era. Their ranks include batting champions, home run kings, Most Valuable Players, Cy Young Award winners, and Hall of Famers—from Ed Delahanty, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Roy Campanella, Mike Schmidt, and Ryan Howard to Negro League stars Judy Johnson and Biz Mackey and other Philadelphia standouts such as Richie Ashburn, Dick Allen, Chuck Klein, Eddie Collins, and Reggie Jackson. For each player the book highlights memorable incidents and accomplishments and, above all, his place in Philadelphia’s rich baseball tradition.

Philadelphia's Top Fifty Baseball Players

University Of Nebraska Press

"A real treat for any baseball fan."--Allen Lewis, sports writer, Philadelphia Inquirer, 1947-79
 In Splendor on the Diamond, baseball author and historian Rich Westcott collects intimate interviews and personal profiles of 35 legends of the game. Each player from one of baseball's greatest and most momentous eras--the decades following World War II--is a recognizable and unforgettable member of that cast of characters who gave a special flavor to a distinctively American age. More than a third of the players featured are enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The lineup includes Warren Spahn describing what it took to become the winningest lefty in baseball history; Monte Irvin on his experiences as one of the pioneers in the desegregation of the game; Detroit Tigers legend Al Kaline discussing his splendid career, which included winning a batting title at the age of 20; and Pee Wee Reese recalling his glory days with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The book is packed with examples of players remembering historic--and often heroic—events: Ralph Branca’s pitch that Bobby Thomson turned into the shot heard round the world; Dick Sisler hitting the most famous home run in Philadelphia Phillies history; Bobby Avila becoming the first Latin American to win a batting crown; and Alvin Dark switching from All-American football player to baseball star.
What emerges from each interview is not only a fascinating glimpse into a historic period--an era in which professional baseball underwent some of its most sweeping changes--but also the opportunity to share in the players' first-hand descriptions of their experiences, to hear what it was like to have participated and performed on that stage.
Whether you're a die-hard, dyed-in-the-wool fanatic or just a casual fan, Splendor on the Diamond will reward you with nine full innings of privileged insights into the game. Because each interview was conducted "up-close and personal" and at generous length, and because of the author's reportorial skill and flair, the players' revealing comments make this a unique and delightful companion to America's national pastime.
Rich Westcott is the author or coauthorof nine books on baseball, including The Phillies Encyclopedia, Diamond Greats, Philadelphia’s Old Ballparks, and No-Hitters. He has been a newspaper and magazine editor for nearly 40 years and was the founder, publisher, and editor of Phillies Report, the nation’s oldest continuous baseball-team newspaper.

Splendor on the Diamond: Interviews with 35 Stars of Baseball's Past

Sports & Outdoors

Baseball

University Press of Florida

Provides interviews with Luke Appling, Lou Brock, Bob Feller, Ted Williams, Buck Walters, Larry Doby, Don Larsen, Roger Maris, Tony Oliva, Gaylord Perry, and Smoky Burgess

Diamond Greats: Profiles and Interviews With 65 of Baseball's History Makers

Mecklermedia

The first biography of one of the premier players of an era often considered to be the greatest in baseball history. In the 1940s and 1950s Mickey was a two-time batting champion, a member of seven All-Star teams, and one of the few players ever to have performed in the major leagues for four decades.

Mickey Vernon: The Gentleman First Baseman

Biographies & Memoirs

Camino Books

Biz Mackey, a Giant behind the Plate: The Story of the Negro League Star and Hall of Fame Catcher

“The best all-around catcher in black baseball history”—Cumberland Posey, Owner of the Homestead Grays
National Baseball Hall of Fame catcher James Raleigh “Biz” Mackey’s professional career spanned nearly three decades in the Negro Leagues and elsewhere. He distinguished himself as a defensive catcher who also had an impressive batting average and later worked as a manager of the Newark Eagles and the Baltimore Elite Giants.
Using archival materials and interviews with former Negro League players, baseball historian Rich Westcott chronicles the catcher’s life and remarkable career in Biz Mackey, a Giant behind the Plate as well as providing an in-depth look at Philadelphia Negro League history. Westcott traces Mackey’s childhood in Texas as the son of sharecroppers to his success on the baseball diamond where he displayed extraordinary defensive skills and an exceptional ability to hit and to handle pitchers. Mackey spent one third of his career playing in Philadelphia, winning championships with the Hilldale Daisies and the Philadelphia Stars. Mackey also mentored famed catcher Roy Campanella and had an unlikely role in the story of baseball’s development in Japan.
A celebrated ballplayer before African Americans were permitted to join Major League Baseball, Biz Mackey ranks as one of the top catchers ever to play the game. With Biz Mackey, he finally gets the biography he deserves.

Community & Culture

Temple University Press

No ballpark in Philadelphia was more revered than the one at Twenty-first Street and Lehigh Avenue. Originally called Shibe Park and later Connie Mack Stadium, it opened in 1909 as America's first steel-and-concrete stadium. When it closed in 1970, it had earned a special place in the hearts and minds of Philadelphia sports fans. Home of the Athletics for 46 years, the Phillies for 32 and a half seasons, and the Eagles for 18 years, it was also the site of many boxing matches, Negro League baseball games, and college and high school baseball and football games. Over the years, as the area developed, Shibe Park became known for its obstructed views, delicious hot dogs, Sunday curfews, absence of beer, and boobirds. Along with memorable teams and games, the ballpark played host to eight World Series and two All-Star Games.

Shibe Park-Connie Mack Stadium

Arcadia Publishing Library Editions

"The best all-around team book for history, biographies, photos, and records" just got better. This comprehensive history of the Philadelphia Phillies covers virtually every significant detail of the team's lore and legend, from 1883 to the present. Published to great acclaim, the 1984 edition sold out within two years and has been out of print ever since. The New Phillies Encyclopedia has updated and expanded coverage, a redesigned format, and hundreds of new illustrations including a 16-page color photo gallery. Authors Rich Westcott and Frank Bilovsky, who have been Phillies fans since youth and professional sportswriters for years, have provided a massive compendium of Phillies facts. Included are statistics of every player ever to wear a Phillies uniform, 200 profiles of the most significant players with a picture of each, year by year summaries of Phillies seasons, and vignettes of each of the teams' owners, managers, and ballparks. The book features special sections on the greatest teams, eras, and players; details on trades, streaks, team leaders, and significant events; and more than 750 pictures that fans will savor. The oldest continuous one-name, one-city franchise in the major leagues, the Phillies have a checkered history in which victories have been far less common than defeats, ill-advised trades and acquisitions have become legendary, and extraordinary plays and players have ranked with baseball's best. In their Introduction, Westcott and Bilovsky observe, "In the long and occasionally glorious history of the franchise, no team has been more entertaining...more colorful...or more unpredictable." With a foreword by former Phillie and sports commentator Richie Ashburn, The New Phillies Encyclopedia gives to fans of all ages the best and worst of a team that has offered both thrills and heartache but has never been dull.

The New Phillies Encyclopedia

Reference

Bilovsky, Frank

Encyclopedias & Subject Guides

Temple Univ Pr

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Westcott, Rich. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Westcott, Rich

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Westcott, Rich. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Shibe Park-Connie Mack Stadium (Images of Sports)

Philadelphia Phillies Past & Present

Philadelphia's Top Fifty Baseball Players

Splendor on the Diamond: Interviews with 35 Stars of Baseball's Past

Diamond Greats: Profiles and Interviews With 65 of Baseball's History Makers

Mickey Vernon: The Gentleman First Baseman

Biz Mackey, a Giant behind the Plate: The Story of the Negro League Star and Hall of Fame Catcher

Biz Mackey, a Giant behind the Plate: The Story of the Negro League Star and Hall of Fame Catcher

Shibe Park-Connie Mack Stadium

The New Phillies Encyclopedia